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Old 08-18-2020, 03:45 PM
 
Location: Irvine, California
156 posts, read 228,036 times
Reputation: 200

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Being that I live in Southern California, it's my duty to—once or twice a year—swear that I'm leaving this cesspool for Texas, never to return, and bla bla bla.

After looking into the Houston area for a while, I'm floored by the property taxes that you guys are paying. They're actually more expensive than what I'm paying in Orange County, CA, in some cases even double or more!

Not to criticize or anything, I'm genuinely curious...what gives? I thought Texas was supposed to be the refuge for folks sick and tired of this type of thing.
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Old 08-18-2020, 04:21 PM
 
Location: Houston, TX
403 posts, read 457,944 times
Reputation: 463
We don’t have a state income tax so as a consequence our property taxes are higher than usual.
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Old 08-18-2020, 04:30 PM
 
Location: Irvine, California
156 posts, read 228,036 times
Reputation: 200
Quote:
Originally Posted by Double L View Post
We don’t have a state income tax so as a consequence our property taxes are higher than usual.
I guess that makes sense, the house never loses right?

Just on principle though, it seems pretty counter intuitive. What sense would it make to move to escape taxes...only to pay more taxes? Yes, I understand the income tax doesn't exist, but the bottom-line savings is diminished substantially by the property tax when it comes to housing.

Given what I pay for my condo here, I'm not sure it would be wise to move all the way across the country just to shave off a couple hundred per month, even if it is for a detached house.

Last edited by RG1981; 08-18-2020 at 04:39 PM..
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Old 08-18-2020, 04:32 PM
 
181 posts, read 157,048 times
Reputation: 579
Ditto, just keep in mind that our tax and regulatory burden in Texas is much lower, which translates into tax savings, and lower cost of living across the board. However you can't escape the property tax bill. This is why people from out of state are awed at our lower housing costs (they haven't factored prop tax).

There's a few pro's to property taxes versus income taxes:

1. As a state revenue generator they provide a more stable income for the state during downturns.
2. If you make a lot of money, and choose to live within or beneath your means, you can save a lot of money.
3. It creates an incentive for productive use of the land. No one wants to pay taxes on land that's just sitting there.
4. Once you reach a certain age they freeze your property tax rate, and I think in some cases you can remove the school taxes which tend to make up a large part of the tax.
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Old 08-18-2020, 04:43 PM
 
Location: Irvine, California
156 posts, read 228,036 times
Reputation: 200
I see what you're saying, VAF. The thing is that I'm barely getting by here, so I was hoping to go elsewhere and get a little more breathing room, but after doing all the long division it's probably just better to stay put.
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Old 08-18-2020, 04:46 PM
 
34 posts, read 53,474 times
Reputation: 31
Quote:
Originally Posted by RG1981 View Post
Being that I live in Southern California, it's my duty to—once or twice a year—swear that I'm leaving this cesspool for Texas, never to return, and bla bla bla.

After looking into the Houston area for a while, I'm floored by the property taxes that you guys are paying. They're actually more expensive than what I'm paying in Orange County, CA, in some cases even double or more!

Not to criticize or anything, I'm genuinely curious...what gives? I thought Texas was supposed to be the refuge for folks sick and tired of this type of thing.

Well, I rather take 3% of 3OOK home than 1.2% of a 1M home :-)
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Old 08-18-2020, 07:12 PM
 
1,501 posts, read 1,749,343 times
Reputation: 1320
We also get a homestead exemption of up to 20% for our primary residence. It helps.
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Old 08-18-2020, 08:57 PM
 
Location: Texas
1,982 posts, read 733,920 times
Reputation: 2516
Quote:
Originally Posted by VAF84 View Post
Ditto, just keep in mind that our tax and regulatory burden in Texas is much lower, which translates into tax savings, and lower cost of living across the board. However you can't escape the property tax bill. This is why people from out of state are awed at our lower housing costs (they haven't factored prop tax).

There's a few pro's to property taxes versus income taxes:

1. As a state revenue generator they provide a more stable income for the state during downturns.
2. If you make a lot of money, and choose to live within or beneath your means, you can save a lot of money.
3. It creates an incentive for productive use of the land. No one wants to pay taxes on land that's just sitting there.
4. Once you reach a certain age they freeze your property tax rate, and I think in some cases you can remove the school taxes which tend to make up a large part of the tax.
Property tax revenue doesn’t go to the state, it’s all local.

I would much rather have a higher property tax than an income tax. As someone else mentioned, I can control the level of property tax based on how much real estate I choose to purchase.
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Old 08-18-2020, 09:12 PM
 
Location: Denver, CO
2,815 posts, read 2,109,996 times
Reputation: 2970
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenBouy View Post
Property tax revenue doesn’t go to the state, it’s all local.

I would much rather have a higher property tax than an income tax. As someone else mentioned, I can control the level of property tax based on how much real estate I choose to purchase.
Right, and I can reduce my income tax by getting a lower paying job. I suppose someone with high income but no kids or schools to worry about can downgrade housing in a no income and high property tax state and save more, but for people who're retired or on a fixed income a low property tax this scheme is disadvantageous.
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Old 08-18-2020, 09:16 PM
 
Location: Huntsville Area
1,948 posts, read 1,482,450 times
Reputation: 2998
We have no property tax on our main 4,000 square foot residence. My wife is disabled.

Had we had property taxes, they'd be $1,100.
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