We prepaid 2018 property taxes before 31st dec 2017 but county has not cashed the check nor provided any receipt. I called montgomery county they say this is manually being processed so they don't know when. Is IRS allowing deductions on 2017 returns for 2018 property taxes? They put out a release on Dec 27 2017 that if 2018 tax bill is there then one can deduct. Here there is no tax bill so far.
In the normal situation the question of when you can deduct something is based on when you pay for it rather than when the check is cashed.
In the new tax law, prepayment of most taxes, however, was disallowed as a deduction. I believe that did not apply to property taxes, so you may be able to get away with it. But someone who knows this better should come along soon to clarify.
The IRS issue a clarification, the property tax had to be 'billed'. i.e. the town needed to have issued the amount due for the first half of the year. You couldn't just guess and pay 1/2 of you thought the bill would be. My town was preparing to send out the paper bill, but the system was already loaded, I could go on line and see the number for my bill. That let me pay it the last day in December and deduct it for 2017.
The problem here is that OP did not get a receipt. I got a receipt. Always get a receipt.
While a receipt is best, in this case a check with a date in December should suffice if the payment would be deductible with a receipt. As with anything that is date sensitive, I would have recommended mailing the payment with certified mail to document proof of mailing.
Ira Smilovitz, EA
The problem is that OP indicates "Here there is no tax bill so far".
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