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If you buy a house in NH. and work in MA, then you are going to pay the the insanely high NH property tax and MA tax. And the Car rigistration in just as insane in NH. the best thing is to just rent. If you do the math on a $300,000 home with an average $7000 NH prop tax muliplied by 10 years = $70,000. People are foolish to buy in NH.
Really old thread, I know... I didn't intentionally "dig it up" - I was Googling something and it came up. I feel the need to point out to anyone else finding this thread that there is NO "commuter rail" anywhere in NH which heads into Boston. It does not exist in Manchester or Nashua, despite the claim of another poster.
The Downeaster is an Amtrak train which runs between Portland, Maine and Boston North Station. Some commuters in the NH towns of Dover, Durham, and Exeter do use it, but it is more a tourist train, not a commuter train. I have found that the schedule is not very convenient for commuters, and it takes a lot longer than a bus to Boston from any of those locations would take. It is also rather expensive. Boston employers often subsidize MBTA passes, but not Downeaster tickets. There is also not "unlimited" monthly commuter pass available, the way there is for the commuter rail in MA. The towns it serves are also in one of the more expensive areas of NH, and it is not at all a viable option for anyone living in the Concord or Manchester areas... only Seacoast NH or a bit further towards Central NH, but not all the way to Concord.
In the scenario the OP describes, he/she would be paying full MA income tax, NH's HIGH property tax (assuming he/she buys... if he/she rents, he/she should be prepared to pay more in rent than would be expected... landlords pass on the high tax cost) AND paying for commuting, which can be $500 or more per month on the train or bus, including parking at the station.
I once lived in Maine (north of Portland) and commuted to Boston. This was our of necessity (family issue) NOT for a financial benefit. It was a losing proposition, money-wise, not to mention quality of life was lowered by having such a long commute.
NH is really not the inexpensive place people imagine it to be. Once you get over a certain annual income (I had estimated it to be around $60,000 once), but still maintain only a moderate-value house, you do do better, tax-wise, than you would in MA (assuming you earn your money in NH, not MA.) But many people actually end up paying much MORE in taxes in NH, even taking into account the lack of income tax and sales tax. It all depends on annual income, house value, town you live in, what state you work in, etc.. Assuming you work in NH (the best scenario, financially), consider how much you'd be paying in state income tax if you lived in MA, then look at how much more you're paying in property taxes in NH (for an equivalent house, which might be valued less than a similar house in MA, so it's not a straightforward calculation) and see how it works out. You might come out ahead, you might come out way behind. And of course there are the intangibles... if you're planning to live in NH but work in MA, totally aside from the fact that you're paying MA income tax, there's the time spent commuting when you could be doing something else, etc.. It's true there's no "sales" tax in NH, but that does not tell the whole story. Many grocery items and clothing are also not taxed in MA. And NH has liquor taxes, restaurant taxes, gas taxes, etc.. You WILL be paying taxes on things you consume. How much better you do in NH in that regard has to do with what you consume.
We have friends who moved to southern NH a few years ago for the very reasons the OP mentioned. They never quite realized the tax situation until after they had moved
They love the area, though, so they're not planning to move back. Had they fully realized it beforehand, though, they both say they probably would have stayed put in MA.
I lived in MA most of my life before moving to NH 15 years ago. I'll never move back. MA's income tax is 5.3% while in NH, it is zero. The sales tax in MA is now 6.25% ($1350 extra on a $20,000 car); zero in NH. My car insurance was cut in half when I moved to NH. It would be worse now with teenagers driving.
Real estate taxes are higher in NH, but make sure you compare the actual dollars, not the rates. I have friends in nice towns in MA such as Westford and Sudbury and they have lower rates but much higher valuations so they pay more dollars...
The other factor is the schools. I have many friends and family in MA and many send their kids to private school from 7th or 9th grade onward. At $14k or more per year per kid, that can be a huge amount of money over time. I have two in college (and a sophomore in HS), and they went through the public schools and did well getting into colleges and are doing well in college.
