How Bad Are Taxes in Chicago? (condos, townhouses, neighborhood)

[baaadgoatjoke]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

[SIZE=2]How North Carolina State income tax rates are structured [/SIZE] [SIZE=1] The tax table below will show in detail the North Carolina state income tax rates by income tax bracket(s). There are 3 income tax brackets for North Carolina. [/SIZE] [SIZE=1] If your income range is between $0 and $12,750, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 6%.
If your income range is between $12,751 and $60,000, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 7%.
If your income range is $60,001 and over, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 7.75%.
[/SIZE] [SIZE=1] Income tax brackets data last updated March 3rd, 2009. [/SIZE]
Comparing your state income tax , Illinois is 5%

Tax is not that high its the media who hypes all this up

Granted I do not live in Chicago and this is the state income tax - this is the tax that has a lot of folks in an uproar

North Carolina has a super high tax rate for what you get. I'm not against paying highish rates as long as I feel I'm getting something commensurate for it.

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by baaadgoatjoke

edit - I thought rent at a lot of the apartments up there included heat. Am I wrong?

No you are not wrong.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by baaadgoatjoke

North Carolina has a super high tax rate for what you get. I'm not against paying highish rates as long as I feel I'm getting something commensurate for it.

Yeah I am with you in your idea, I too don't mind paying as long as I get good roads, good police and fire protection proper lighting in the streets etc.....and of course a big issue is schools.

I was surprised at NC state tax- My perception was it was a low tax state.
Granted i dont know what the local tax rate is and the sales tax

One thing that gets me stoked is our neighbor here Indiana

They have this large ad campaign that says come on IN to Indiana -and the grass is greener on the other side. The whole things reminds me of an attorney chasing an injured person down for the case.
It just gets to me.

People just do not look deeper into this and do not realize its more than what is on the surface you need to look at the whole structure of the tax system.
Example is Indiana they always brag about the taxes low but in reality its not yeah some things are but others are just the opposite

They have this local option income tax that every political blowhard forgets to mention. And then to plate your vehicle is very very costly. Either way the piper is going to get paid and its all perception.

I just have a hard time finding out why people are so blind to obvious things at times.

It just rubs me the wrong way with Indiana they have printed media , radio advertising , listing on business sites, large billboards and on and on.

I mentioned earlier i do not live in Chicago but i do work in Chicago and know many people who call Chicago home.

any large city is going to have a bigger tax bill it seems to come with the territory but i think you hit the mark with your comment.
People want to see what they get for the taxes they are paying.

Then the whole Todd Stroger fiasco- seemed to be one of the main tipping points along with the bottled water tax- then the lease deal with the parking meters.

But in my observation the media has over hyped this issue a little- granted some things seem a bit high -

For example I do not smoke but if i did- i sure as the heck would never buy a pack of smokes in Chicago- No way!
And its not all the cities fault -take the smokes for example its just a layer of the taxes as the state gets a piece of the action too
The red light cameras seem to be a rip off too last year i was hit with that little ticket 100 bucks down the drain.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by tonythetuna

And electric,gas...

Yeah that is a little disturbing who is getting that money is it the state
or the city or village.

Gas, electric, cell phone they all have this little gem
makes you wonder just how much they collect off that one
I look at my cable bill and its around 10 bucks
for what? Not like the state does anything for the 10 dollars


Why on earth are we letting them rip us off on this tax

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by baaadgoatjoke

Good to see that it's not as bad as I hear. I'm going to be moving from Raleigh to the city proper around Sept/Nov and I'm pretty excited. I've told a few coworkers and it's funny and also quite sad to hear them say thing like "get read to have everything you make go to the gubmint" and "ooo that's the murder capital of the US." I work a white collar job, but apparently that doesn't mean that they aren't still a bunch of rednecks.

edit - I thought rent at a lot of the apartments up there included heat. Am I wrong? I'm primarily looking at Bucktown and Pilsen.

Many of the older apartments have heat included because they have a central boiler for the entire building.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by baaadgoatjoke

North Carolina has a super high tax rate for what you get. I'm not against paying highish rates as long as I feel I'm getting something commensurate for it.

