Property Taxes on unoccupied residence out of State

[Jonathan1]

My primary home residence (100% of the time) is in NYC (New York State). I inherited a “summer” home in Rhode Island and have not spent any (0%) time at this residence at all. The home in Rhode Island is not rented, nor does it produce any income. I do not intend to ever rent this property. For medical reasons, I am unable to get to this property.  My hope is to try to sell this property, at some point. I pay property taxes to the State of Rhode Island for this "secondary" home.

I take the standard deduction on my Federal and State income tax returns. I have looked at the numbers for my medical expenses, mortgage interest, NYS/Rhode property taxes, etc. and they do not exceed the standard deduction amount. I am a senior, and so that kicks up the standard deduction a little bit.

I am trying to do my taxes this year using TT. I have a few newbie type questions that I am looking for some direction and general guidance on.

Do I need to do a Rhode Island tax return for this unoccupied, non revenue producing property that I pay real estate taxes on?

Should I enter the Rhode Island property tax amount on my Federal return or may I omit that amount?

Can you think of any other considerations or questions that I need to answer or clarify to make your potential guidance more helpful. Thanks for reading this.

[AnnetteB6 · Accepted solution]

No, you do not need to file a Rhode Island tax return simply for owning a property in the state.  As you said, it does not produce income, therefore nothing would be reported on the return.  If/when you sell the property in the future, a Rhode Island tax return would most likely be required.

As for your Federal return, you can enter the property tax paid for the Rhode Island property, but if you are not going to be using itemized deductions, then you do not need to enter it.  

[Jonathan1]

Thank you so much Annette.  Your response and your timing very much appreciated 🙂