[karenc60548]

Curious as to anyone's opinion on Arkansas tax system. I've heard both good and bad, have read some people have left because of the "crazy bad" taxes there, yet I've read articles that say residents enjoy much lower taxes. I understand they have personal property taxes, are they really that bad? We don't have personal property tax in Illinois, yet we're being taxed to death up here. The last article I read suggested a vehicle assessed at $20,000 would likely cost $600 a year in personal property tax...is that even correct? We're heading into our retirement years and I want to make sure we don't put ourselves in a worse situation overall.

[karenc60548]

Anyone care to share their opinion on Arkansas taxes? I've heard they're actually unreasonably high. Is that true? Coming from Illinois where we're being taxed to death, I can't imagine it being worse there. I do understand the whole personal property tax thing, though I don't know exactly how it works, but being that we don't have expensive "toys" like boats or RVs, and don't have any plans to acquire any. I'm just wondering how bad can it be? Our newest vehicle is a 2017 Ford Escape that I bought used last summer and a pretty basic model at that. Just curious what to expect. We want to try and move possibly later this year or early next.

[Hollynla]

Originally Posted by karenc60548

Curious as to anyone's opinion on Arkansas tax system. I've heard both good and bad, have read some people have left because of the "crazy bad" taxes there, yet I've read articles that say residents enjoy much lower taxes. I understand they have personal property taxes, are they really that bad? We don't have personal property tax in Illinois, yet we're being taxed to death up here. The last article I read suggested a vehicle assessed at $20,000 would likely cost $600 a year in personal property tax...is that even correct? We're heading into our retirement years and I want to make sure we don't put ourselves in a worse situation overall.

A vehicle assessed at 20K will depend on where you live, but no it's no where near that much. My son lives in Bentonville and his is about $200 the first year for a 30K vehicle and it will reduce each year. Where I live, it's lower, I have 5 vehicles, and it is around $450 a year.

Property taxes are very cheap here, but it also depends on where you live in the state, in or out of city limits, etc.

[TRex2]

Originally Posted by karenc60548

Anyone care to share their opinion on Arkansas taxes? I've heard they're actually unreasonably high. Is that true? Coming from Illinois where we're being taxed to death, I can't imagine it being worse there. I do understand the whole personal property tax thing, though I don't know exactly how it works, but being that we don't have expensive "toys" like boats or RVs, and don't have any plans to acquire any. I'm just wondering how bad can it be? Our newest vehicle is a 2017 Ford Escape that I bought used last summer and a pretty basic model at that. Just curious what to expect. We want to try and move possibly later this year or early next.

Arkansas has an income tax, a property tax, a personal property tax, and sales tax.

The only one that you don't have in IL is personal property tax.
Your property tax here is likely to be about half of what you pay in IL.

Personal property tax, were your vehicle actually assessed at 20k you would pay more than $600, but in all likelihood they will assess it less, which is why most people will say it isn't that much. I wold have to know the make, model and year to ask at the court house.

Income tax here has several exemptions, and I fit a couple of them
(retired military) so I don't actually know the rate, to compare to IL.

We would have to sit all the apples on the counter to compare apples to apples.

The last person I heard complaining about the taxes here
got back in his personal airplane and flew out of here

[Hollynla]

Originally Posted by TRex2

Arkansas has an income tax, a property tax, a personal property tax, and sales tax.

The only one that you don't have in IL is personal property tax.
Your property tax here is likely to be about half of what you pay in IL.

Personal property tax, were your vehicle actually assessed at 20k you would pay more than $600, but in all likelihood they will assess it less, which is why most people will say it isn't that much. I wold have to know the make, model and year to ask at the court house.

Income tax here has several exemptions, and I fit a couple of them
(retired military) so I don't actually know the rate, to compare to IL.

We would have to sit all the apples on the counter to compare apples to apples.

The last person I heard complaining about the taxes here
got back in his personal airplane and flew out of here

As for Illionois property tax, from what I've heard, it's ridiculously high so ours is probably far less than half. I remember some paying over $10K/year for an average house.

[explorearkansas]

I live in Central Illinois. My property tax is comparable to Baxter County. Wait a year before making comparisons to Illinois as Il is actively considering
1. Doubling the income tax again.
2. 40 cents per gallon gasoline tax.
3. Starting to tax 401K retirement funds.

[Hollynla]

Originally Posted by explorearkansas

I live in Central Illinois. My property tax is comparable to Baxter County. Wait a year before making comparisons to Illinois as Il is actively considering
1. Doubling the income tax again.
2. 40 cents per gallon gasoline tax.
3. Starting to tax 401K retirement funds.

Gotcha, maybe I'm thinking of a different "I" state. Indiana maybe? not sure now.

[karenc60548]

Thanks all for the responses, very helpful! Illinois is really a mess with all the proposed tax increases. And, yes there are average homes with property taxes well over $10,000/year. Of course the closer to Chicago you get, the higher it is. I know my one brother who lived in the Chicago burbs was paying around $6,000/year for his place nearly 20 years ago and it was just a 3 bedroom ranch. Hate to think what it costs now. My area, most homes are $2000-$3000/yearly on average. Still too much. Illinois was or is considering an "exit tax" as well...leave the state and pay thru the nose tax...that one they say will only be on the "rich" who decide to leave, but we've heard that song and dance before! Illinois residents are fleeing this state in record numbers..and I am hoping to be one of them! I've visited Arkansas numerous times over the years, definitely think I'd be happier there.

[explorearkansas]

Yes, the burbs surrounding Chicago is an extreme high tax district. Not unusual for $10K for a 2000 sq foot home. South of I80, taxes begin to normalize. South of Kankakee property taxes become reasonable.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by karenc60548

Curious as to anyone's opinion on Arkansas tax system. I've heard both good and bad, have read some people have left because of the "crazy bad" taxes there, yet I've read articles that say residents enjoy much lower taxes. I understand they have personal property taxes, are they really that bad? We don't have personal property tax in Illinois, yet we're being taxed to death up here. The last article I read suggested a vehicle assessed at $20,000 would likely cost $600 a year in personal property tax...is that even correct? We're heading into our retirement years and I want to make sure we don't put ourselves in a worse situation overall.

The tax base in AR is considered not all that great but it depends on so many things and no,, your car/personal property would not be nearly that much. It would, most likely be about 1/2 of that. The difference is: they do not, normally access your car at the true value. Our taxes on our home is also lower than many parts of the country, especially for those over 65. Your property taxes are frozen so they can only go up if there is a new school tax or something like that. The place that can get you is sales tax. Even then, it depends on how much money you spend on food and personal items. The tax on liquor is also on the high side. I think the the tax that shocked up the most was restaurant tax. After 11 years we have adjusted and we do no eat out that much, but it is still a bit of a shock.