Milton Backtracks On Property Tax Prepayments

MILTON, GA — An advisory issued earlier this week from the IRS about prepayment of property taxes has forced the city of Milton to backtrack on its plans to allow citizens to pay ahead of time to avoid a deduction limit as part of the 2017 Tax Reform Bill.

The city on Friday, Dec. 22 sent a community update about the subject after receiving questions from residents about making prepayments so they could avoid the $10,000 limit included in the legislation recently signed by President Donald Trump.

Milton said that while the payment of future tax bills "initially appeared appropriate," the IRS issued an advisory on Wednesday, which said "prepayment of anticipated real property taxes that have not been assessed prior to 2018 are not deductible in 2017."

"State or local law determines whether and when a property tax is assessed, which is generally when the taxpayer becomes liable for the property tax imposed," the advisory notes.

Based on the advisory, the city will stop taking overpayments and will refund any previously made payments to citizens.

"We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion," the city added. "However, we believed it was important to act on the information available at that time, and to err on the side of the taxpayer rather than risk our residents being unable to take advantage of a possible tax deduction."

Residents are encouraged to consult your CPA or tax counsel for additional guidance. The Milton Finance Department will process refunds by the end of the business day on Friday, Dec. 29.

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