New law causes rush to prepay property taxes, but you can’t in Sedgwick County

Some homeowners are rushing to pay off their 2018 property taxes early, but residents of Sedgwick County don’t have that option.

The county has received about 200 inquiries about whether people can prepay their 2018 property taxes in response to the Republican tax code overhaul signed into law last week.

The law now includes a $10,000 cap on the amount of state and local taxes people can deduct on their federal returns, which could cost some homeowners thousands of dollars. The new law does not allow people to prepay income taxes, but did not say the same for property taxes.

Some states with high taxes and property values saw a rush of people paying their taxes early, The Washington Post reported.

However, the IRS clarified Wednesday that prepayment of anticipated property taxes that were not assessed before 2018 are not deductible when paying 2017 income taxes.

In Sedgwick County, 2018 property taxes will be assessed in March 2018, after that deadline.

The county issued a news release Thursday saying 2018 property taxes can’t be prepaid in Sedgwick County at all.

However, residents may pay their full 2017 property taxes prior to Dec. 31, 2017, in order to receive a deduction. Normally those payments are due in two installments, on Dec. 20, 2017 and May 10, 2018. The full amount can be paid in person before 5 p.m. Friday or online by Dec. 31, 2017 at 11:59 p.m.

This story was originally published December 28, 2017 at 1:37 PM with the headline "New law causes rush to prepay property taxes, but you can’t in Sedgwick County."