Paying Property Taxes For Shared Property

wondering if the good people of IDO have input on methods you might have used. So i own some hunting property up north. 30 acres total. its 2 parcels with 2 deeds. Back in the 50’s my grandpas brother bought one 1 acre parcel with buildings on it and a few years after my grandpa bought the adjoining 29 acre parcel around it. This was never thought of as mine and his its just the family hunting property. Fast forward and now the parcels have been handed down to me, my brother, and my cousin. My cousin is the grandson of the original purchaser… All 3 of our names are on both deeds and nobody can sell the land without the consent of all 3 of us. We all get along fine and there are no squabbles over the land whatsoever.

alright so now to the crux of the issue. i wouldnt even really call it a problem just wondering how best to do this. The taxes come to my house. I was the one who worked with the lawyers to get everything into our names and just handled everything. Even though the deeds are in all 3 of our names my name is listed first so i guess they just come to me. So far what we’ve done is i send out 2 checks to the county for the total tax payment and then my brother and cousin venmos me money for their portions. My cousin says he wants to send his own checks. He didnt explain why but im guessing that he wants a paper trail to show that he has paid his share of taxes in case there is ever a dispute over the land and me or my brother would try to claim we have paid all of the taxes… That would never take place but i understand his desire for caution. sh*t happens.

So with 2 parcels and it being divided up by 3 people would it be best to have my cousin write 2 checks for his portion and i write 2 checks for my portion (my brother isnt worried about me and will just pay me back for me paying his share)? The other thought i had was we trade off years paying the taxes.

Its kind of a small problem im just not sure what the best approach would be

Either find out why your cousin wants to do it that way, and plan accordingly or just let him write the check for everything and Venmo him.

How about just a legal binding contract that explains who owns the property and how its divided up between the 3 of you. That way your cousin would not have to worry?

3 years ago my mom turned the cabin over to my brother and i. equal owners. she also had a seperate bank/checking account for the cabin……..all fees related to the cabin come out of that account.

here is what we do……in Jan/Feb of each year we look over the expenses/account numbers and mutually agree to add X amount of $$$ to the account to cover the upcoming years expenses.

so guess i’m saying……get/start a seperate account for your land and each person deposits there check into that account specifically for that purpose! then he has a record of his transactions!!!

Family owned property is rough. I would let him write the check and just venmo him your portion if it was me.

Either start a separate account that all 3 of you put money into and checks come out of that or all send in your own check. My wifes grandparents left a little lake place to all the grandkids the oldest grandkid just paid all the taxes and everyone else just paid him. When he got divorced it was hell. We were very lucky he documented all payments from everyone. His exwife wanted half the cabin in the divorce. Took 2 years to get everything settled.

Probably wants the check for tax purposes. So he can deduct. I am in the same situation.

Thanks,
RVRDUX

I own 80 acres of hunting land with 5 other guys. Most are related to me. I pay the taxes and also manage the logging we have to take care of and the Managed Forest Program we have it enrolled in. Our taxes are 140.00 per year total. I pay the tax check and everyone pays me 20.00 per share per year. Noone bothers to try and write off 20.00 in taxes for the year. Even if your taxes are alot higher per person than that, I would assume you could give him a receipt for his portion of the taxes as well as the tax bill the receipt went towards so he should be able to do this if desired. Otherwise, I would agree with others above and let him pay the bill and then pay him. It wouldn’t make any sense for all 6 of us to send in 20 bucks each to the county for our taxes. I assume the County tax person has me listed as the contact for our tax bill. You should be able to call them and change it to your cousin if you go that route.

The other reason I wouldn’t want everyone sending in their own check is if I am listed as an owner and someone doesn’t pay their share, it will be held against all of you. Believe it or not, I would worry about that with some of the guys that were previous share holders.

Is the land listed in your name and ETAL ? If so, there can be no dispute of ownership. Like said, let him pay them and pay him, that gives you a paper trail as well.

glenn57 wrote:

3 years ago my mom turned the cabin over to my brother and i. equal owners. she also had a seperate bank/checking account for the cabin……..all fees related to the cabin come out of that account.

here is what we do……in Jan/Feb of each year we look over the expenses/account numbers and mutually agree to add X amount of $$$ to the account to cover the upcoming years expenses.

so guess i’m saying……get/start a seperate account for your land and each person deposits there check into that account specifically for that purpose! then he has a record of his transactions!!!

