Tag: tax bill

What to know about the new tax bill limits in 2018

The GOP finally pushed through its tax package, and the reaction has been interesting to say the least. While some seem to love it (The Wall Street Journal said the bill is the best thing to ever happen to our economy), many others hate it. Regardless of how you feel about the bill, it is signed in now and it’s time to see how it affects you, as a homeowner, seller or buyer.
My friend Jay Vorhees at JVM Lending put together a blog detailing some main points about the GOP tax bill and how it may affect real estate. Here are the main thoughts:
1. Current homeowners will be grandfathered in and still allowed to deduct interest against $1 million of mortgage debt. In 2018, buyers will be limited to $750,000 and interest against home equity lines will not be deductible.
2. State and local tax deductions will be capped at $10,000. This will be difficult for people in California.
3. Standard deductions are doubling to $12,000 for single filers and to $24,000 for married filers, so many homeowners won’t have to deduct their interest and property taxes anymore.
4. We have no idea what exactly the bill will do for the market when all is said and done, but for now, we can expect the low-inventory, high-demand market to suffer in high-end areas down the road, while remaining neutral in the short term.
5. To fully understand the bill’s impact on you, see a CPA. Defer your commissions. And if you’re planning an out-of-state move, consider relocating to a low-tax state like Florida, Texas or Nevada.
I’d like to expand on #5 quickly – as Jay mentioned, there will be a new $10,000 cap on tax deductions starting in 2018. If you paid off your property taxes before January, you should be able to save thousands of dollars on that by avoiding the new rule for a year. And if you are planning a move out of the Bay Area to another part of California or another state, you should be consulting a realtor or a CPA to see what kind of savings you can get!

Supplemental property taxes can confuse a buyer

Have you recently purchased a home and been thrown off by getting bills about “supplemental property taxes?” Our friend Jay Vorhees at JVM Lending breaks it down for you:

Supplemental property taxes often create significant confusion for new homebuyers. When someone purchases a property in California, the County Assessor is required to immediately re-asses the property for property tax purposes. This re-assessment usually correlates to the purchase price and can take up to six months to complete.

JVM Supplemental property taxes

When a home is purchased, property taxes are usually based on the property tax bill of the current owner or seller. But usually, their property tax bill correlates to the price the seller paid for the property – often much less than the buyer is paying. Then, buyers mistakenly believe the property tax payment estimate when they purchase is an accurate reflection of their actual property tax. Usually, that’s false.

Anywhere from three months and beyond, buyers should expect a “supplemental tax bill” from the County Assessor. Even if a buyer has an escrow or impound account, they have to pay for the supplemental taxes, which can be sizable. As soon as a supplemental bill is received, a buyer should contact their loan servicer.

Also, when new buyers refinance into a new loan less than a year after a purchase, supplemental tax bills can cause confusion. Even if a borrower is refinancing into a lower rate, the housing payment can appear to increase. This is because lenders are basing the new housing payment on the new property tax liability, while borrowers are still basing their housing payment on the seller’s property tax liability, which is too low.