Property taxes on vacation house sold

[RWG1950]

Customers sold vacation house in 2019. On the closing docs, prorated property taxes of about $ 1,600 are shown.
Standard deduction for MFJ will be used on their return.
Is there any way this property tax amount can be used to lower their LTCG on the "D" ?
Thanks for comments.

[TAXNJ]

Is it part of the closing costs? Also see publication 527.

[Burke]

Is it part of the closing costs? Also see publication 527.

See Page 8 of Pub 523. Generally, real estate taxes paid on the sale date are not considered closing costs, unless the buyer agrees to pay them and the seller does NOT reimburse the buyer for that amount. They are often shown on the settlement statement, but it is usually a transfer item on both sides for convenience, where the seller transfers the amount to the buyer for payment later if they are not yet due by the locality. If they have already been paid by the seller to cover any period beyond the closing date, then buyer usually pays seller for the amount which he has paid in advance. Buyer and seller are only legally responsible for the taxes for the days they actually owned the property. You need to review the settlement statement and account for this. In almost all cases, they go on Sche A.