Q: My mother passed away several years ago. Do I have to pay her overdue property taxes and do I have to pay her income taxes as well?Her accountant filed income taxes after her death and now I have to pay her I have a $200 bill for Am I now responsible for her property debts? We are in the process of selling her house. Thanks in advance.
A: Simply put, the real estate tax on the mother’s house needs to be settled with the local tax authorities. Buyers looking to buy a home want to make sure the bills associated with their home are up to date and paid.
You can wait to pay your property taxes when you actually sell your home, but be aware that your local government may charge you penalties, late fees, and interest on unpaid property taxes. need to know. I recommend researching the taxes on your mother’s house to make sure you understand what it will cost you to withhold tax payments until you sell it.
Another important thing about property taxes is that taxpayers risk losing their homes if they haven’t been paid in a while. When that happens, your home could lose all of its value due to non-payment of taxes.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that local governments cannot sell homes or keep money beyond their debts to pay off their debts to local governments. But that’s not the case with unpaid property taxes. Local governments can sell homes for the amount of unpaid property taxes, and tax buyers who ultimately acquire the homes can sell the homes and make all of their profits. The original owner gets nothing.
So be careful and pay your property taxes now or soon.
For any income tax issues owed on your mother’s estate, we recommend that you consult with your estate tax representative to find out exactly how much income tax you should pay to the Internal Revenue Service. We don’t know the specifics of the sale of the home, but the settlement agent may want to know that all debts on the property have been paid off before the sale is complete. Again, the money from the sale of the house could be used to pay off the debt to the IRS or any other debt your mom had.
I don’t think you have a personal obligation to pay off your mother’s debt. However, if you inherited property from your mother, your mother’s estate agent may be obliged to settle those debts before handing over the remaining funds to you. The end result may be the same. You will inherit her property, but her debt will be repaid.
(Iris Grink is the author of “.100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask” (4th edition). she is also the CEO of best money move, a financial wellness technology company. Samuel J. Tamkin is a real estate attorney based in Chicago. Get in touch via Ilyce and Sam’s website. ThinkGlink.com. )
©2023 Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
