I reside in a mobile home within a trailer park, in New York State; I own the home and pay rent on the lot. The local assessor has assessed all of the 11 trailers for the same amount, approx. $3,500 each. The landlord receives a tax credit on the taxes (school, I believe), which he has to turn over to the tenants who had been registered with the Assessor's office by the last day of February of that year; I pay no taxes separately. Would I qualify for this FEDERAL credit?

It appears that I would qualify for the NYS Real Property Tax Credit for Homeowners and Renters, per publication # 22.

In regards to both circumstances, however, I did NOT pay any rent for the entire year, due to a disagreement between the landlord and myself. It seems that there is a requirement to actually [i]PAY[i] the taxes first, in order to be eligible for the credit, and to, most likely, pay those taxes during that same year. The maximum credit for NYS is only $75, so it would appear that I would loose out if paid two year's taxes at once, for 2010's taxes, if the same law is in effect. This would be the same type of situation for someone if they had saved their home from a tax sale. I don't think I could file an amended claim the following year for this year, because the taxes were not paid this year.

I don't want to loose out, yet I don't want to commit fraud; I could be audited, and I would have to produce rent receipts. So, could you give me both scenarios (if I had been paying rent or not been paying) for both levels of government? Thanks.