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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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WA (no income tax) reduces Property taxes for those over 65 with low income (~$30k). They are ~ 50% reduction due to destitute seniors not having to pay 'voted' levies.
me and my husband own land in arkansas along with we live in wis. well when we get our tax bill for arkansas it say's you can freeze you tax rate at what it is if your a resident and are disabled and /or over 65 years of age.so i think this is a very good idea.i wish more states were aslow on taxes as ar. and mo. you don't want to live in wis. they are nuts!
Upstate NY reduces school portion of your property tax quite a bit when you reach age 65.
It is also income based though (if you're talking about the Enhanced STAR) and the amount of reduction depends on the township and school district that you live in. For example, in one community the Enhanced STAR reduction is a flat $1381 but in another community the Enhanced STAR reduction amount is $2100.
Those amounts may sound like a lot, but in the first community the total tax bill before that reduction is about $9400 while in the other community the 'true' (unreduced) taxes are around $14,000. Same type of house, same size property, same kind of community and located only a couple of miles apart from each other.
NY does have a low-income senior STAR which can reduce most (not all) of the other taxes via a sliding scale. The most you can get is a 50% reduction and that is if the GROSS household income for the prior year was $29,000 or less. The reduction goes down in steps according to gross household income until it is completely phased out at $37,400.
Those incomes may sound like a lot, but in areas where the COL is around 154% of the national average, that gross income goes fast.
Also, the taxes WILL increase year over year. They are not frozen. And the amount of the senior exemption does not necessarily change with it, and can even go down. Just because the threshhold for a 50% reduction is $29K right now, doesn't mean that it can't be changed to a higher amount in the future.
I;m amazed that some states actually FREEZE (as in, no increase in property taxes AT ALL for the senior's lifetime in that house) taxes for people at age 65. If so, some other taxpaying group or entity must have to pick up the slack... services have to be paid for somehow, right?
In Missouri our public pensions are not taxed to the extent of the amount we receive in Social Security, nor is Social Security taxed at all. We receive the normal state personal exemptions from our income as well as an additional $2,200 since we're both 65 or over. The standard deduction also increases for us geezers. The bottom line for us is that we pay no state income tax whatsoever. I, for one, find that pretty darn old fart friendly. YMMV!
Low-income seniors also receive a break on property taxes. There is, however, a personal property tax (cars, planes, boats, heavy equipment, etc. that we all pay but as it's under $200 I don't find it onerous. It's a whole lot less than we paid to register our car each year in CA and here, registration runs about $39 for us. I don't think our house has been reassessed since it was first sold and it's taxed on only 19% of assessed value.
Here's another state-by-state guide a bit more up-to-date than Kiplinger's. Taxes by State
Last edited by Curmudgeon; 03-11-2014 at 07:24 PM..
Taxpayers who are 62 years of age or older, or permanently and totally disabled regardless of age, may be eligible for a retirement income adjustment on their Georgia tax return. Retirement income includes income from pensions and annuities, interest income, dividend income, net income from rental property, capital gains income, and income from royalties. For married couples filing joint returns with both members receiving retirement income, the maximum adjustment for the applicable year may be up to twice the individual exclusion amount. Retirement income exceeding the maximum adjustable amount will be taxed at the normal rate.
What makes Georgia such compelling place to retire? For starters, while Georgia does have income tax, the state's rules will soon be far more favorable to retirees, says Paul Jacobs, a financial planner at Palisades Hudson Financial Group in Atlanta. In 2012, $65,000 of retirement income, which includes investment income from IRAs and 401(k)s, will be exempt from state income taxes for those 65 and up;by 2016 all retirement income with be tax-exempt. On top of that, Georgia has nice weather all year round, plenty of Southern charm, world-class golf courses and -- for those looking to travel in their golden years -- one of the largest airports in the nation, says P.J. Protos, a financial adviser at SunTrust Investment Services in Atlanta.
In the town we live in in MA they give you a Prop. tax reduction when you reach a certain age I think it is 70, other places I have lived did similiar and some also gave discounts to Veterans. Where we are moving to in WV they also have a reduced tax at 65 as long as you have lived there two years.
I think such reductions are somewhat common.
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