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Alameda County Treasurer-Tax Collector Henry Levy reminded taxpayers, especially residential homeowners, to consider paying the second installment of their property taxes for the 2017-18 fiscal year by this weekend to avoid potential drawbacks of the new Republican tax plan.
The due date isn’t until Feb. 1 — and the tax won’t be delinquent until April 10 — but the new federal tax regulations will limit the amount of the itemized deduction for paid property taxes as of Jan. 1.
Many people are seeking to make the payment early after the Republican-controlled Congress passed a tax bill earlier this month that placed a $10,000 limit on deductions for state and local taxes starting in 2018. The deduction was previously unlimited.
The IRS confirmed Wednesday that those who pre-pay their second property tax installments before Dec. 31 may claim a deduction for that pre-payment on their 2017 tax return in certain circumstances.
Whether a taxpayer is allowed a deduction for the pre-payment of the local taxes in 2017 depends on whether the taxpayer makes the payment in 2017 and the real property taxes are assessed prior to 2018.
Taxpayers can use all the payment options that are usually available, with Levy’s office recommending payment through the internet via a bank transfer. Payments can also be made by cash, check or credit card. Visit www.acgov.org/propertytax or call 510-272-6800.
Editor’s note: Information from the Bay City News Service was used in this report.
Editor’s note: Information from the Bay City News Service was used in this report.
I so enjoy it when public officials insert their political beliefs and biased thinking into official communications like the above.
If California taxes weren’t nearly so high in all areas, perhaps the new tax bill would not create the problem homeowners now face.
Low tax states do not have people rushing in to pre-pay property taxes. Why do you suppose that is? (Hint: The Alameda County Treasurer-Tax Collector is unable to correctly answer this question.)
Anonymous posters are biased!
Prove to me your name is really Michael Austin.
Scroll down and read my post regarding spare the air days speeds up global warming!!!
@Biased :”I so enjoy it when public officials insert their political beliefs and biased thinking into official communications like the above.”
Nothing biased about advising people to pay all their property taxes in 2017 if they’re a California resident and they itemize their tax deductions. That’s just good advice. It would be wise to take that advice and foolish not to.
I didn’t see a bias. I just saw instructions on how to claim a deduction. What did you see?
I’m going to prepare mine today. Looks like we are going to pay our fair share that Obama always talked about. All in all I did my taxes on a dry run and with the new tax law I will get more of my money back. So I’m happy with the changes and I think others will be as well.
@Pete
I doubt that most people in a relatively high income city like Pleasanton will make out as well as you did due to the Trump tax plan’s limit on state and local tax deductions and mortgage interest deductions.
Pete,
Well I bought a while back so my PT taxes aren’t as high as others I guess. My income is high but as a small business owner I qualify as a pass through account so see a reduction there as well. I’ve googled the tax plan and have spoken to my brothers in law (both are tax CPA’s) and there are actually some very good things in the bill and it cleans up a lot of past problems. Makes things much simpler for preparation and simple going through the year in terms of paying taxes quarterly.
I think we have been gaming the system for years for being able to deduction are state, local, and property taxes and feel there should have been a limit all along. I think it will force us to start running our state more effectively.
BobB,
Don’t know what type of business you are in but pay attention in February to the payroll tax deduction. That should help you as well.
@Pete
I think that the Federal government can hardly complain about the Federal income tax revenue that they were collecting from California even with the state and local deductions. California, and many other blue states such as New York which will be hit by the loss of state and local deductions, are “net givers” to the Federal budget. We contribute many more tax dollars to the Federal government than we get back through Federal programs. Under the Trump tax plan, we will become even greater “net givers” to the Federal budget. States which are “net takers” from the Federal budget – states which are predominately red states, btw – will become even greater “net takers” under the Trump tax plan.
Sam,
California and New York are the big givers because they have the most people plain and simple. I’m not sure the giver and taker thing is a good argument anyway. WE have chose to make it worse by taxing ourselves even more to support projects which are bloated and have no return. Again, this is a good opportunity for us to run our state better. Its our issue plain and simple. If we want to pay a lot then we should keep doing the same things we are doing. If not, we need to plot a different course.
