What should a seller be charged for taxes in the seller's net statement if estimated taxes are $5,000?

When preparing a seller's net statement, the calculation of estimated taxes is critical for accurately reflecting the amount the seller will receive after all expenses are settled. If the total estimated taxes are set at $5,000, the seller will not be paying this amount directly; rather, it should be prorated based on the closing date.

In many real estate transactions, taxes are often assessed on an annual basis, and sellers are only responsible for the portion of taxes that apply to the time they owned the property during the tax year. Therefore, if the seller is only responsible for a portion of the year, the share of the taxes deducted from the proceeds would be a proportionate amount of the total estimated taxes.

In this case, the estimated taxes might be negotiated or determined based on a specific calculation method typically used in closing statements. The choice of $2,300 likely reflects a proration based on the seller's duration of ownership in relation to the full year, or possibly a standard closing proration calculation that is aligned with the typical practices in the Tampa real estate market.

This understanding of property tax proration is essential for anyone involved in real estate transactions and helps clarify why the charge could be lower than the full estimated tax amount.