Winner, winner… my name is not on the deed for the property I’ve been hunting for 50+ years so the taxes aren’t my issue to deal with. I kick in money every year for maintenance (less than a full share for the owners).

The owners have a shared bank account to which they all contribute and from which taxes and utilities are paid. Years ago one of the prior generation owners stopped paying his share (rather would spend it at casinos). The group gave him the option of paying up or getting struck from the deed. He didn’t pay, the owners conveyed the title to those who had paid. The shirker’s choices were to pay, sue or let it go. He let it go. When his kids came sniffing aroud for a buyout they were told to be on their way. They investigated suing, discovered they were SOL.

RVRDUX wrote:

Probably wants the check for tax purposes. So he can deduct. I am in the same situation.

Thanks,
RVRDUX

yea i’m not sure just how you can deduct taxes you pay on land or a cabin can be deducted on any tax forms…..if there is i wanna know how and why?????

Thanks for the suggestions. The land is in all of our names on both deeds so there is little chance of a dispute. I think just letting him pay makes sense. Then I’ll just cut him a check and put property taxes in the memo line and keep a copy for my records.

glenn57 wrote:

yea i’m not sure just how you can deduct taxes you pay on land or a cabin can be deducted on any tax forms…..if there is i wanna know how and why?????

Itemized deduction for “State and local real estate taxes”. It’s Schedule A line 5b. Doesn’t have to be only your main residence.

Yes property taxes are deductible on your taxes but depending on each person’s circumstances.
My BIL and I own a place together. All names(wives) are on the deed. The tax bill comes to me. I just make him a copy and we each send a check for half the taxes. He claims half and so do I. Hasn’t been an issue in over 20 years. This is in Wisconsin.

MX1825 wrote:

Yes property taxes are deductible on your taxes but depending on each person’s circumstances.
My BIL and I own a place together. All names(wives) are on the deed. The tax bill comes to me. I just make him a copy and we each send a check for half the taxes. He claims half and so do I. Hasn’t been an issue in over 20 years. This is in Wisconsin.

dang nabit…….i need to check into this!!!!!

any idea if i live in Mn and my brother lives in Wi……..how that works???

Not sure Glenn but I live in Wisconsin and BIL lives in Iowa.

It sounds like with all of your names on everything, it’s not going to matter who actually writes the one check. Just keep a carbon copy of your portion of the tax payment (check).

Sharing land is tough and not something I’d prefer to do, but it seems like you have done everything you can to keep things under wraps and organized

I like Glen’s way. Neat and simple, and very transparent for all.
While not the same, years ago some of us used to take a trip to Lake of the Woods and would take turns paying for things. As usually happens, one person’s idea of their fair share was different than the rest, especially when it came to meals and drinks at the bar. Naturally they always wanted a drink when someone was buying, but when it was their turn they disappeared down the bar to go talk to people. Now when doing things such as that, we start a pot before leaving, and if we need more, everyone chips in.

Musky Ed wrote:

I like Glen’s way. Neat and simple, and very transparent for all.
While not the sane, years ago some of us used to take a trip to Lake of the Woods and would take turns paying for things. As usually happens, one person’s idea of their fair share was different than the rest, especially when it came to meals and drinks at the bar. Naturally they always wanted a drink when someone was buying, but when it was their turn they disappeared down the bar to go talk to people. Now when doing things such as that, we start a pot before leaving, and if we need more, everyone chips in.

its worked out well so far.

little things like TP, papertowels, even paying the guy to plow out our driveway into the cabin we pay ourselves. even that kinda all seems to come out even.

even with him being in WI and 7 hours away and working he knows i’m going to be there more then he is and we still split the cost down the middle….me being retired i pend more time there but he understands that i usually do most of the upkeep!! mainly keeping t he campfire wood in good supply!!!!