# How much refund on taxes can I get?



## kinlesen (Mar 14, 2009)

I live in Los Angeles County, California. I have recently purchased a home. I am yet to pay the first tax for my property. My real estate agent says that I am liable for a tax of $8000 as per the purchase price of my house. He says that I may be eligible for some type of refund or reduction. Any info would be appreciated


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

I've moved this over to the America forum, since that seems a bit more logical than the Spain forum where it was originally posted.

Now, you don't give us much to go on here - but taking a wild guess, I suspect that what your real estate agent is talking about is the "split" of the first year property tax between buyer and seller - which should have been done when you closed on the home.

The property taxes are assessed as of a set date each year. If, for example, the assessment date is April 1st, and you bought the house last October, then you've only been living there for six months when the property tax comes due. Normally, as part of the closing, the buyer and seller split the estimated tax between them according to the date of the closing.

OTOH, there are also some refunds or partial refunds of property tax in some areas in the US - based on such things as age and income. In some cases, you need to be a US citizen or green card holder to be eligible for special refunds. If you're in the US on another sort of visa, you could be out of luck. Check with your local assessor's office for more information.
Cheers,
Bev


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

Property taxes are an annual event, and usually paid as part of your mortgage payment once you get into the house. The mortgage company will establish an escrow account and deposit the payment, then pay the taxes for you. If you are expecting that all you will pay each month is the monthly mortgage cost, you need to add in escrow payments and homeowners insurance. If you are working in the US, the real estate taxes will be deductible on your income tax. You need to sit down with a tax preparer and go over all of this.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Are you talking about the firt-time home owner incentive which recently went into effect? It is a 8k refund. Talk to your agent and clarify this please. 
After you close on your residence you have to claim home stead. Go to the local tax assessors office with ID and your closing documents and file a claim stating this residence to be your primary if this is the case. Then you can deduct your interest payments from your annual taxes.
There are several good tax programs on the market such as TurboTax which are easy to work with and very acurat.

Tax Credit to Aid First-Time Homebuyers; Must Be Repaid Over 15 Years


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