IRS: Homeowners can deduct pre-paid 2018 property taxes, but under limited circumstances

Income tax forms.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Internal Revenue Service announced Wednesday that under "certain circumstances," homeowners will be able to pre-pay their 2018 state and local property taxes and deduct them on their 2017 returns.

The new tax reform bill signed into law last week caps the amount of state and local taxes that can be deducted from income at $10,000, and while the bill is clear that income taxes can't be paid early, it's vague when it comes to property taxes, The Hill reports. The IRS announcement said that homeowners can prepay their 2018 property taxes if state laws allow them to be assessed before Dec. 31, 2017. The $10,000 cap goes into effect in 2018.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.