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Just finished my taxes Tuesday night and they have been electronically filed and accepted. Whatever the North Carolina tax burden is it is more than worth it. Headed out Wed morning for a couple of days at the beach and back about an hour ago. The living experience is priceless so after 7 years as a retired transplant taxes are inconsequential as a factor in living here.
i am still waiting for that k1 from our real estate business. i have everything already done , i just have to add the k1 , gasp at the amount i owe and write the checks.
i never knew we actually had a 24% capital gains rate ha ha .
For the purpose of this response, consider that there are two Californias. One is the urban parts. Greater LA, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area along with Monterey. These areas cover less than 3% of the state. These are the areas that are expensive and average home prices run form $400K to $800K. Fact is, few people are not going to retire and move to the rat race* (Monterey excluded). Once you get away from the above mentioned areas, the cost of housing drops quite a bit. Is CA housing expensive? For the most part; no.
I live in one of the areas of CA that retirees flock to. The Gold Country, quite desirable in terms of lifestyle. Low crime, no traffic, clean air and good hospitals. in my area the median home price is about $210K. Property taxes for new purchases would be about $2100 (plus or minus) per year, depending on local assessments.
*The OP lives in LA and has retired in place. Good choice!
Good points. California, like most states, does not tax Social Security. It is one of the few saving graces in this high-tax state, the other one being our property taxes.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think your property tax being low is related to the fact that you bought your property a long time ago - Proposition (whatever # it is) limiting and nearly freezing your property taxes.
12 acres with a ~1000 ft sq house, couple of garages, few sheds here in WA costs me about $2K per year property tax.
Have not done income tax yet (I take it to a CPA firm). But I can tell you my WA income tax was $0, since we don't have an income tax.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think your property tax being low is related to the fact that you bought your property a long time ago - Proposition (whatever # it is) limiting and nearly freezing your property taxes.
12 acres with a ~1000 ft sq house, couple of garages, few sheds here in WA costs me about $2K per year property tax.
Have not done income tax yet (I take it to a CPA firm). But I can tell you my WA income tax was $0, since we don't have an income tax.
Good topic for a thread, ER.
Yep, I bought my property in California about 13 years ago, and the yearly increase is limited to two percent per year, if I recall correctly.
Only a small handful of states - something like half a dozen - do not have state income taxes, so you live in the right place if you have a decent amount of income.
Federal Income Tax $20,300
State Income Tax 4,700
Property Tax 4,000
Gross Receipts Tax 1,500? (estimate)
Gasoline Tax 100 (estimate at 17 cents a gallon)
Hotel Tax 200 (estimate at 10-15 nights a year)
SS/Medicare 9,249
Total $40,149
I try to keep my taxes lower by contributing the maximum to a tax deferred 401K and Health Savings Account. Also use a Flexible Savings Account for dental and eye care costs. Property taxes are high in my city and can be much cheaper elsewhere in New Mexico but the jobs are in Albuquerque and not in the small towns. Our "sales tax" is actually a "gross receipts tax". Food to be eaten at home and prescription drugs are not taxed but services as well as goods are taxed. Taxing of services increases the tax burden. When I retire, my income and taxes will be more similar to those of Escort Rider.
i am still waiting for that k1 from our real estate business. i have everything already done , i just have to add the k1 , gasp at the amount i owe and write the checks.
i never knew we actually had a 24% capital gains rate ha ha .
well got it in yesterdays mail.
holy crap . well learned something about turbo tax.
i took a guess at what the taxes would be by forcing in an overide on the 1040 for what i thought the k1 would reflect.
the software did a good job calculating the taxes i owed but what it does not do is update the amt tax calculations at the same time as it typically does when you go through all the steps.
soooo the amt tax was first recalculated when i actually went through the process.
the amt tax was another 17k i owe. damn that is one wicked tax system.
the amt tax was another 17k i owe. damn that is one wicked tax system.
The AMT provisions are a mess. They were never intended to impact people in your range (IMO). But rather for people with millions of dollars of income using big tax loopholes (legal deductions) to reduce their tax to a low level. This needs to be corrected, the tax regs simplified, flatten the rates, etc. It appears the net effect is to highly tax your small realestate business.
VA - I make more than the SS max, have a military pension and my wife is a low-level government civilian. We pay a lot in taxes
Federal Income Tax $28,964
State Income Tax $9,567
Property Tax $7,690
Persona Property Tax $1,158
SS/Medicare $9,023
Total $56,402
Ouch! That is a lot of taxes.
At least that is for two people with income, if it was equal (which I doubt) that is about $28k per person compared to the $40k I pay by myself. Single people are highly taxed and have all the living costs on one worker (housing, car, insurance, utilities, etc.)
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