Houston Property Taxes (Austin, College Station: for sale, cheap home, new construction)

[AustinTraveler]

Are you from another country?

[sazza]

Originally Posted by AustinTraveler

Are you from another country?

yes, australia. there, you can't claim property tax (we call it land tax) or mortgage interest. we are looking at a property in houston we would like to buy.

[Kunter]

We are moving from abroad to Houston. If we buy a house at USD 300.000 in the Cypress area. We will then pay between 2-4% in proberty tax of this value/year? In addition we will have the Mortgage Payment. Will we be able to deduct the interest we have paid on our loan from our income (100%)? Can we also deduct the property tax (100%) from the inclome before paying federal tax ( as I understood there is no state tax) ? If the household have a income of 125.000 USD what will be a normal level of fedral tax. We will not have more deductions as interest and property tax. Where we are living we pay 50% in tax of our income but we have head that the tax level is much lower in Houston.

[markas214]

Originally Posted by Kunter

We are moving from abroad to Houston. If we buy a house at USD 300.000 in the Cypress area. We will then pay between 2-4% in proberty tax of this value/year? In addition we will have the Mortgage Payment. Will we be able to deduct the interest we have paid on our loan from our income (100%)? Can we also deduct the property tax (100%) from the inclome before paying federal tax ( as I understood there is no state tax) ? If the household have a income of 125.000 USD what will be a normal level of fedral tax. We will not have more deductions as interest and property tax. Where we are living we pay 50% in tax of our income but we have head that the tax level is much lower in Houston.

If you make 125k your deductions would be around $3300 per person + property tax @ 3% 300k = $9000 + mortgage interest depends on how much you put down but I'll use $9000 just to give you an estimate.


Your taxes, married filing jointly an income of $125,000 your deductions would leave you with around $100,000 of taxable incom. Social Security and medicare taxes = around $10,000. Federal income tax 10% of your 1st 15k = $1500, + 15% on your income between 15-60k = $6750, + 25% on the remaining 40k = $10000. Total federal income tax around $18000. Add Property, Social Security and Federal income taxes you are giving up around $37,000 in total taxes. So a ballpark would be around 30-35% total taxes. Make 125k and keep $80-90,000. Please note this is a very general estimate but will give you a very realistic assessment of you tax liability. Of course it doesn't include sales taxes on everything you buy.

[Kunter]

Originally Posted by markas214

If you make 125k your deductions would be around $3300 per person + property tax @ 3% 300k = $9000 + mortgage interest depends on how much you put down but I'll use $9000 just to give you an estimate.


Your taxes, married filing jointly an income of $125,000 your deductions would leave you with around $100,000 of taxable incom. Social Security and medicare taxes = around $10,000. Federal income tax 10% of your 1st 15k = $1500, + 15% on your income between 15-60k = $6750, + 25% on the remaining 40k = $10000. Total federal income tax around $18000. Add Property, Social Security and Federal income taxes you are giving up around $37,000 in total taxes. So a ballpark would be around 30-35% total taxes. Make 125k and keep $80-90,000. Please note this is a very general estimate but will give you a very realistic assessment of you tax liability. Of course it doesn't include sales taxes on everything you buy.

This was very usefull information. The whole family have social security and medicare covered by employeer. I have always been working and now I am going to stay home. I have always been in charge of the family economy and I like to be in control also starting our new life in Houston. From your assumtion we will have approx. 7.500 to spend each months. We will have 20% down payment in cash on the house. We will only be paying interest on the mortgage no running down payment. How much is it normal in % to use of your income after tax on housing? Thank you so much. Kunter

[johnatohm]

As a resident of Cinco Ranch in West Houston, I am as disturbed as most about the annual property tax bills that I receive. However, if you check one of the several websites that rank states by tax burden, you will find that Texas ranks 43rd when comparing the ratio of total state/local taxes to per capita income.

Property tax rates and valuations are determined locally and can vary considerably. Generally, property tax rate is not the number one consideration when selecting a home but it certainly should be considered.

[HateTaxes]

Houston pays a high tax rate, but because the home values are lower, you will probably pay less in property taxes. Insurance is about 1% of your home value yearly.

www.houstonpropertytaxinfo.com

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by johnatohm

...
However, if you check one of the several websites that rank states by tax burden, you will find that Texas ranks 43rd when comparing the ratio of total state/local taxes to per capita income.
...

Two items to consider;

1) Almost all of those websites do not consider local taxes so property taxes are excluded.

2) Per capita calculations are misleading... Texas property taxes are in the top ten per capita but highest in the country as a percentage of appraised value.

[mlcling]

Originally Posted by Ray21

I am plannig to move to Houston Texas (northwest). I hear property taxes and property insurance are high. I live in NY and pay approximately $9,600 per year on property taxes and $1,085 per year for property insurance. Is Houston taxes and insurance similar?

Houston taxes in the inner loop are approx. 3% of the appraised value of the property and property insurance will depend on what you are totally insuring. It would depend on the value of the what you purchased. I sell property in Houston and if you look at certain areas outside the loop the taxes will change depending on the area but 3% should give you a general idea of cost.

[crystalblue]

wow, thats crazy. i dont see how people can afford it...