How do I claim real estate taxes paid?

Include taxes (state, local, or foreign) you paid on real estate you own that was not used for business, but only if the taxes are based on the assessed value of the property. Also, the assessment must be made uniformly on property throughout the community, and the proceeds must be used for general community or governmental purposes. Publication 530 explains the deductions homeowners may take.

DO NOT include the following amounts on line 6.

• Itemized charges for services to specific property or persons (for example, a $20 monthly charge per house for trash collection, a $5 charge for every 1,000 gallons of water consumed, or a flat charge for mowing a lawn that had grown higher than permitted under local ordinance).
• Charges for improvements that tend to increase the value of your property (for example, an assessment to build a new sidewalk). The cost of a property improvement is added to the basis of the property. However, a charge is deductible if it is used only to maintain an existing public facility in service (for example, a charge to repair an existing sidewalk, and any interest included in that charge).

If your mortgage payments include your real estate taxes, you may deduct only the amount the mortgage company actually paid to the taxing authority in the tax year.

If you sold your home during the tax year, any real estate tax charged to the buyer should be shown on your settlement statement in box 5 of any Form 1099-S you received. This amount is considered a refund of real estate taxes. See refunds and rebates below. Any real estate taxes you paid at closing should be shown on your settlement statement.

Refunds and Rebates
If you received a refund or rebate in the tax year of real estate taxes you paid during the year, reduce the amount of your deduction by your refund or rebate. If you received a refund or rebate in the tax year or real estate taxes paid in an earlier year, do not reduce your deduction by this amount.

Instead, you must include the refund or rebate in income on form 1040 (other income), if you deducted the real estate taxes in the earlier year and the reduction reduced your tax. See Recoveries in Publication 525 for details on how to figure the amount to include in income. (include this amount in the Other Income section of the interview)

Go to the deductions page for itemized deduction.  Choose the section "Taxes you paid".