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Article snippet: In Hempstead, a Long Island town where the typical property tax bill tops $10,000, residents have lined up all week to prepay those taxes for next year. They have been trying to save thousands of dollars before the new federal tax bill, which goes into effect on New Year’s Day, sharply limits deductions for state and local taxes. But late on Wednesday, the Internal Revenue Service issued new guidance that those people may not be able to save the money after all, because a loophole that they were hoping to exploit might be narrower than thought. So when Donald X. Clavin Jr., Hempstead’s receiver of taxes, showed up to work Thursday morning, the lines were still there — but residents had fresh questions. Mr. Clavin had few answers. “Everybody on line, they’re going, ‘Don, are we going to be able to do this?’ ” Mr. Clavin said. “And I can’t give them a yes or a no.” The new tax bill, and its $10,000 cap on all local and state tax deductions, has generated a variety of strong emotions — including anxiety and frustration — in places like Hempstead. By Thursday, however, that stew of emotions had been replaced by utter confusion, as well as rage, including among people who had shelled out money only to discover that they might not get any benefit. This week’s tax-prepayment roller coaster could be just the beginning. Republicans pushed through their tax overhaul at blistering speed, giving lawyers and accountants only about a week to study the bill before it goes into ... Link to the full article to read more