I lived in MA most of my life before moving to NH 15 years ago. I'll never move back. MA's income tax is 5.3% while in NH, it is zero. The sales tax in MA is now 6.25% ($1350 extra on a $20,000 car); zero in NH. My car insurance was cut in half when I moved to NH. It would be worse now with teenagers driving.
Real estate taxes are higher in NH, but make sure you compare the actual dollars, not the rates. I have friends in nice towns in MA such as Westford and Sudbury and they have lower rates but much higher valuations so they pay more dollars...
The other factor is the schools. I have many friends and family in MA and many send their kids to private school from 7th or 9th grade onward. At $14k or more per year per kid, that can be a huge amount of money over time. I have two in college (and a sophomore in HS), and they went through the public schools and did well getting into colleges and are doing well in college.
I don't quite get the point about the schools. It's not like anyone anywhere is required to send their kids to private schools, and it's not like no one in NH sends their kids to private school. Public schools in MA are just as good as those in NH, on average. It's not like somehow people who live in MA MUST pay for expensive private schools or else their kids will be failures, while those in NH can go to public schools and succeed. The only "issue" I could see would be increased pressure in MA to "keep up with the Joneses" and send kids to private schools. So.... I do not believe that this savings has anything to do with any difference between MA and NH. It's merely the difference in costs between sending kids to private schools or public schools, and would be the same anywhere.
It is true that equivalent houses in NH are often less expensive than in MA, but unless you're comparing to the most expensive Boston suburbs, the difference in actual property tax bills is still substantial. I know someone who just bought a house in MA which is assessed at almost twice the value of mine, but they still pay $2000 less per year in property taxes. (I'm interested in real estate in general and frequently look at Zillow and other websites, so I am well-informed about tax assessments and taxes paid in different areas.)
And, let's not forget that there is a big difference between both living and working in NH, and living in NH but working in MA. Most people would be hard-pressed to realize ANY financial benefit from living in NH but working in MA. In most cases, they would actually lose money, sometimes in significant amounts.
I don't quite get the point about the schools. It's not like anyone anywhere is required to send their kids to private schools, and it's not like no one in NH sends their kids to private school. Public schools in MA are just as good as those in NH, on average. It's not like somehow people who live in MA MUST pay for expensive private schools or else their kids will be failures, while those in NH can go to public schools and succeed. The only "issue" I could see would be increased pressure in MA to "keep up with the Joneses" and send kids to private schools. So.... I do not believe that this savings has anything to do with any difference between MA and NH. It's merely the difference in costs between sending kids to private schools or public schools, and would be the same anywhere.
It is true that equivalent houses in NH are often less expensive than in MA, but unless you're comparing to the most expensive Boston suburbs, the difference in actual property tax bills is still substantial. I know someone who just bought a house in MA which is assessed at almost twice the value of mine, but they still pay $2000 less per year in property taxes. (I'm interested in real estate in general and frequently look at Zillow and other websites, so I am well-informed about tax assessments and taxes paid in different areas.)
And, let's not forget that there is a big difference between both living and working in NH, and living in NH but working in MA. Most people would be hard-pressed to realize ANY financial benefit from living in NH but working in MA. In most cases, they would actually lose money, sometimes in significant amounts.
Most Massachusetts residents live around the Boston suburbs....over 3 million residents total, so yes, most Massachusetts resides pay as much, or more in property taxes than NH residents. Anyway....the TOTAL tax burden in NH is much lower than Massachusetts. NH has no capital gains & no death taxes. It adds up. As for the average schools in NH & Mass....NH is way, way ahead on SAT scores.
Instead of people giving a blanket statement (taxes are much worse in NH), for some of us it actually makes it more beneficial to live in NH vs MA. We have a home in NJ and I can get more home for the money in NH while only paying $1k more in property taxes. Considering we plan to work in NH, between the two incomes, we would be saving alot of money as a result of not having to pay state income taxes. We also looked at properties in MA but were not comparable once you factor in the taxes(state, property, sales).
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