Are There Benefits to Prepaying Your Property Taxes in the U.S.?

The new tax law has changed the answer

Q: Can you prepay property taxes in the U.S. and are there benefits to doing so?

A: Although there was a lot of talk about prepaying property taxes at the end of 2017, just after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed, doing so now is basically "a waste of time," said Roy Greenberg, a lawyer in East Hampton, New York. But now, with the new $10,000 cap on all state-and-local taxes, most people in high-tax states will have already maxed out their deductions, according to Mr. Greenberg. 

In addition, no one knows what the local property taxes will be from year to year, he said. The rate is set after the annual budget is determined, and homeowners generally get a bill at the beginning of December for the next year’s taxes."It used to make sense, so you could get a bigger tax deduction," he said. For instance, homeowners might pay their taxes in one lump sum at the end of the year, instead of half now, half later, to get the full deduction on that year’s income tax bill.