[allanny13]

Originally Posted by JayCT

What services do you get in New York that you don't get in Connecticut? The only one I can think of is garbage and that is not a lot. I think my family pays $40 a month in Fairfield. Jay

Sewer taxes were one that surprised me. But overall, very happy with the benefits received for my taxes in FFC vs in Westchester.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by hvexpatinct

There are some differences in school services - transportation is more robust in NY. Public services like the DMV have better hours and general availability. health insurance tends to cover more things. Services for the aged and disabled are generally superior.

I could swear I responded to this. Transportation services and the DMV are not local, they are run by the state. I am not sure what you mean by health insurance which also has little to do with a municipality unless you are talking about the health insurance of town employees. Jay

[hvexpatinct]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I could swear I responded to this. Transportation services and the DMV are not local, they are run by the state. I am not sure what you mean by health insurance which also has little to do with a municipality unless you are talking about the health insurance of town employees. Jay

You specifically mentioned services available in NY vs CT so that is what I responded to. I am not debating what is available municipality by municipality.

[beerbeer]

https://wallethub.com/edu/states-wit...y-taxes/11585/

Property taxes by state. New York is almost 20% lower than CT.

[SeaDoo342]

Originally Posted by beerbeer

https://wallethub.com/edu/states-wit...y-taxes/11585/

Property taxes by state. New York is almost 20% lower than CT.

Yes, we here in CT compare our property taxes to Westchester County thinking it's indicative of the entire state.... it's not. The rest of NY state, while not CHEAP, is not as outrageous as Westchester county taxes.

[Raider111]

I believe the ask was focused on Westchester taxes which are higher, but don't worry, FFC will catch up in time.

[Wilton2ParkAve]

Originally Posted by SeaDoo342

Yes, we here in CT compare our property taxes to Westchester County thinking it's indicative of the entire state.... it's not. The rest of NY state, while not CHEAP, is not as outrageous as Westchester county taxes.

I'm not sure how NYS in aggregate shows lower property taxes relative to CT. NYS has the highest property tax as a percentage of purchase price in the nation. Period. Full stop. I have friends from college that recently purchased a beautiful tutor in a cushy Rochester suburb. Purchase price $240,000, property taxes $8,500! NY dominates the top 25 counties by property tax as a percentage of home value. I don't see CT on the list. Relative to Westchester, I'm saving approximately 30,000 per year for a similar house and acreage on the other side of the NY border. I also pay lower income taxes and sales taxes. Our car taxes are less than 2k per year so I'm coming out way ahead.

Median Effective Property Tax Rates By County, Ranked by Taxes as a Percentage of Home Value, 1-Year Average, 2010 | Tax Foundation

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

I'm not sure how NYS in aggregate shows lower property taxes relative to CT. NYS has the highest property tax as a percentage of purchase price in the nation. Period. Full stop. I have friends from college that recently purchased a beautiful tutor in a cushy Rochester suburb. Purchase price $240,000, property taxes $8,500! NY dominates the top 25 counties by property tax as a percentage of home value. I don't see CT on the list. Relative to Westchester, I'm saving approximately 30,000 per year for a similar house and acreage on the other side of the NY border. I also pay lower income taxes and sales taxes. Our car taxes are less than 2k per year so I'm coming out way ahead.

Median Effective Property Tax Rates By County, Ranked by Taxes as a Percentage of Home Value, 1-Year Average, 2010 | Tax Foundation

I believe the difference can be attributed to the fact that parts of upstate New York are very rural and has very low taxes. In the bigger cities and towns, particularly in Westchester and on Long Island, there are multiple layers of government including county, town, village, school district, fire district, etc. I always found it very confusing and it seems very inefficient. Jay

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by nep321

CT has an annual motor vehicle tax that ranges from $100 to $1,000 depending on the vehicle and the city/town in which the vehicle resides in. For most people, it will average to around $200-300. It is also deductible on your CT income tax return, but limited to $300. However, I believe that in NY, motor vehicle owners must pay an annual registration renewal fee, whereas in CT, this fee is only biennial and is usually under $100.

There are lots of factors that others here addressed well so I'm just giving some information. In NY you register every TWO years. In addition to the registration fee there is a "use tax" you pay once every two years with your registration renewal. It is like the CT car tax in that it varies based on the weight of your car, but unlike CT it does not depend on your town's mill rate and you cannot deduct it on your state or federal income tax return. It's hidden in your car registration bill so most people only think of it as a single registration fee.

I'm not sure if age of car matters, but it is less than the CT car tax. I paid $130 for 2 years on a 12 year old Saturn station wagon to give you an idea.

Originally Posted by JayCT

New York state has tolls all over the place, for the Thruway and numerous bridges and other roadways. This can accumulate to $200+ per year for some people in the NYC metropolitan area. CT has no tolls whatsoever.

It is often easy in Westchester and the Hudson Valley in general to bypass or minimize many of the tolls. There are many parkways that run parallel to the Thruway and the only people around here who use the Westchester portion of the Thruway are tourists and out of towners. It doesn't take much more time to drive around that toll on the Thruway in Yonkers. While the northbound Hutch Parkway often has traffic, so does the northbound New England Thruway (I-95) often at the same time so it's not really wasting time to bypass the northbound I-95 toll in Larchmont/New Rochelle. If you are going upstate, you can either take the Taconic State Parkway to Albany instead of the Thruway (usually only a tiny bit slower), or you can take one of the bridges north of the Tappan Zee to cross the Hudson and pay a much lower toll (yes that takes a little more time so you have to weigh that out). Even the Bear Mountain Bridge is much less in toll than the Tappan Zee.

Even in NYC you can get around the toll bridges, but it involves driving in Manhattan and wastes a lot of time unless you are desperate not to pay the toll.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I believe the difference can be attributed to the fact that parts of upstate New York are very rural and has very low taxes. In the bigger cities and towns, particularly in Westchester and on Long Island, there are multiple layers of government including county, town, village, school district, fire district, etc. I always found it very confusing and it seems very inefficient. Jay

Agreed. Also while upstate may have a higher tax rate, the homes are far cheaper than most of CT, meaning the out of pocket expense isn't too bad. It's similar with TX - high tax RATE but homes are assessed far less.