If you haven't paid your property taxes already - here's why you may want to this week:
Bottom Line: Many folks are inclined to pay property taxes early in South Florida as many local governments offer incentives to do so (often a slight break on your property tax bill). That being said, if you aren't inclined to pay your property tax bill until it's due in 2018 - the new tax law could offer added motivation for you to do so. Currently about 32% of us itemize taxes. That means that about a third of us are using our property taxes as a tax deduction. Next year, according to my initial estimate, only about 6% of us will have a reason to itemize taxes. That means that more than one in four people could benefit by paying property taxes before Monday.
The new tax law nearly doubled the standard deduction while limiting state and local deductions to $10,000. That's the catalyst for the dramatic drop in the need to itemize taxes next year. While more people in higher taxed states will be impacted, as compared to Floridians, those of us in South Florida - with the highest property taxes in the state are likely to be the most impacted in our state. All South Florida counties are in the top five for highest property taxes in the state. Here are the current averages:
- Monroe County: $2,793
- Palm Beach County: $2,562
- Miami-Dade: $2,453
- Broward: $2,340
If you're among the 26% of people who'll be itemizing your 2017 taxes but won't have a reason to in 2018 - you'd benefit by paying your property taxes now and taking the tax deduction rather than waiting and not benefiting from the deduction in 2018.