@Pete :”California and New York are the big givers because they have the most people plain and simple. ”
Well, not quite that simple. Yes, more people in a state means more Federal income tax revenue but more people in a state also means more opportunities for greater Federal spending (e.g., highways, military bases, Federal programs).
I know that California income taxes are high and, despite the fact that many of our taxes will go up under the Trump tax plan, having some more pressure limiting future California tax increases is a silver lining in all this. Would also like to see California introduce a very low capital gains tax rather than just taxing capital gains as income as they do now.
Crimany sakes…
California/New York/Illinois (deep blue states) have been benefiting from federal tax rates due to being able to deduct our property taxes. We’ve essentially been doing this to the detriment of all the other states.
Now follow me here libs: the State of California is a high tax state, meaning that our supposed betters in Sacramento just keep piling on the taxes because 1.) we have a democratic majority that has no fiscal responsibility 2.) we have a democrat majority populace that cannot and will not vote against any stupid proposition that raises our taxes at either the state or local level and most importantly 3.) Because we shift or tax burden to the feds in the form of the property tax deduction, which means #1 and 2 can continue on in perpetuity.
Now the gig is up!
I don’t want to hear any complaining of this cut in the deduction from ANY democrat/lib. You have continued to make this state one of the high tax states in the US and what the heck do we have to show for it?
Go ahead, keep voting for more taxes.
Poor infrastructure, poor schools, train to no-where…etc.
Just shut up and take your medicine.
Oh, btw, after looking at the tax calculators I’ll be fine come February. I’m betting that the complainers on this thread will too.
Thanks President Trump and the Republican led congress.
BTW, I think its hysterical that the same dems/libs taking the new plan to task are looking for any and all loopholes to avoid paying “their fair share”.
Hypocrites.
Sam,
and that is exactly why the politicians in Sacramento are beginning to squeal. I think we will see how much waste there is in our process. I wouldnt refer to it as the Trump tax plan because it is not, he wanted corporate tax at 15% and only 3 brackets with minimal deductions. This is more a house and senate plan.
If you earn the average income for a Pleasanton resident and live in the average valued house your tax bill will be going up. I have used all of the calculators and they indicate a tax increase for me. It is unconscionable that the feds cap state tax deductions and create double taxation. While you might not be getting that value that you want for your state tax expenditures the states clearly have the constitutional right to levy an income tax and control taxes at the state level. The feds on the other hand are continuing their encroachment on states rights and pursuing their agenda of federal control of our economic resources. The idea that the feds should collect an income tax from state residents and then dole out money to the states and conduct economic engineering is antithetical to the principals of the constitution. The fed was supposed to be limited in scope and to rely on excise taxes. People were to have the option to live in a state that creates the economic environment that they want. I’m in favor of lower state taxes and more responsible spending but this is not going to make it happen. Soon we will have full federal control of everything and no options.
Mike,
That is the choice we have made for ourselves. We voted for trains to nowhere, tunnels under the Delta, high taxes, high regulations, school bonds (2) maybe 3, BART bonds, 1 dollar per gallon gas taxes, Medi Cal etc and it has a price. I have never understood why we could create high state and local taxes and then write it off against our federal return. I personally view this as us paying our fair share of the tax burden. I am fortunate in that I will benefit from this but even if it negatively impacted me I would not complain. I do have one complaint. Our 2 elected Senators, Feinstein and Harris refused to even attend any of the tax workshops, not one.
@Pete :”I have never understood why we could create high state and local taxes and then write it off against our federal return. I personally view this as us paying our fair share of the tax burden. ”
You do realize that when we deduct state and local taxes on our Federal income tax returns that we don’t “write off” the full burden of those taxes onto the Federal government, right? Rather, our effective income is reduced by the amount of those deductions and so we don’t have to pay the marginal Federal income tax rate on the deducted amount. In effect, as Mike pointed out, we are not double-taxed by both the state and the Federal government on our full income. You make it sound that since we “write off” (i.e., get deductions) for our state taxes that we don’t actually bear any burden for paying any state and local taxes but shovel the whole responsibility off onto the Federal government, but that’s not true.
