Possible Summer '08 move to Houston Area - Scared to Death of Property Taxes... (Katy: renting, home owners insurance)

[arbucle]

JUst ignore the state scores and go look at the SAT and ACT scores of each school and that will tell you if a university will let them in.All these other scores and how much diversity they have dont mean squat!

[hf2272]

you really dont want MUD if you can help it.

[brinab99]

I can tell you the actual cost of our taxes here in West Houston. We do not have a MUD tax and the home is valued at $142,000 although there is NO way we would actually get that much if we sold right now thanks to the horrible housing market. With a homestead exemption and a disability exemption our total tax bill between the city and the school district came to around $2800 and then we had a $400 HOA fee for the year. We don't escrow taxes we pay them at the end of the year and put the money away ourselves each month so we can earn our own interest on it throughout the year.

And I'm sorry but I don't agree that it's a good deal since you also have such great schools. I just checked out the greatschool.net site and living in Alief School district there is only 1 exemplary elementary school, I think 1 middle school and no exemplary high schools. So my question is why the heck am I paying so much if they can't figure out what to do with the money?

Just my opinion

[new3houston]

Hey, a fellow Alabamian! I went to school in Denver, but grew up in Tuscaloosa.

Might I suggest to the OP that, upon moving to Houston, you rent for awhile. It's true that traffic here is on a whole different scale than traffic in Birmingham, so you'll want to make sure that the commute isn't more of a burden than the property taxes. Also, Houston is a big, diverse city. You'll want to get some kind of handle on it before you settle into an investment as large as a house. So, rent for 6 months to a year and make sure you know exactly what you're looking for.

That said, does anybody have, or know where I can find, property tax rates for inside the 610 loop, say near the west loop between 59 and I-10?

[DCNative]

While we're talking about property taxes in Houston, I have a question. Can you deduct whatever you pay in property taxes from the federal income tax you owe?

[tstone]

Originally Posted by DCNative

While we're talking about property taxes in Houston, I have a question. Can you deduct whatever you pay in property taxes from the federal income tax you owe?

Yes, and you can deduct a sales tax amount based on your income, since we have no state income tax to deduct. Mortgage interest is also deductible.

Remember, it's a deduction, not a credit.

[DCNative]

Originally Posted by tstone

Yes, and you can deduct a sales tax amount based on your income

What sales tax amount based on income? From what I am seeing, Texas has a completely different tax system than Maryland.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by DCNative

What sales tax amount based on income? From what I am seeing, Texas has a completely different tax system than Maryland.

See Publication 600 for details: Publication 600 (2006), State and Local General Sales Taxes

That's for 2006, but the same applies for 2007. You can either deduct this, or deduct your state income tax. It gives states like TX a bit of relief since we don't have a state income tax to deduct.

FYI Texas has a sales tax rate of 6.25% and most places in the Houston area tack on another 2% local sales tax.

[jello152]

[quote=EasilyAmused;2341946]Just don't move somewhere with MUD taxes or an area who's taxes are at 3.5%, its that easy.

I still don't know what MUD taxes are! Did anyone explain that part? Please do

[chris_ut]

Originally Posted by tstone

See Publication 600 for details: Publication 600 (2006), State and Local General Sales Taxes

That's for 2006, but the same applies for 2007. You can either deduct this, or deduct your state income tax. It gives states like TX a bit of relief since we don't have a state income tax to deduct.

FYI Texas has a sales tax rate of 6.25% and most places in the Houston area tack on another 2% local sales tax.

If you deducted your sales tax on your 2007 taxes you have to count that deduction as income on your 2008 taxes unless Congress changes the rules again. They were planning to phase out the sales tax deduction but they came up with that compromise instead.