Property taxes? (Austin, Paris, Santa Fe: sales, house, to buy)

[huntress-nm]

We're seriously thinking about a Santa Fe, New Mexico relo to Austin. Hear that property taxes more than make up for the zero income tax advantage. What are the facts around this?

[greenrph]

I'm not from Texas but I am looking at moving there. I personally think I will still be better off. I could be off base but I look at it like this:

Say here in Ohio my house is worth $300,000 and I pay $5,000 in property tax. If I buy this house in Texas it would probably be $150,000 ( I've looked at the MLS and compared) and even if I pay $5,000 in taxes, I think I am in the same boat.

Now here I pay $17,500 for Ohio state income tax and in Texas I would pay zero. So if I do the math, I am in a better situation in Texas. Plus here I also pay almost the same in City taxes and I have heard that if you live outside of a city then you don't have to pay city tax.

Anyway, that is my take on it. I don't know your numbers but I think you can see that why I think I will still be better off in Texas.

Good luck!

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by greenrph

I'm not from Texas but I am looking at moving there. I personally think I will still be better off. I could be off base but I look at it like this:

Say here in Ohio my house is worth $300,000 and I pay $5,000 in property tax. If I buy this house in Texas it would probably be $150,000 ( I've looked at the MLS and compared) and even if I pay $5,000 in taxes, I think I am in the same boat.

Now here I pay $17,500 for Ohio state income tax and in Texas I would pay zero. So if I do the math, I am in a better situation in Texas. Plus here I also pay almost the same in City taxes and I have heard that if you live outside of a city then you don't have to pay city tax.

Anyway, that is my take on it. I don't know your numbers but I think you can see that why I think I will still be better off in Texas.

Good luck!

here's a significant point: how can a Buckeye move into Longhorn territory and feel part of the local situation?

[bumpy_1954]

The property tax issue may change - it was declared unconstitutional because of being unfair to students - they are trying to come up with ways to finance schools other than property taxes - don't know if anything has happened on htat score, but my realtor said there is some hope in reductions in the near future. I'm not sure rate, but my home was bought in June for approx 235 (2 lots) and total taxes are about 3,600 bucks, I believe...

[Trainwreck20]

Overall, you have a different choice of 'how' to pay taxes. You can decide to buy realtively inexpensive property while making 'good' money, and you will save a lot in taxes. If you stretch yourself to get into the nicest property you can get, then your proportion of taxes from property may make up for you lack of income taxes.

btw, state sales tax is 5.25, cities can (and usually do) add 3.00 more. This does not apply to 'groceries'.

[musicman107]

Not too many years ago, state of Texas funded a very significant amount of $ to individual school districts; Texas state funding laws were ruled unconstitutional, resulting in legislature passing the "Robin Hood" funding plan;
result: most school districts now have to rely heavily on on local taxpayers...result: higher school taxes; school funding has been in hot debate for quite a number of years, and it is pretty well agreed that state funding for schools is in dire need of repair; Governor of Texas has even called special sessions just to address this one issue, with no results, except for a number of legislators suggesting to implement a statewide income tax.
Some Texans think that state income tax is inevitable, but who can predict what legislature is going to do?

[deeptrance]

huntress --- your question is a good one and you got some interesting responses. If you feel confused by them, then you got the correct answer! Seriously, the property tax issue is HOT in Texas (so are the summers), and things can change from year to year. In general this is a low-tax state and we get what we pay for (poor schools, marginal roads, etc.) I love it here and think it's a great place for someone who likes Santa Fe but ONLY IF you are looking for a bigger city with much more diversity, more humidity, less concentration of New Age stuff and elitists from New York and LA. I think Santa Fe is a beautiful town but the sprawl around it is horrible and there is way too high a concentration of people who think it's a "power spot" and get into all kinds of New Age superstitions.

My experience of Santa Fe is biased from having met people there who said that Black people and the poor in general are suffering because of bad karma from their past lives. That's like a New Age version of Hitler's attitudes to me, yet I found that there were quite a few people who seemed to agree with that in the group I was visiting. Scary!

But I should also let you know my own bias, which is that income distribution is the number one social problem in the world. I think having a vast underclass constantly bombarded with images of Paris Hilton and Donald Trump is a prescription for all kinds of social ills, and there should be much more equality. This isn't a political forum so I better shut my trap before I get in trouble!

[irwin]

This may sound sacrilegious, but Texas really does need to think about having a diversified tax system, meaning the implementation of a state income tax. Texas relies heavily on sales taxes (which are not deductible in federal income taxes) and property taxes (which, unlike state income taxes, do not have deductions). High property taxes also discourage property investment, thus keeping property values from appreciating. Just look at the average appreciation value around the country recently and compare that to Texas…not pretty.

A balanced tax system (including sales, property, and income) is the fairest and best way to prevent one tax from having an overly detrimental effect on the economy.

Anyway, my two cents.

[momof2dfw]

You need to recheck your income tax return. For the last few years your Sales Tax IS deductible. You can use either of two methods: keep all receipts and deduct that amount of there is a formula for figuring up on average what you would pay in sales tax based on income and such.

[greenrph]

Southside Shrek,

Being that I am not a Buckeye fan, does that grant me immunity? LOL