I’m saying we shouldn’t be dumping off ANY burden to the feds. Funny how libs want high taxes until they have to pay isn’t? Then the complaining and trying to figure out how to reduce their paying starts. If we want high taxes then we should pay it and not complain.
@Pete, libs don’t necessarily want high taxes, we want everyone to pay their fair share. That includes the top 1%. This bill does not even come close to doing that. The new bill will cost me between $20,000 and $30,000 the first year. And that is without having any mortgages or equity loans to lose the deductions for. I am restructuring all of my business and moving most of it out of the state. Time to stop paying my share as well as the share for many others. Property taxes to educate kids I don’t have, the list goes on and on. trump and his cronies have started something that most people have no idea about, it will get worse before getting better. I plan to prepare for that.
@Pete
Californians, who already contribute more Federal income taxes to the Federal budget than taxpapers of any other state, are “burdening” the Federal government by not paying even more taxes? Sounds like a panhandler claiming that he is being “burdened” by the fact that someone is not giving him even more money. Congratulations, Pete. You’re speaking just like one of those true liberals who you so much like to mock. Mull over the irony of that.
no name chosen. If you are paying an additional 30K in taxes based on this plan you are part of the 1%. Moving our of state won’t lessen your federal tax burden.
We don’t deduct our state taxes from our federal taxes. We deduct our state taxes from our income before we calculate our federal taxes. Otherwise we would be paying income taxes on money that we never got as income since it was paid in state taxes. The concept of double taxation is well known and generally not considered to be a fair practice. Eliminating the state tax deduction is a money grab by the feds. I don’t know why people some don’t see this.
What gets me is why the personal deduction isn’t high enough to allow for a minimum standard of living before you have to pay taxes. People making $50,000 and under are paying income taxes when they need that money to pay rent. But with this new law they removed the personal deduction completely. When the income tax was first applied in 1913 it was 1% on the top 1%. Now thanks to inflation and the failure of the government to make adjustments poor people pay income tax. Most people have no sense of history and don’t realize this.
They increased the standard deduction with this new tax law but if you itemize that doesn’t help you at all. My itemizations are double the standard deduction. On top of that they have capped interest deductions for mortgages at $750,000 when the average house in Pleasanton is $1 million. Wether you like them or not mortgage interest and capital gains deductions were concessions to the middle class that is getting ripped by the income tax laws.
Our representatives were not working for us when this tax law passed. All Kamala Harris writes about in her emails is protecting the rights of immigrants, and not a word about protecting the rights of citizens.
Sam,
Since you were not born in the this country I will explain it to you once more. Californians pay more in taxes to the feds because………..we have more people than any other state. Got it? Very simple.
Secondly, I think the best thing would be a consumption tax of say 30% on all goods consumed. The only tax. I would also like to see mandatory bring freezes and 30% budgets cuts on governmental personnel.
Looks like I’m getting a small tax increase. The final bill wasn’t as much of an increase as the initial tax bill.
Initial tax bill from the House of Representatives.
“I wouldnt refer to it as the Trump tax plan because it is not, he wanted corporate tax at 15% and only 3 brackets with minimal deductions. This is more a house and senate plan.”
I agree.
“If you earn the average income for a Pleasanton resident and live in the average valued house your tax bill will be going up. I have used all of the calculators and they indicate a tax increase for me. ”
For me too.
But then, I’m not sure why we’ve been deducting state and local taxes from federal income taxes in the first place. I don’t understand the logic in that. I’d say the same for the mortgage interest deduction and the capital gains tax exemption on the first $500,000 from the sale of an owner occupied house. I think those things do more damage by distorting the market for houses than benefit from making home ownership more accessible.
Unfortunately, I made financial plans based on the old rules, and I’ll be getting screwed now. My taxes won’t be getting any simpler (wasn’t this supposed to be a simplification?), but they will be going up. Seems more like politics as usual — reward your friends, punish your enemies.