Prepaid 2018 property taxes

[dtlee]

Here in our county in NYS, the 2018 town/county taxes were assessed and billed on or before December 29. We did have several thousand people at various towns pre-pay their taxes. To avoid the problem mentioned below, no payments were accepted before the 29th. Based on the statement by the IRS, I will not have a problem deducting these payments on the 2017 return.

Will,

Some open questions still remain in my head.

For example, my understanding is that Monroe County prepared their bills on 12/29 and posted also them on their website. If a taxpayer sent in a payment prior to that, will the county, based on the postmark, return the payment or accept it? If they accept it, was it paid prior to the assessment? Dutchess County supposedly prepared the warrants on the date the executive order was signed but did not mail them until 12/29. If that is true, none of their constituents will know what is due until January unless they went to the town office. If they sent an approximate amount and it was accepted, we will still need a receipt to see how much was applied to the assessed tax and whether any of it was returned.

[Will]

Good questions, Doug. Yes, the bills were posted on the website on the 28th and we could print them (to make paying easier on the 29th). Taxpayers would not know exactly how much is due prior to the 28th and, as I said, towns would not accept in-person payments until the 29th. Even though I may not be 100% correct, I'm going to allow the deduction as long as I see an official printed receipt marked paid and dated prior to 01/01/2018. If it was paid by mail, they will receive the receipt in a week or two and I'll use that as long as it means the conditions mentioned.

[JohnH]

What I failed to understand were the stories about people in areas where the payment was clearly deductible standing in long lines at the assessor's office on Friday to pay their tax bills. Each one of them probably drove by a half-dozen post office on the way to the county office building when a 49 cent stamp would have saved them the aggravation. Or they could have sprung for priority mail for about $6 so they'd have a tracking number. The news media folks report just enough to get people stirred up without actually giving out reliable information.

[ATSMAN]

What I failed to understand were the stories about people in areas where the payment was clearly deductible standing in long lines at the assessor's office on Friday to pay their tax bills. Each one of them probably drove by a half-dozen post office on the way to the county office building when a 49 cent stamp would have saved them the aggravation. Or they could have sprung for priority mail for about $6 so they'd have a tracking number. The news media folks report just enough to get people stirred up without actually giving out reliable information.

I think tax payers get a sense of accomplishment when they walk out with a date stamped tax receipt. Also in many jurisdictions the actual bills were not out so you actually had to collect your 2018 bill at the county assessors office to get the amount to pre-pay.

[dtlee]

Sorry about the "perjorative remarks" you somehow felt directed at your own obviously successful kitchen table tax business. (I don't know where that umbrage came from.) But we all now have a better insight into your curriculum vitae, so my full and complete apologies are hereby extended!! Guess I need to avoid any similar references to "Joe the Plumber" et al??

No offense was taken. We all have our biases and my bias is that our leaders are idiots for doing this to us at the last possible moment (when they could have started a lot earlier if they had any concern for their constituents) which you apparently found offensive. I probably should apologize for that statement too since most idiots have more respect for others.

What I failed to understand were the stories about people in areas where the payment was clearly deductible standing in long lines at the assessor's office on Friday to pay their tax bills. Each one of them probably drove by a half-dozen post office on the way to the county office building when a 49 cent stamp would have saved them the aggravation. Or they could have sprung for priority mail for about $6 so they'd have a tracking number.

Regarding why people stood on line, if they are like my clients, they have in the past mailed the checks on December 20, watched them clear their bank by December 27 and received a receipt showing that they did not pay until January 10. Getting these clerks to properly credit payment receipt based on the postmark date is difficult, especially after they have issued an incorrect receipt. Yes, there is other proof, but many people want to have a properly dated receipt and the only way to do that is to stand in line.

[kathyc2]

Some states are looking to replace state income tax with a charitable contribution to state, which would then receive a credit against state tax liability. Interesting article for those interested: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/31/b...imes&smtyp=cur