Annual taxes (Chattanooga, Ooltewah: income, work, houses)

[blsdwmn72]

Can someone share info on taxes? What's the big difference (i.e. what's included) in the annual taxes? I noticed that certain parts of Hixon are in the high 3K versus Ooltewah or Soddy Daisy at 1500.

Thanks

[beachbyrd]

If you are in an area that is part of the city of Chattanooga, you will pay city and county taxes. Part of Hixson is city, and part is county only. We just bought in the part that is city, and our taxes are not nearly that high, so it is also the price point of the house you are looking to buy. Also, houses are assessed every 4 years, so if you buy a house that was recently assessed, you can count on your taxes being the same for a few years. HTH!

[SPLIT]

B72: BB gave accurate info about CITY taxes, Possible garbage service, possible wATER service included.
. We are North in the Soddy area, private water co About $14/month 2,500 gal min. More $ for over ussage. Can pay to take garbage to town refuge.
. Just moved my letter today so each town has different RATE or Millage .?
APPRAISAL 135,200 , GIVES ASSessment OF 33,800 RATE 3.15 = $1,066 / yr
one bill property & school ,etc,maybe fire co , ambulance, etc.
. New construction gives about a One year Grace or sliding scale period. Our 1st year taxes were about $500, on a NOT FULLY Developed construction code .? Clerk comes & re-measures foundation & extra decks, workshops, etc. that newbie would add.
ENJOY Your shopping. Payable end of Feb for PRIOR YEAR. No penality.

[elgusano]

If you live in Chattanooga, you will get hit with state, county, and city taxes, although the rate if fairly low. The state level of property tax is 9th best in the USA, but that doesn't take all the levels of taxes into account.

Chattanooga has the highest sales tax in the USA.

There is not state income tax. TN is one of only 3 states with no income tax, so that is good.

TN is a right to work state, so that benefits everyone.

But, there are sewer taxes, stormwater runoff fees, etc. Many, many hidden taxes that will vary based upon where you live.

So, the tax picture is more than simply the amount you are looking at on your tax bill. They will get it from you in another way, and if you live in the city, they will get it from you both ways.

[jkmewright]

TN ranks 48th (1st being the highest) for state and local tax burdens also.

[elgusano]

Originally Posted by jkmewright

TN ranks 48th (1st being the highest) for state and local tax burdens also.

What is your source for this? With 1 being best (i.e. lowest), ALEC-Laffer says that TN is 1st for personal income tax (has none), marginal corporate income tax is 19th, property tax burden is 9th (statewide; doesn't include those who are triple-taxed as in Chattanooga), sales tax burden 47th (although horrendous, still doesn't include those who are double-taxed like Hamilton Co., which has the highest sales tax in the nation), and there is a death tax in TN.

Unless you mean "highest" as in highest ranking for best tax burden, which would put TN at the bottom because of the extremely high tax burden. And Chattanooga is worse than the rest of the state.

[blsdwmn72]

Thanks...I figured it was city and county tax when it was higher. We are looking at homes between 250-300k. Yikes....for all the hidden taxes. Just trying to see if it evens out...Paying about 3600 in Bronx, NY

[elgusano]

The high taxes were part of why I left Chattanooga. That, and all the multitudes of people, and the high heat and humidity.

However, don't let the extremely high taxes alone fool you.

The economy in TN is very good (although not quite as good in Chattanooga because of the taxes) and the cost of living is fairly low. It used to be much lower before the federal government started meddling in things they shouldn't.

For example the water and electricity rates are dirt cheap! Houses are cheap. Rent, however, is sky high for some reason. (Where I live now, a house like mine would sell for $185k, but in Chattanooga, probably about $70k; decent neighborhood, but only 1,000 sf, but here, it rents for $800 a month, and in Chattanooga in a comparable neighborhood, it would be about $700.) Although the sales tax is really high, food costs are low enough to offset a lot of it.

So, although the taxes really suck in Chattanooga, it's not all bad. (There are just too many people and too much heat and humidity!)

[TriDad]

when it comes to taxes, humidity and population everything is relative to where you're coming from. Our move was a Godsend and resulted in lower overall taxes, way lower humidity and a lot less people. We love it here!

[elgusano]

That's true.

I now live in a city of 4,000, with a summertime high usually around 70 degrees, and not state sales tax or income tax.

But, although I realize there are places with higher taxes, more humidity, and a higher population density (I lived in DC for a while), that doesn't mean that I want the taxes that are too high.

Although I may have to move back to take care of aging family.