WA vs ID property taxes! (Spokane: tax lien, sales, apartment)

[jja100]

Anybody know what the difference in property tax between Spokane, WA and Coeur D'Alene, Idaho would be for a similar 300k home?

I am having trouble trying to make a rough calculation. So far, tax wise, WA seems to be the better deal with no income tax and not sales tax on food and prescription drugs. But if they property taxes are double or triple than Idaho then I would say it balances out. What say you natives to WA?

[509]

Originally Posted by jja100

Anybody know what the difference in property tax between Spokane, WA and Coeur D'Alene, Idaho would be for a similar 300k home?

I am having trouble trying to make a rough calculation. So far, tax wise, WA seems to be the better deal with no income tax and not sales tax on food and prescription drugs. But if they property taxes are double or triple than Idaho then I would say it balances out. What say you natives to WA?

Idaho has high taxes and they are NOT optional. You have to pay income and property taxes.

Washington state taxes are optional for most people. If you have a high consumptive lifestyle you will pay for it in sales taxes.

When I moved from Idaho to Washington thirty years ago I ended up with lots more spending money.

Most of Washington's spending is on critical facilities west of the Cascades like stadiums, tunnels, and ferries. If you live in eastern Washington you will not notice much difference between government services here and in Idaho.

[jja100]

Originally Posted by 509

Idaho has high taxes and they are NOT optional. You have to pay income and property taxes.

Washington state taxes are optional for most people. If you have a high consumptive lifestyle you will pay for it in sales taxes.

When I moved from Idaho to Washington thirty years ago I ended up with lots more spending money.

Most of Washington's spending is on critical facilities west of the Cascades like stadiums, tunnels, and ferries. If you live in eastern Washington you will not notice much difference between government services here and in Idaho.

Well I think property taxes in both states are NOT optional. Washington gets high marks for not having a state income tax and the sales tax means virtually nothing to me because food and prescription drugs are exempt and for everything else I generally by stuff online from out of state. The biggest expense would be property tax and I was wondering if it is double or triple the amount as Idaho?

[WendyK]

While I'm not exactly sure about Idaho property tax rates, a $300,000 home in the Spokane area would have annual taxes around $2400-3500/year, depending on the lot size, school district, special assessments, age of house, etc. Washington property owners pay excise tax when they sell a property -- that's how the state makes income instead of having a state income tax. Did you post this in the Idaho forum too to see if someone there can give you an idea of what the property taxes are in that area?

[jja100]

Originally Posted by WendyK

While I'm not exactly sure about Idaho property tax rates, a $300,000 home in the Spokane area would have annual taxes around $2400-3500/year, depending on the lot size, school district, special assessments, age of house, etc. Washington property owners pay excise tax when they sell a property -- that's how the state makes income instead of having a state income tax. Did you post this in the Idaho forum too to see if someone there can give you an idea of what the property taxes are in that area?

Yeah I did. They said Kootenai county where Coeur D'Alene is has a property tax of 2k for a 400k home. So assuming the worst, you pay about 1500 to 2500 more in property tax in WA. This isn't so bad because you pay 2500+ in income taxes in Idaho for a salary starting at 30k per year and it goes up from there. WA is definately cheaper if you are pre-retirement age but Idaho makes more sense if you are retired since you will not be paying those high income taxes.

Sales tax is about the same between the two states with spokane having about a 1.5% higher sales tax but WA doesn't tax food and prescription drugs so I think it may be about the same.

[RobE]

One thing on the WA property taxes, there is a senior exception. I'm not old enough to take advantage of it yet, but it is something to look into and consider. I don't have any idea of Idaho offers that, but it helps retirees stay in their homes.

[StealthRabbit]

Idaho has a 'homestead' property tax exemption, as do many western states (Excluding WA). WA senior exemption is pretty restrictive for income; <$30k last I looked, you must qualify every year. They have a new program for those that make less than $68k, which will 'defer' your second 1/2 of property taxes BUT... it puts a tax lien on your home, so if you have a mortgage, the lender will call it DUE and you will be very sorry.

WA is very bad in property taxes and it pays to shop for properties by first visiting the assessor. If I was a few hundred feet up the road, I would pay $6,000 / yr instead of $12,000. Buy a 'clunker' house and only fix the inside (where the assessor won't notice). I have a friend who made a nice apartment in a junky barn, and has lots of 'mean' dogs and 'no-trespassing' signs.

[ex idahohoan]

idahos a exspensive dive of a place I had a home assed at 428k and you couldnt even sell the damn thing for 325k and with their cheesy scum baggy expemtion it was at 328k but the taxes were ungodly high at 4100 a year or 1.3% hahahah what a fing joke for such a jokey area no industry no culture , no diversity , nothing but taxes bills and bs and then their retarted sales tax at 6.5% hahahaha for what ??????a 20 millino dollar city building with 4 woemn in it daily in post falls place is a coward ville to me , anywhere else youd have public outcry and demand lower taxes , i foundidaho to be a cowards place to live people were afraid to step on peoples toes for their rights and 60% of the people moving there we chased out by minorities in other places or the big city attire and so these peole were cowardly running and hiding out in so called gods country idaho in my 5 yrs in idaho i hated the fing place with its cold dreery winters high taxes and costs and terrible economy and industry a tru pooor white trash area , i love making my 350k in the the bay area and communiting my 20 miles north home and never feezing my arse off and never worrying like id id daily in idont no its a living hell up there in them woods reminded me of bend orgeon