It's a numbers crunch every end of the year, but the president's tax bill has Nevadans frantically rushing to get their taxes done and make changes before the clock strikes midnight on Monday. Reno CPA Melvin S. Ray has never seen anything like it…the public response to the biggest U.S. tax rewrite since 1986. He told us, "We've been busy with phone calls, people calling trying to understand the new tax law.”
Mr. Ray is all about taxes…even his office number in Village at Lakeridge is suite 10-40. As he tells it, "When we signed up for our lease, we called up the owner of the company and asked if we could get it, and they said yes."
He, like other Nevada accountants, are working overtime…scrambling to help out all the taxpayers, who are scrambling themselves to pay off their 2017 taxes before the end of the year…before the new tax bill takes effect and sharply cuts their deductions. Ray says, "If their tax bracket is higher, they want to pay expenses this year. If their tax bracket is not high, then they should be OK."
Looking around his office, you can see Mel is not your typical certified public accountant. He's the creative type, but you can't be very creative with these new rules. You have until Sunday, with your check dated December 31st and sent to where they're due, to pay your property and sales taxes to claim the former full deduction. Homeowners especially are rushing this week to pay their property taxes. And so are newcomers here from California, on the hook for state income taxes. Ray says, "If they pay it off this year they can write it off 100%. If they pay next year they might not be able to write it off."
Because most clients are lining up to prepay taxes ahead of the 10k cap, he's working hard this holiday week. It's the same story across town with financial consultant Bruce Seidel of Life Focused Financial, who has the same advice: "If you pay it this year, you're going to be a lot better off!"
The average American who itemized in 2015 claimed over $27,000 in deductions. Though the new law caps the amount you can deduct from your federal tax bill at $10,000, it also doubles a standard deduction that does not require itemization. He says that is something to take advantage of. But first and foremost, Seidel says "Consult your tax advisor…super important. They're going to be really busy too so have patience when you call them, they may not be able to talk to you right away."
