How to get a refund on property taxes paid? What's a reasonable rate of return?

Property taxes aren't refunded directly as a "rate return" - it doesn't work that way. Instead, property taxes on your primary residence are deductible as an itemized deduction on Schedule A of your tax return. This only benefits you if your total itemized deductions (including mortgage interest, charitable contributions, etc.) exceed the standard deduction ($13,850 for single filers or $27,700 for married filing jointly in 2023). If you do itemize, the benefit you receive is based on your marginal tax bracket. For example, if you're in the 22% tax bracket, a $3,700 property tax deduction could potentially reduce your tax liability by around $814 (22% of $3,700). But remember this only happens if you itemize instead of taking the standard deduction.

I was in the same situation last year trying to figure out property tax benefits. What really helped me was using https://taxr.ai to analyze my property tax statement and other documents. It automatically identified all the deductible portions of my property taxes and explained how they would impact my return based on my specific situation. The tool showed me that in my case, I was better off itemizing because my mortgage interest plus property taxes pushed me over the standard deduction threshold. It even calculated exactly how much I'd save based on my tax bracket. Saved me hours of research!

Just wanted to follow up and say I tried https://taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here. It completely changed my approach to property taxes! I uploaded my property tax statement and last year's return, and it showed that I was just below the threshold for itemizing. The tool recommended I prepay my January 2025 property tax installment in December 2024, which would push me over the standard deduction by about $2,100. This strategy is saving me approximately $460 on my federal return! It also found a special property tax credit in my state I had no idea existed. Definitely worth checking out if you own property - wish I'd known about this last year.

For anyone struggling to get specific answers about property tax deductions from the IRS, I highly recommend https://claimyr.com. I spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS to clarify some questions about my property tax assessment and SALT limitations that weren't clear from their publications. After getting nowhere with the regular IRS number, I tried Claimyr and got connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes. They walked me through exactly how the property tax deduction works with my specific assessment which had some special district taxes that I wasn't sure were deductible. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. It was seriously amazing after spending hours hearing "due to high call volume" messages.

I have to come back and apologize. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr out of pure frustration. I was completely wrong. The service actually worked! Got connected to an IRS agent in about 45 minutes (which beat my previous record of 2.5 hours). The agent clarified that my homeowners association special assessment WAS partially deductible as a property tax (the portion that went to local government improvements, not the part for the community pool repair). This was exactly what I needed to know and couldn't find anywhere online. What's crazy is I had given up on getting an answer and was about to file without the deduction, which would have cost me about $600 in tax benefits. Seriously worth it just to get a definitive answer from an actual IRS rep.

Don't forget to check if your state offers any property tax rebate programs! Many states have them, especially for seniors, veterans, or low-income homeowners. These are separate from the federal tax deduction and can be actual cash refunds. For example, I'm in NJ and we have the ANCHOR program that gives direct property tax relief. I got a $1,000 rebate check last year that had nothing to do with my federal taxes. Other states have similar programs with different names.

Another thing to consider is challenging your property tax assessment if you think your home is overvalued. I did this last year and got my assessment reduced by almost $40k, which saved me about $800 annually in property taxes. The process varies by county but usually involves showing comparable sales in your area that indicate your home is assessed too high. Many counties have a specific window each year when you can appeal.

Great question about property tax appeals! I handled mine myself and it was actually pretty straightforward. Most counties have forms available online and the process is designed for homeowners to navigate without an attorney. I gathered comparable sales data from Zillow and the county assessor's website, took photos showing any property condition issues, and filled out the appeal form. The hearing was informal - just me presenting my case to a review board. The key was having solid comparable properties that sold recently for less than my assessed value. I'd recommend trying it yourself first since there's usually no fee to file an appeal. You can always hire a property tax consultant later if you're not comfortable with the process. Many of them work on contingency anyway, so they only get paid if they successfully reduce your assessment.