Annual property taxes are $4,380. The property closes on March 15. If the seller has NOT paid taxes for the current year, how much does the seller owe at closing? (Use 365 days)
Question & Answer
Review the question and all answer choices
$888
$912
Answer B ($912) results from using 76 days instead of 74, a common error made by miscounting March (e.g., counting through March 17 instead of March 15) or incorrectly adding an extra day for each month boundary.
$876
Answer C ($876) results from using only 73 days (perhaps omitting the closing day itself or miscounting February as 27 days), which understates the seller's actual ownership period and produces an incorrect proration.
$900
Answer D ($900) results from using 75 days, likely from a miscounting error such as including an extra day in January or February, and does not reflect the correct 74-day count from January 1 through March 15.
Why is this correct?
Using the 365-day method, the daily tax rate is $4,380 ÷ 365 = $12.00 per day. Counting the days from January 1 through March 15 yields 31 (January) + 28 (February) + 15 (March) = 74 days, and 74 × $12 = $888, which matches answer A. The seller is debited $888 at closing, and the buyer receives a corresponding credit to cover the taxes the buyer will eventually pay for the seller's ownership period.
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