Tax implications - moving to boston (apartment, renting, home)

[ambercrombe]

HI,

I might be joining a company in boston. If I take an apartment and live in New Hampshire, will I stil have to pay the state income tax for MA? Does it matter what your permanent resident it?
I am not very clear on taxes so need help..


Thanks in advance,

Amber

[smarty]

Yes. You have to pay MA income tax if you live in NH.

Permanent address can affect taxes. If your home state is 7% and work in MA 5%, you pay 5% to MA and 2% to your home state. Since NH is 0%, you pay 5% to MA.

[ambercrombe]

Is it better to stay in NH as compared to staying in MA from any other perspective?

[ambercrombe]

Thanks for the reply though. It was helpful.

[LovelyBoston]

Originally Posted by ambercrombe

Is it better to stay in NH as compared to staying in MA from any other perspective?

That depends entirely on your situation -- give us more information and we can give advice. Do you have kids and do school systems matter? Will you be renting or buying? What sort of town atmosphere are you looking for -- quiet, busy, active, close to nightlife, close to nature, etc.? What kind of commute do you want? Will you be renting or buying, and what is your price range?

If you want cheaper housing, you get more for your money in New Hampshire. But if you're paying Mass income tax plus New Hampshire property taxes and New Hampshire's state education tax, you might be facing a rather high tax burden. If you care about school systems, Mass. schools tend to be better. New Hampshire is much more rural, Eastern Mass. has more urban areas. So again, really depends on what you're looking for.

[ChunkyMonkey]

If you have to work from Boston and live in NH, you'll have a nasty commute. It's a quality of life issue that you must be willing to make for that tradeoff.