Can I claim property (real estate) taxes paid for a prior or later year?

You can claim prior years' property tax in the tax year you paid them. For example, if you paid your 2022 property taxes in 2023, claim them on your 2023 taxes. However, you can't include any late fees, interest, or penalties—just the tax itself.

Starting with tax year 2017, you can still claim prepaid property tax but only if it was also assessed in the tax year you're attempting to claim it.

In other words, if your local assessor sent you the 2024 property tax bill in 2023, and you paid it by December 31 of 2023, you can claim it on your 2023 return.

However, if you didn't get an assessment for your 2024 property tax, but you went ahead and paid it anyway by the end of 2023, you can't claim it on your 2023 taxes (but you could on your 2024 taxes, assuming you get assessed in 2024).