Throughout the term of the mortgage, an escrow account will hold funds for taxes and homeowners insurance. What Is An Escrow Account?This could include paying off the seller's mortgage, transferring funds to the seller, and paying any outstanding fees or taxes. Typically the seller would put a portion of the taxes prorated for the portion of the 2023 year that they owned the home into escrow at closing. Money paid into escrow is still your money, it only counts as property taxes paid when the county is actually paid. An escrow account is a third-party account that holds a good faith deposit payment for the house, which eventually goes towards the downpayment of the house. Warning: Don't pay the seller until you contact the Tax Department. We'll check to see if the seller owes any taxes. After the sale is final, many homeowners use escrow accounts to manage their ongoing property taxes. Generally, the seller will pay a prorated amount for the time they've lived in the space since the beginning of the new tax year.