A key question is whether those deductions reported by The New York Times were excessive and possibly illegal; they enabled Trump to avoid millions of dollars in taxes.
It would be up to the IRS, which is auditing some of Trump’s returns, to decide whether the deductions are legitimate.
The agency defines an ordinary expense as one that’s common and accepted in a company’s trade or type of business.
According to the Times, Trump has treated some of his residences as businesses, in the process deducting millions of dollars.
Moreover, under the tax legislation Trump signed into law in 2017, he would have been limited to $10,000 a year in property tax deductions for 2018.