Princeton Collected $25 Million In Prepaid Taxes, Mayor Says

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton residents filed a total of $25 million in prepaid property taxes and sewer charges before Dec. 31, 2017, Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert confirmed in an email to Patch on Wednesday. The prepaid taxes are for 2018. Typically, the town sees about $2 million in prepaid taxes annually, but changes in the federal tax code and an executive order by the governor lead to the onslaught of early filings.

Residents across the state were hoping to prepay their taxes after the federal tax bill signed into law in December limited the deduction for state and local taxes -- including property taxes -- to $10,000. They were looking to prepay their taxes in an effort to maximize their state and local tax deduction for 2017.

Gov. Chris Christie even signed an executive order directing the Division of Local Government to notify municipalities to accept payments for 2018 property taxes in calendar year 2017, and require them to credit those payments if the payments are postmarked on or before Dec. 31, 2017.

Although officials initially said all payments must be received by Dec. 28, and the municipal building was closed for the last three days of the year, municipal employees put in overtime to help process the tax payments, Lempert said. They even worked on the days in which the municipal office was closed.

Most Princeton residents prepaid their taxes for the first and second quarter of 2018, although some made payments for their projected third and fourth quarter taxes, as well.

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