Posted on 12/28/2017 6:47:15 AM PST by SoFloFreeper
Homeowners are lining up in droves at local tax collection offices, hoping for one last chance to take advantage of a major tax deduction before it is wiped out in the new year.
In Hempstead, town Tax Receiver Donald Clavin said "thousands" of people packed his office Tuesday trying to pay their 2018 property and school taxes a year in advance.
"This is almost chaotic," Oyster Bay Tax Receiver James Stefanich told Newsday . He said homeowners began lining up in the cold an hour before his office opened.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnewyork.com ...
Not a word in the Miami report about this MAINLY being an issue for high tax, liberal DemonRat states.
I thought people all want to pay higher taxes. The Polls told me so.
Blue states have been able to charge massive taxes to support their socialist spending programs. Expect to hear of cuts in services for the poor in 3,2,1...
the final laugh will be when the payments are deemed not deductable.
The dearth of folks sending checks for amounts in excess of their tax bills says otherwise, eh?
I already don’t itemize. This should be very nice...
Several people have told me that my state, KY, gets more government money than it puts in, compared to California. But that is because California gets so much of its money from the FedGov through SALT deductions.
Lets see how that works out for them now. :)
Gee, reduce taxes and people pay more was the platform for tax cuts...
Not exactly how that was supposed to work out.
shraudenfrude
My county posted the taxes due in 2018 on December 26 and I gave them info to withdraw the full year amount from my checking account. Cha-ching, $700 federal income tax savings. And no line to deal with.
NPR just claimed that the IRS is going to disallow this.
I read that the IRS actually said that. However, when I lived in CA I sometimes timed my property tax payments to adjust my deductions and never was questioned about it. Maybe because mine weren’t extraordinary high.
IRS has already ruled that if they were not assessed in 2017, they cannot be paid in advance for 2018.
That may negate some, as I don't think every state does an annual assessment.
One person deciding which year to take a deduction in won't attract attention. A "stampede" of people trying to sneak one last extra year of deduction will get some notice. I fear that Congress will update this law to retroactively prevent it.
Some states post the tax bill in the middle of the year. I normally get the year's bill in the middle of January. I think my county rushed the internet posting of the bill to this week to help people like me, although I don't know whether I checked in previous Decembers.
I don’t know their rationale but I think it may have something to do with whether the state’s real estate tax rolls are open for payment. IOW, they may take the stance you cannot pay ahead for a tax that is not due.
With the standard deduction set at 24K, one would have to have a lot of real estate tax, contributions, medical, and income taxes to be worried about this and also have to consider the tax bracket rates will be lower too.
Since auditing such a thing would be a nightmare, they may only take on the most egregious of the deduction scams. The selection program would have to examine whether itemized deductions jumped between TY 16 and TY17. Frankly were I making the call, I would not worry about it and just leave it to be picked up in the random audits done each year.
FAKE News, these are wealthy people in overtaxed states - the media is reporting this as if it affected 100% of the population and everyone would pay higher taxes....more media lies.
I may be wrong but there is a difference between what the IRS sees as a "tax billing" and a "tax billing based on an assessment"...in other words, some states do a billing for more than one year in advance, but do not do an "assessment" every year.
Kinda confusing and I have no claims to understanding all the intricacies of it.
In any event, I do not have the problem, as I am totally exempt from them, effective 1 Jan 2018, due to Combat Related Disability Rating re-evaluation and turning 66 years old.
Not a real problem in Alabama, anyway...as my tax bill for 80 acres, home, outbuildings, vehicles, etc, is only about $450.00.
Gee, reduce taxes and people pay more was the platform for tax cuts...
Not exactly how that was supposed to work out.
an
shraudenfrude
Not really this is for tax year 2017, and the new tax law does not go into effect until next year.
My wife had to get a new crown for a tooth and a root canal. She was not in pain, but our CPA said to do it for this year’s taxes.
We will probably pay the extra property tax this year.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.