Prepay Your Property Taxes? It Depends

You’ve probably seen or heard news reports about prepaying 2018 state and local real estate taxes in reaction to the recently-passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

With this new legislation, beginning in 2018, taxpayers will be allowed to deduct up to $10,000 of state and local taxes paid, including property taxes and either income taxes or sales taxes. The bill will preserve the deduction for existing home mortgages and cap it at $750,000 for newly purchased homes starting January 1, 2018. The plan will also end the deduction for interest on home equity loans.

So, can you prepay your 2018 real estate taxes in 2017? Yes, and no. If you live in Montgomery or Bucks counties in Pennsylvania, the answer is “No.” Montgomery County has posted the following statement on their website:

The county has received a number of inquiries from individuals seeking to prepay their 2018 county real estate taxes. While the county understands and supports these efforts, Montgomery County is not permitted under Pennsylvania Law to accept such prepayments. Unlike Philadelphia, Delaware, and Allegheny counties, which are governed by Home Rule charters and thus permitted to allow the prepayment of taxes, Montgomery County, as well as Bucks, Chester, and other counties which are not Home Rule, must work within the confines of the tax collection requirements imposed by the Commonwealth. As these requirements explicitly prohibit the prepayment of real estate taxes, Montgomery County is prohibited from accepting 2018 real estate taxes until after the first of the year.

If you pay property taxes in a region where prepayment is permitted, you may only do so if you’ve received your 2018 tax assessment, as this article from Yahoo Finance explains:

But many residents trying to avoid that deduction limit on their state and local taxes will be disappointed: the IRS on Wednesday announced that taxpayers can prepay their 2018 property taxes only if they have already received a tax assessment from their local government and they make payment by the end of the year.

As always, we are here to help. If you have any questions, or would like to discuss your tax plan for 2018, please contact us online or call 215-723-4881.