Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open.

Can the Philadelphia Center City District Tax be deducted on my Schedule-A?
My basic rule of thumb is that if the the bill come from a government office of taxation, and that if you fail to pay the amount they can put a tax lien on the property it is a tax. for you the complication is in Pub530: Assessments for local benefits.    You cannot deduct amounts you pay for local benefits that tend to increase the value of your property.   Local benefits include the construction of streets, sidewalks, or   water and sewer systems. You must add these amounts to the basis of   your property.  You can, however, deduct assessments (or taxes) for   local benefits if they are for maintenance, repair, or interest   charges related to those benefits. An example is a charge to repair an   existing sidewalk and any interest included in that charge.  If only a   part of the assessment is for maintenance, repair, or interest   charges, you must be able to show the amount of that part to claim the   deduction. If you cannot show what part of the assessment is for   maintenance, repair, or interest charges, you cannot deduct any of it. An assessment for a local benefit may be listed as an item in your   real estate tax bill. If so, use the rules in this section to find how   much of it, if any, you can deduct. I have never seen a tax bill that said this amount is for new streets, and the rest i for things the IRS says you can deduct. The issue is that if the Center City tax bill is a separate line or a separate bill then does it count. I would go back to the first line of the quote from Pub 530: You cannot deduct amounts you pay for local benefits that tend to   increase the value of your property. Then I would look at the quote from the CCD web site: The Center City District (CCD) is a business improvement district. Our   mission is to keep Philadelphia's downtown, called Center City, clean,   safe, beautiful and fun. We provide security, cleaning and promotional   services that supplement, but do not replace, basic services provided   by the City of Philadelphia and the fundamental responsibilities of   property owners. CCD also makes physical improvements to the downtown, installing and maintaining lighting, > signs, banners, trees and landscape elements.  and later on the same page: CCD directly bills and collects mandatory payments from properties in   the district. CCD also receives voluntary contributions from the   owners of tax-exempt properties that benefit from our services. The issues is that it is a business improvement district (BID), and you aren't a business: I did find this document from the city of Philadelphia explain how to establish a BID: If the nature of the BID is such that organizers wish to include   residential properties within the district and make these properties   subject to the assessment, it may make sense to assess these   properties at a lower level than a commercial property, both because   BID services and benefits are business-focused, and because   owner-occupants often cannot treat NID assessments as tax-deductible   business expenses, like commercial owners do. Care must be taken to   ensure that the difference in commercial and residential assessment   rates is equitable, and complies with the requirements of the CEIA. from the same document: Funds for BID programs and services are generated from a special   assessment paid by the benefited property owners directly to the   organization that manages the BID’s activities. (Note: many leases   have a clause that allows property owners to pass the BID assessment   on to their tenants.) Because they are authorized by the City of   Philadelphia, the assessment levied by the BID becomes a legal   obligation of the property owner and failure to pay can result in the   filing of a lien. I have seen discussion that some BIDS can accept tax deductible donations. This means if a person itemizes they can deduct the donation. I would then feel comfortable deducting the tax because: If you can't deduct it that would mean the only people who can't deduct it are home owners.  So deduct it. (keep in mind I am not a tax professional)