Is property tax appeal fees deductible?

Question

I use a 3rd party company to help protest my rental property appraisal values and they take 1/3 of the actual tax reduction as the fee. Does anyone know if this fee can be considered as expense to the rental property and thus deductible? What if it's my primary residence, can it still be tax deductible?

Thanks!

Alan Feng · Answer

Thanks for the replies.

For the question about which company, I live in Texas, this company is called texasprotax. It focus on a few Texas cities only. But I feel it is a pretty common service that you have a good chance find locally. Essentially, it's a professional service to appeal / protest your property appraisal on your behalf each year. From what I see, the industry common standards is 1/3 of the actual tax saving for each year. So if no tax savings for a given year, no payment due. They usually are very familiar with the local protest process, deadlines, etc.

Daria B. · Answer

What type of company do you use? Is this an appraiser? I've been looking for someone in my area and if I had an idea what to look for it would be easier to search. I found one guy who is a RE agent and has "speciality" skills (?) doing appraisal analysis.

Natalie Kolodij · Answer

It would be legal and professional fees on a rental property

non-deductible on a primary home

Jason Hirko · Answer

@Alan Feng I'm no CPA, but it is a business expense, so I can't see why not. For your personal house, that's another story. Tax preparation is tax deductible, so maybe?

Who do you use, by the way?

Is property tax appeal fees deductible?

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