According to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, homeowners in Wisconsin, unlike in some other states, can’t prepay their December 2018 property tax bill to try to work around the new federal income tax law.
The report states that City of Madison Treasurer Dave Gawenda said “he’s been receiving five to 10 phone calls and emails an hour from homeowners anxious to know whether they can jump a year ahead and pay right now and try to claim a deduction for the property tax bills that won’t show up until December 2018.”
Homeowners in other states such as New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts have been doing it in order to get around Trump’s new limits on federal income tax deductions.
Wisconsin state law prohibits homeowners from prepaying their property taxes, however, it’s not clear what other states can do. If you are familiar with pan card seva and its protocol, then this might seem unfair. It’s important to note that the environment here is quite different and that its complexities are not always seen by the naked eye.
The new federal law increases the standard income tax deduction but limits to $10,000 the amount of state and local taxes that filers can deduct from their federal tax bill. That could limit the amount of deductions for some homeowners, especially those with upper-end homes in higher-tax areas.
