How tax preparers request a property tax bill from clients
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
Ask clients who own a home for every property tax bill paid during the tax year, with proof of payment, for each property they own. Real estate taxes paid in the year count toward the state and local tax deduction on Schedule A, which is capped, so you need the amount actually paid and the date.
Why tax preparers need a property tax bill
If the client itemizes, real estate taxes go on Schedule A with state income or sales taxes, under the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, which is subject to a cap. What counts is the tax paid during the calendar year, not the amount billed for it. For a rental property, the same bill feeds Schedule E instead. When taxes are paid through a mortgage escrow account, Form 1098 may show them, and the bill confirms the figure.
What exactly to ask for
Each bill for the tax year for every property the client owns, home, second home or land, with the receipt, bank record or escrow statement showing what was paid and when. Include a bill paid in January for the prior year if the payment fell in the year you are filing.
What to check when it arrives
- The payment date falls inside the tax year you are filing, whatever year the bill covers.
- The amount separates the deductible ad valorem tax from fees such as trash collection or special assessments.
- The property address tells you whether it is the home, a second home or a rental reported on Schedule E.
Email to send your client
Replace the bracketed parts. The same text fits in the message of a DokuTrak request (up to 1,000 characters).
Subject: Your property tax bills for this year’s return
Hi [Client name],
For your return I need the property tax bills you paid during the year, for each property you own, along with something showing the payment: a receipt, a bank statement line or your mortgage escrow statement.
What matters for your taxes is what you actually paid in the year and when, so please include any installment paid early or late.
Your county tax office usually has past bills online if you cannot find the paper ones. Could you send everything by [date]? If your mortgage company pays the taxes for you, just tell me and I will look at your Form 1098.
Thank you, [Your name]
Ask once. DokuTrak does the chasing.
- Your client uploads from one link, with no account and no password.
- Reminders go out on a schedule, by default 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after the request, until the file arrives.
- With AI review switched on in your workspace (it is off by default), each upload gets a first pass that flags a file that is not a property tax bill, an unreadable or blurry scan or a copy where one of these is missing or cut off: the taxpayer’s name, the property address. It says so when it is not sure.
- You accept every file or mark it for re-upload, and your client gets the note by email. The AI never accepts a file.