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Unicameral Update: But Wait! There's More!

September 07, 2024

By Korby M. Gilbertson, Radcliffe Gilbertson & Brady

Click here to read the news release from the Department of Revenue regarding LB34. The good news is that my explanation from yesterday seems to be spot on.  The bad news is that my explanation was spot on, and I probably didn't go into enough detail about the impact.  We felt that I should share the release with all of you and walk through the details.  

In a nutshell, the news release is true but not completely accurate. I would suggest reading through it and then reading it again while comparing with the following notes.

The first paragraph is true and accurate. LB34 does shift the property tax credit to a front-loaded credit from an income tax credit. The new front-loaded credit will begin with taxpayer's 2024 assessed property taxes.  

The second paragraph is true and mostly accurate. Taxpayers who never claimed the income tax credit will see relief for the first time. For taxpayers who had claimed the income tax credit, LB34 will offer a new form of relief. I dispute the use of the word "continue" because there is a gap in tax relief for 2023 assessed property taxes and that will never be able to be recaptured under LB34. 

Paragraph number three is true and accurate as it points out that folks will still need to claim a property tax credit on their income tax return for the credit for community college taxes. (So much for eliminating the need to file an income tax return to get property tax relief! Oops!)

Now we get to the two tables. You can ignore the numbers because they are just an example of a specific model that would only apply to a certain taxpayer (I'll share some other numbers later). The important data is to look at the flow of the tax system.  

  • The LB1107 graph leaves out an important step of the process as it only lists:  Property Tax Year / Deduction Date / Refund Timing. The actual process is Property Tax Year / Property Tax Payment Year / Deduction & Refund Year. 
    • 2023  Property Tax Year
    • 2024 Property Tax Payment Year for 2023 property taxes
    • 2025 Income tax deduction and Refund Year for 2023 property taxes
      • NOTE: The graph does not point out that taxes are being paid in 2024 for the 2023 Property Tax Year.
  • The LB34 graph magically removes any mention of those taxes assessed in 2023 and paid in 2024. Instead, they start with the 2024 Property Tax Year. With the new front-loading system, taxpayers will see how much they will save the following year when taxes become due.  
  • 2024 Property Tax Year assessment notices distributed in December 2024 will show a reduction in 2024 taxes.
  • 2025 Property Tax Payment Year for 2024 property taxes is when the tax reduction is realized.

These graphs illustrate the claim that taxpayers won't notice the loss of their 2023 Property Tax Year credits because they will still see some relief in 2025. Trust me, most of us will notice. Remember those property taxes you paid this year? There won't be any credit for them.

The final paragraph is again true but not accurate. All property taxpayers will see some benefit from LB34. However, the property tax credit enacted in LB34 will be funded by repealing, retroactively to January 1, 2024, the LB1107 income tax credit for 2023 property taxes. The state will see a windfall of more than $500 million in new income tax revenue from the elimination of the 2023 Property Tax Year credit that would have been claimed by taxpayers on their 2025 income tax return.

If you are like me and pay your property taxes as they come due or through your escrow account, you have paid the full amount for the 2023 tax year in 2024. You will not be receiving the expected 1107 credit, and your income taxes will be higher than you expected in 2025.  For those of you who prepaid your property taxes and were able to claim the 2023 tax year credit this year, congratulations!  

If you don't know how this will impact you or your business, I highly recommend checking in with a tax professional.  

All of this makes me think of Benjamin Franklin, who said, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

Oh, joy!