Sales tax in NC is 7.75%, which is a little bit cheaper than in Chicago, but IMHO not a significant difference.

Property taxes are where the difference will be significant. Within the city of Chicago property tax bills are actually fairly reasonable, but in the suburbs, you can easily have bills that at 2-3% of the market value of the house. Obviously this really isn't a direct concern for renters, but it may be something to consider once you start looking to buy.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by baaadgoatjoke

North Carolina has a super high tax rate for what you get. I'm not against paying highish rates as long as I feel I'm getting something commensurate for it.

I'm shocked how high many of the state tax rates are in the Southern states. You'd think that if you provide minimal government, you'd have lower tax rates.

I suppose its because Southern states have historically been much poorer than the North, so they had to tax themselves at relatively high rates to generate sufficient income.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

I'm shocked how high many of the state tax rates are in the Southern states. You'd think that if you provide minimal government, you'd have lower tax rates.

I suppose its because Southern states have historically been much poorer than the North, so they had to tax themselves at relatively high rates to generate sufficient income.

At least you can write off or use property tax as an itemized deduction
currently

Surprised me too with the nc tax rate
I would be very curious to see what georgia state tax is compared to the other south state

I found this interesting too
Retirement Income Taxes
[SIZE=2]Under federal law, taxpayers may be required to include a portion of their Social Security benefits in their taxable adjusted gross income (AGI). Most states begin the calculation of state personal income tax liability with federal AGI, or federal taxable income. In those states, the portion of Social Security benefits subject to personal income tax is subject to state personal income tax unless state law allows taxpayers to subtract the federally taxed portion of their benefits from their federal AGI in the computation of their state AGI.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Many states exclude Social Security retirement benefits from state income taxes. The District of Columbia and 27 states with income taxes provide a full exclusion for Social Security benefits -- Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]The remaining 14 states with broad-based income taxes tax Social Security to some extent:[/SIZE]

• [SIZE=2]Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia tax Social Security income to the extent it is taxed by the federal government.[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=2]Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Montana tax Social Security income above an income floor. Iowa will gradually phase out its Social Security tax levy from 2008 through 2014. Missouri will phase out its Social Security tax levy by 2010. Kansas residents can exclude Social Security income if their adjusted gross income is less than $75,000.[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=2]Colorado, New Mexico and Utah require that federally untaxed Social Security benefits be added back to federal AGI to calculate the base against which their broad age-determined income exclusions apply.[/SIZE]

[Big E]

Hi all. We live in Omaha and are seriously considering a loft/1BR in the Loop for weekends and extended vacations. FYI: you can get from downtown Omaha to downtown Chicago via United and the blue line in 3 hours if everything works right.

Can anyone give me an idea of what property taxes would be on a unit in the $150K-$200K neighborhood? (A decent property search other than Trulia.com would be appreciated as well.)

I'm trying to determine if it would be worth my effort and money to buy vs rent vs just work out a deal with a hotel. Looking at all the real estate available at "discounted" prices tells me that assessments might not be in whack with the market.

[snoylekim]

Originally Posted by Big E

Hi all. We live in Omaha and are seriously considering a loft/1BR in the Loop for weekends and extended vacations. FYI: you can get from downtown Omaha to downtown Chicago via United and the blue line in 3 hours if everything works right.

Can anyone give me an idea of what property taxes would be on a unit in the $150K-$200K neighborhood? (A decent property search other than Trulia.com would be appreciated as well.)

I'm trying to determine if it would be worth my effort and money to buy vs rent vs just work out a deal with a hotel. Looking at all the real estate available at "discounted" prices tells me that assessments might not be in whack with the market.

Rough guess, because it can vary slightly , and not sure if you can get the homeowners exemption, but a unit that sold in that range n the West or South Loop areas would probably have yearly property taxes of 1800 - 2200 ..If you're looking for a condo, don't forget the assessments , which will run 150 - 250.00 /month ..that varies by building .. high rises or larger developments are typically higher .