Los Angeles County residents rush to pay property taxes before 2018

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- With news that the GOP tax bill will cap the deduction on property taxes at $10,000, many spent the holiday week rushing to pre-pay before the first of the year.

The Los Angeles County tax collector has seen a 300 percent increase in mail-in and online payments in these final weeks of 2017.

There were four boxes of mail this time last year in the tax collector's office. On Wednesday, there were 14.

"We are getting a number of phone calls into our office. People asking about how quickly we process payments. About 300 percent of where we'd normally see this time of year. It's usually a little quieter," said Keith Knox, the Chief Deputy Treasurer and Tax Collector.

Robert Meneses paid his property taxes early in person Wednesday after being advised to do so by his accountant.

"I'm worried that I am going to lose money because of Trump's tax plan and my deductions far exceed the $10,000, so that's problematic for me. I'm going to have to find another way to get some deductions somehow and that's what I'm going to do," said Meneses.

Brandon Dunn also paid early Wednesday. He said he isn't as worried.

"I don't believe we're losing out on anything. I'm a business owner so we're going to get somewhere in the ballpark of a 20 percent reduction on our overall taxes which should allow me to hire a new employee, so I think the offset is good," said Dunn.

All taxpayers are urged to check with their accountant to make sure paying early makes sense.

The L.A. County tax collector encourages anyone looking to pay their property taxes before the end of the year to pay online. The site is lacountypropertytax.com