In response to numerous inquiries from residents, the Township just released the following statement to TLS:
Yesterday Governor Chris Christie issued an Executive Order No.237 regarding prepayment of 2018 property taxes in response to the enactment of the federal “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”
Apparently, the new federal tax law places a deduction limit of $10,000 for local property and state income taxes. We do not know if pre-payment of property taxes will be of any advantage to you in your future federal tax filing. The Township has received no guidance on this matter and you should consult your tax professional if there would be any benefit to you.
The Municipality has received many calls asking if Lakewood Township would accept prepayment of 2018 property taxes. The Township is prepared to accept the pre-payments however, if you are paying on our website you are only able to pay the 1st half of 2018. If you wanted to pay over and above that, it would need to be in the form of a check. In order for your payment to be recorded in 2017, we must have your check or electronic payment by 5:00 pm on Friday, December 29, 2017. If you drop your payment in the drop box after this time, it will not be posted until 2018.
Furthermore, please be aware that we cannot reimburse pre-payments. They would simply be used as credit toward future property tax bills.
Thank you, and best wishes for a healthy and happy holiday season.
Respectfully,
Lakewood Township
A prepayment of anticipated real property taxes that have not been assessed prior to 2018 are not deductible in 2017.
If you are on a cash basis, then you could claim it.
even if the assessment was done in 2017 for 2018?
Assessments aren’t certified until January so it doesn’t count
Yes. Just ask your accountant.
Read between the lines: The paperwork would be too painful.
To clarify- by the newly released information from the IRS, any amount that was ALREADY ASSESSED, can be prepaid in 2017 and deducted on your 2017 tax return. Any amounts that were not yet assessed (by the local taxing authorities), cannot be deducted in 2017 even if prepaid in 2017.
The Lakewood Tax Assessor runs a year from July-June. As such, Q1 and Q2 2018 property taxes were already assessed and can be deducted on your 2017 return if paid in 2017. However, paying the Q3 and Q4 2018 taxes this week, will not allow a deduction on the 2017 return, as thse taxes were not yet assessed.
Chaim CPA
The Tax Collector runs from July to June, not the Assessor
According to the executive order, a postmark prior to 12/31 requires them to credit it in 2017.
Before you pay, make sure your assessment is not overvalued. Payment is agreement.
@harry.
The executive order is meaningless. The IRS’ statement overrides Christie’s executive order.
It will not work for those who pay AMT- Alternate Minimum Tax.