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We're being relocated to the Charlotte area, more specifically around Matthews. I have a number of questions I am hoping everyone might be able to help me with.
I am trying to understand how property taxes are figured.
This link really confused me. What are ad valorem taxes? Why would Mecklenburg County be collecting taxes for residents of Matthews, which is in Union County?
Also, could someone tell me what the sales tax rates are in Mecklenburg and Union counties?
Is there a local income tax? (I ask because we DO pay local income tax here in Ohio.)
What does it cost to register vehicles in North Carolina?
If we were to live in South Carolina but all of out income is earned in North Carolina, does SC get any kind of income tax from us somehow? ie. a local or regional income tax?
Thank you in advance for any information you can offer.
Part of Matthews is in Union County & part is in Mecklenburg. There are some neighborhoods that are split in half and therefore your next door neighbor might pay different taxes than you & go to different schools. I know this, because we almost bought a house in a neighborhood that was split.
Here is a cool website I found for property tax rate comparison. You can put in the purchase price of the home & it will calculate what your taxes would be in various areas for comparison.
I think if you live in a different state than you work in, you will have to file state returns for both states, but they will offset each other & you will end up getting back money from one of the states.
Here is a link with information about driver's licenses and registering vehicles in NC:
You have to get your car emission system inspected yearly in the state of NC and I believe the fee is $30. You will also have to pay $30 (I think)yearly for your vehicle registration and you will have to pay property taxes on your vehicle yearly. They will asset your vehicle at the highest value to get the most property taxes unless you dispute it!
Very useful links!! Thank you so much! I bookmarked them so that I can refer back to them when I am house-shopping. And thank you also for the info about the DMV. I wondered why registration fees were so low.... now I know. They get you for emissions and TAX??? Geesh. I didn't know some states did that.
I'm still not sure I understand living in one state and working in another. Why would I file an income tax return in SC if all of my income is earned in NC? Can SC tax me on that income? I've had to file in 2 states before, and the tax was calculated based on what percentage of income was earned in each state. But in a situation like this, 100% is earned in 1 state, 0% in the other.....?
I appreciate the help answering my questions. It will help me to make informed decisions.
Matthews is in Mecklenburg county. There are Union county homes with a Matthews address but they are not in Matthews proper. They receive mail through the Matthews post office and therefore have a Matthews address but the entire city is in Mecklenburg county.
I found an example of this situation on another website. Maybe this will explain it for you.
Living in one state while commuting daily to work in another state. It may happen that you live in one state while you go to work in a different state. A common example is you live in New Jersey and work in New York. You commute daily from NJ to NY. For NY you are nonresident and NJ is your tax home. You must file NY tax return as nonresident and report income earned while in NY. You must file NJ return as full year resident and report your world wide income for the year including NY income. On the NJ return, claim credit for taxes paid to NY.
Excellent link Mystery. Thank you. But now I'm freaking out about giant cockroaches! I always told my husband I would not let his company transfer us to Texas because of giant flying cockroaches. I am disappointed to hear you have them in NC too.
As far as the taxes, though.... Presuming all of you income is earned in NC but you live in SC and you file in BOTH states, are you being taxed MORE than you would be if you lived and worked in the same state? Or does your "credit" for taxes paid to another state balance it out so that you don't have to pay any taxes in the state where you live?
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