Norton Says Congressional Budget Process Ironically Allows D.C. Homeowners to Avoid New Property Tax Deduction Cap
WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that in one of the great ironies of the onerous District of Columbia budget process, D.C. residents can prepay their 2018 property taxes by December 31, 2017, to avoid the $10,000 state and local tax deduction cap that takes effect next year. Congress requires the District to submit a complete budget before its fiscal year begins on October 1, which was set by Congress, for the upcoming fiscal year, which includes property assessments and property tax liabilities for the new federal fiscal year. According to the District’s Chief Financial Officer, Jeffrey DeWitt, D.C. taxpayers can now prepay property taxes online by going to D.C.’s Office of Tax and Revenue website at www.taxpayerservicecenter.com. The official opinion of D.C. Chief Financial Officer comes at a time when many D.C. homeowners will face significantly higher taxes because the new Republican tax bill limits the state and local tax deduction to $10,000.
“For the first time, we reap a sardonic advantage from the requirement that D.C. submit its entire budget to Congress for approval,” Norton said. “Congress has not yet ‘approved’ the local budget (it only uses D.C. appropriations to try to attach anti-home-rule riders), but D.C. has done its property assessments for fiscal year 2018. I encourage all D.C. homeowners, who already pay the highest federal taxes per capita in the nation, to consider taking advantage of prepaying their property taxes in order to claim a deduction on their 2017 return, but only after consulting with a tax expert.”
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