Maryland's most populous county took steps to allow residents to pay their property taxes early in response federal tax reform.
The Montgomery County Council approved emergency legislation allowing residents to prepay their 2018 real estate taxes by the end of this year to avoid the Trump/GOP tax plan that will cap real estate tax deduction. The bill passed by a 7-1 vote, with 1 person absent.
The tax legislation signed Friday by President Donald Trump greatly increases the standard deduction for most taxpayers, making it less likely that taxpayers can itemize their property taxes in 2018.
As a result, some tax advisers are recommending that people prepay their 2018 property taxes in 2017 to take advantage of the deduction before the changes take effect.
However, there is no guarantee the Internal Revenue Service will allow the prepaid taxes to be used as a deduction for income tax filing. They have not said whether they would accept the prepaying amount as the deduction.
More information can be found on the Montgomery County website.
