Real Estate Tax question, please help

[speculate]

I have a property I haven't made payments on since October. I am in NYS. It has not gone into Foreclosure yet.

I have also NOT made any real estate tax payments for most of 2009. The bank has I assume opened up an escrow account and paid the taxes on my behalf, to preserve their interest in the property.

On the Mortgage Interest Statement I received, it shows the mortgage interest I paid for 2009.

Under Real Estate Taxes, it shows an amount. I figure this is the amount the bank paid on my behalf.

My question is, is this Real Estate tax deductable? Normally, it is but I wasn't sure since I didn't actually pay it. The bank paid it out of an escrow account created for me. I mean they are charging me for it, so I also figure I should be able to deduct.

Any thoughts?

[BCA2009]

If you didn't pay it, you can't deduct. Individuals can't accrue costs for tax purposes. Cash mehtod only. If you ended up paying it back to Bank this year, you would be able to deduct in 2010, in addition to any 2010 tax payments you make.

Most mortgages make you pay into an escrow account monthly to cover taxes and insurance. If you made payments thru October and there was escrow withheld, you could deduct the portion that you did pay.