[WheninRoam]

Originally Posted by mrboast

Yes, I have done all of this research and still concluded you can save a whole lot more money in Texas. Real estate taxes are 2.5% or so in the DFW area versus 1.0% in Arkansas...income taxes are 7% versus 0%...sales tax is a wash..(and we will even consider Arkansas' petty personal property taxes a wash with Texas' mandatory inspections, which isn't so) so tell me if I'm wrong here...

Scenario 1:
$100,000 salary: Arkansas taxes approximately $6,000 (progressive income tax so not quite 7%), Texas $0.

$250,000 house: Arkansas taxes approximately $2,500, Texas $6,250 (and I've looked...housing prices not that far apart)

Total taxes: Arkansas $8,500, Texas $6,250


Scenario 2: (the physician or executive scenario)
$500,000 salary: Arkansas taxes approximately $35,000, Texas $0

$600,000 house: Arkansas taxes $6,000, Texas $15,000 ($800,000 house would be Arkansas $8,000 Texas $20,000)

Total Taxes: Arkansas $41,000, Texas, $15,000 (or Arkansas $43,000 vs. Texas $20,000 if assuming a bigger house)

And obviously the more you make the bigger the contrast...as long as you don't go crazy on your home.

Am I wrong? The data does not lie!

No matter. I'd rather live in AR where the weather isn't so harsh and natural beauty is abound.

[mrgoodwx]

Originally Posted by mrboast

Yes, I have done all of this research and still concluded you can save a whole lot more money in Texas. Real estate taxes are 2.5% or so in the DFW area versus 1.0% in Arkansas...income taxes are 7% versus 0%...sales tax is a wash..(and we will even consider Arkansas' petty personal property taxes a wash with Texas' mandatory inspections, which isn't so) so tell me if I'm wrong here...

Scenario 1:
$100,000 salary: Arkansas taxes approximately $6,000 (progressive income tax so not quite 7%), Texas $0.

$250,000 house: Arkansas taxes approximately $2,500, Texas $6,250 (and I've looked...housing prices not that far apart)

Total taxes: Arkansas $8,500, Texas $6,250


Scenario 2: (the physician or executive scenario)
$500,000 salary: Arkansas taxes approximately $35,000, Texas $0

$600,000 house: Arkansas taxes $6,000, Texas $15,000 ($800,000 house would be Arkansas $8,000 Texas $20,000)

Total Taxes: Arkansas $41,000, Texas, $15,000 (or Arkansas $43,000 vs. Texas $20,000 if assuming a bigger house)

And obviously the more you make the bigger the contrast...as long as you don't go crazy on your home.

Am I wrong? The data does not lie!

Your numbers look about right. However...I would take this another few steps and include cost of homeowner and auto insurance, sales tax and utilities.

As others have said, an individual really needs to do their own research and calculate these things for their own particular...unique situation. But, more than that, if one can afford to live in either place, they should choose where they WANT to be. I could certainly find a place that would be more "cost friendly" than where I am now, but I would never use that as a reason to actually move to where ever that place is. The cost of living in a location is certainly a factor most of us have to consider, but I think we need to keep it in perspective as ONE factor (maybe even a very important one) in where to live...not the driving force.

[DC at the Ridge]

The numbers don't look right to me.

I have plenty of friends who have $250,000 homes, and most aren't even billed $2000 in annual property taxes, plus the homestead credit reduces the tax bill even more.

[DC at the Ridge]

And here is a site that tracks property taxes:

http://www.nahb.org/fileUpload_detai...ntentID=105281

Arkansas averages a tax of $5.25 per $1000 of property value. That would make a $250,000 home have a tax of $1312.50. Homestead credit of $300. Tax of $1012.50. That's substantially different from Mrboast's projections.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by DC at the Ridge

The numbers don't look right to me.

I have plenty of friends who have $250,000 homes, and most aren't even billed $2000 in annual property taxes, plus the homestead credit reduces the tax bill even more.

you are probably pretty close to right DC. Our taxes are about $800 and the home value $150,000.

Nita

[mrgoodwx]

This sounds like apples and oranges to try and compare one state to another without considering the specific location (even specific school district or part of a town). Unless I'm reading it wrong, the Pulaski County AR rate across their districts seems to average about $60/$1000, with property assessed at 20% of value. Thus...a $250k house would be taxed $3000 per year. I'm sure most of AR is below that tax level, but without getting specific, the attempts to compare don't mean much. I can see Nita is in Bella Vista so I would expect the rate to be a lot lower than Little Rock, but not sure where DC is.

Mrboast's example makes it pretty clear that, as income level goes up, the impact of the 7% income tax rate in AR becomes more and more important.

[PurpleLove08]

What is the point of this thread? Just wondering.

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by mrgoodwx

This sounds like apples and oranges to try and compare one state to another without considering the specific location (even specific school district or part of a town). Unless I'm reading it wrong, the Pulaski County AR rate across their districts seems to average about $60/$1000, with property assessed at 20% of value. Thus...a $250k house would be taxed $3000 per year. I'm sure most of AR is below that tax level, but without getting specific, the attempts to compare don't mean much. I can see Nita is in Bella Vista so I would expect the rate to be a lot lower than Little Rock, but not sure where DC is.

Mrboast's example makes it pretty clear that, as income level goes up, the impact of the 7% income tax rate in AR becomes more and more important.

Pulaski County has one of the highest rates in the state, so it cannot be used as an example of the average which is what Mrboast is trying to do.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by hotair2

I can't really tell if this tax calculation includes property tax? To me what is even more damning is not the tax percentage but per capita income. Arkansas is only behind West Virginia in the lowest per capita income in the union. This is what I have been preaching about for so long. We need higher paying jobs here and a more intelligent work force. I know the low wages probably do not bother the older retired set, but for those of us who work here it is a big problem.

actually even us retired people do care about the job market here because it does affect the the disirability of our state. That being said, there must be a happy medium: we don't want to become Ca, where mid management jobs pay $100,000 a year and the cost of living is over the top, but we would like to attract some businesses that do pay a decent income and do see the need for a certain number of college educated people.

Only one more thing to add, at this time, we do have to remember, there are parts of AR that do attract the middle income wage earner. The stats that you are using, represents the entire state...

Nita

[doc1]

I live in the Peoples Progressive Republik of NJ.

"We're #1, we're #1, we're #1"