Does anyone know how property taxes work in Pgh?? (Pittsburgh: appointed, real estate)

[teeter58]

I am planning to move to Pgh later this year, though the taxes may force me to look in Butler, Beaver, or Westmoreland. Can someone tell me what boros or municipalities have the lowest taxes in Pgh? I have looked at some of the northern areas such as Shaler, North Hills, etc and also Brentwood, South Hills, etc. It seems that there are homes in the same area that are priced about the same but one will be $2000 more in taxes?? Any help in figuring this out would be appreciated! I currently live in NC and pay less than $1000 a year in property taxes. I just can not imagine paying 4 or 5 times that.

[Pghtebbie]

Did you do a search of the forum? This subject has been brought up a number of times. Start with this thread, at least for Allegheny County:

//www.city-data.com/forum/pitts...ittsburgh.html

But to simply answer your question- YES. Our taxes are higher. Much higher.

[teeter58]

Thanks! It appears Allegheny County is going to tax to prosperity. What a shame that there are people that would like to live in Pgh but the govt pushes them away.

[str8outtawexford]

You need to look at the whole tax picture:

- NC has a WAY higher income tax rate than PA. So everyone with taxable NC income pays higher taxes. People tend to overlook this because they just have state taxes withheld from their paycheck and never think about it.

- The largest portion of real estate taxes for PA is for the school taxes. If you live in a good school district, your taxes will probably be higher.

[teeter58]

Thanks. What about this 3% income tax people have to pay if they live in the city? NC has somewhere around 7% income tax. But we don't have local income taxes and we are taxed on property only once, by the county. NC taxes cars as well as any other personal property such as boats, motorcycles, RV's etc yearly. So if you have a bunch of toys, you pay. But I pay about $300 a year for two cars. Gas is also about 10 to 15 cents a gallon cheaper here.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by teeter58

Thanks. What about this 3% income tax people have to pay if they live in the city? NC has somewhere around 7% income tax. But we don't have local income taxes and we are taxed on property only once, by the county. NC taxes cars as well as any other personal property such as boats, motorcycles, RV's etc yearly. So if you have a bunch of toys, you pay. But I pay about $300 a year for two cars. Gas is also about 10 to 15 cents a gallon cheaper here.

The Pennsylvania state income tax is a flat 3.07%. The City of Pittsburgh local income tax is indeed 3% (covering a city and school district tax). It can be substantially less in other nearby localities.

Overall I think it is fair to say Pittsburgh taxes (all in) are pretty high, and the cost for most things is average. But in comparison to cities with equivalent amenities, the cost of housing in particular is relatively inexpensive, and obviously that is the biggest cost for a lot of people.

Edit: Oh, and to make something explicit: in Pittsburgh it may indeed cost you a bit more in taxes to live in the city proper rather than the suburbs (although that can depend a bit on your individual balance between income and property). On the other hand, some people like living in the city and find it more convenient than the suburbs. So, whether it is worth the extra taxes (assuming there are some) is going to be a matter of personal preference.

[kpoeppel]

property taxes: they go up, which means people move away, meaning revenue decreases, which means taxes have to go up again. And the cycle repeats. Spending never decreases, however, due to powerful special interests that have a stranglehold on local politics.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by kpoeppel

property taxes: they go up, which means people move away, meaning revenue decreases, which means taxes have to go up again. And the cycle repeats. Spending never decreases, however, due to powerful special interests that have a stranglehold on local politics.

Spending never decreases because costs go up, too. You keep insisting that these powerful special interests are the cause of all the bad -- but that isn't the whole thing. I mean -- you work a job, don't you? And don't you want your yearly pay increases? That's an increased cost.

Spending CAN decrease -- but it takes money to find the leaks, and the overruns and the favors. But you have to hire someone to go over these things with a fine tooth comb. And yes -- people don't like it when you do that.

A few years ago, our local school district was taken over by the state because they were out of money and in debt like you can't believe. First thing the appointed ward did was turn off the cell phones. Saved, I think, 2 million off the bat. Even the janitors had cell phones and most of the calls made on them were NOT school related.

One of the many other things that saved the school district a ton of money was finding out that the said janitors also seemed to work multiple shifts at different schools at the same time... collecting a lot of overtime that couldn't have possibly been worked....

The one thing that the school district ended up paying lots of money for? The round the clock bodyguards for the appointed ward and his family.... the whole three years he was here.

[velcro21]

The variation you are seeing in the taxes are based on location and on the taxable assessment value of the home. We are looking for a home right now and the assessment value will play a large role in what we can buy. For instance, we can find two homes in the same township and neighborhood (so the base tax rates are the same) but one will cost $1000 more in taxes based on the assessment of the property. You can check this assessment value on the Allegheny County real estate website (if you are looking at Allegheny County homes).
The assessments are (at best) very imperfect, but a good rule of thumb is newer construction homes will be assessed a close-to-market value and have a higher tax rate. A good strategy around here is to find an older home that has been nicely updated with a lower assessed value. This may not continue to be the case as we have a continuing political battle about how properties are assessed for tax purposes but, for now, you can still find a lot of variety in the property taxes.

As for Allegheny County neighborhoods with the lowest taxes, it helps (if you can interpret it) to look at the county website for the current school tax millage rates.
Allegheny County Treasurer

Then look at the municipality rates.
Allegheny County Treasurer

Look for combinations of areas that are on the low end of both to find the cheapest places to live. (Typically it will be suburbs well outside the city.) It certainly isn't an absolute rule as you will have to also look at each township to find the wage tax (1 percent in Moon, 1.5 in Whitehall, 3 in the city) to get the full tax picture. Good luck!

[kpoeppel]

Originally Posted by Tallysmom

The one thing that the school district ended up paying lots of money for? The round the clock bodyguards for the appointed ward and his family.... the whole three years he was here.

Precisely my point. Poeple will fight tooth and nail, sometimes to the point of violence, to avoid having their corruption and "abuse of the system" exposed. It's especially prevelent in western PA, where the union mentality (i.e. "give me more...or else!") is so strong.

Since people are moving away, costs should be decreasing, not increasing. Spending should be decreasing in proportion with population. But that means job losses, which of course, never happen, due to political influence. Worse, since the private-sector economy is so poor, people look to government to "create jobs." It doesn't matter if the jobs actually provide any benefit.

How do I come to these conclusions? Read the local newspapers, especially the editorial pages. Any government spending, no matter how unnecessary, is justified simply because it "creates jobs." We needed new stadiums. Why? Well, to "create jobs" of course. No matter that the stadiums have had no significant benefit to the local economy. Up here in Erie we just built a new convention center. Nevermind that we don't have any need for a convention center. All that matters is that "jobs" (for politically-connected people) were created. Nevermind that the state tax-payers get the shaft.