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I might come out ahead in RI losing the flood and hurricane insurance but property taxes on home and autos might take that away.
Florida is not for everyone, it was for us due to job relocation but now that is over being retired.
Just so you know, auto tax here is eliminated. I always thought that was a very unfair tax and very regressive. It also hurt new auto business.
When I check comp houses on property tax, rates seem similar in FL?? I do agree that hanging on to one house is best on that score. We've been in this same house 20+ years and our property taxes right now are much less than we'd pay elsewhere of comparable sales value. We get homestead & senior discount.
Just so you know, auto tax here is eliminated. I always thought that was a very unfair tax and very regressive. It also hurt new auto business.
When I check comp houses on property tax, rates seem similar in FL?? I do agree that hanging on to one house is best on that score. We've been in this same house 20+ years and our property taxes right now are much less than we'd pay elsewhere of comparable sales value. We get homestead & senior discount.
We have a 50k reduction from our assessed value the year after we purchase (homestead) and then our assessed value can only go up 3% a year so if you have been in your house awhile you are fine.
We could no longer afford our home here now if we had to start over. I wasn’t aware of senior or homestead in RI. I will have to check that out. Definitely a plus not having annual city property tax on automobiles.
"We could no longer afford our home here now if we had to start over." I think a lot of people in every state are now in that boat!
Senior and homestead goes by town in RI, so check taxes in town halls where you're interested in living. Barrington, for example, has no senior discount unless you've lived there a looong time and are practically penniless.
Here's some homestead info- not sure if it's totally up to date...
Homestead exemptions are available for the following Rhode Island towns: Central Falls, East Providence, Johnston, Lincoln, Narragansett, North Providence, Providence, West Greenwich, and Woonsocket.
Here's a senior tax exemption example for East Providence:
I just found this as well- don't know where or if it's been implemented:
The second piece of legislation (2021-S 0103, 2021-H 6238) authorizes cities and towns to establish programs to offer tax credits to property owners age 60 or older in exchange for volunteer hours, allowing seniors to earn up to $1,500 off their property taxes.
“Many older property owners, particularly retirees, struggle under the burden of their property taxes. Allowing them to reduce their tax liability by volunteering for their city or town lets them use some of resources they have — time and skills — to lighten the load,” said Sen. Coyne. “This is an idea that would benefit seniors and municipalities alike. Seniors are very dependable volunteers who have a lifetime of skills and experience to offer. In these days of tight municipal budgets, it could bring in some very valuable volunteers for cash-strapped towns.”
“Besides the obvious financial benefits for both seniors and the towns, this is an idea that can also strengthen our communities, creating new opportunities for town residents to meet and interact with their neighbors, and helping older residents maintain connections and form new ones in their neighborhood,” said Rep. Knight (D-Dist. 67, Barrington, Warren).
Actually, you'd be surprised sansonik. One of things that triggers the higher taxes for retirees are RMDs.
The feds make you take your money out at a certain rate based on age so they can tax it, and of course, that also impacts state taxation in RI. So a retiree can be forced to take out more than they need to live on. However, the age for that necessity has been raised slightly under the current regime.
I sure would be surprised. To have an RMD over 88,975, you'd have to have a retirement account of $2,437,915 and be in the largest distribution year (72). I've been reviewing RMD requests for the last month from people who don't need the money and I don't think I've seen one that large. (On the other hand, the requests I'll see in January are from people who DO need the money!)
I'll stand by my statement that the vast majority of RI retirees are not drawing $89,000 in retirement income. I didn't say NO ONE is. So in those "worst places to retire" lists, they'll still say RI taxes social security but in all practicality they don't. Also, 88,975 is above the social security max payment so those relying only on social security are safe
I sure would be surprised. To have an RMD over 88,975, you'd have to have a retirement account of $2,437,915 and be in the largest distribution year (72). I've been reviewing RMD requests for the last month from people who don't need the money and I don't think I've seen one that large. (On the other hand, the requests I'll see in January are from people who DO need the money!)
I'll stand by my statement that the vast majority of RI retirees are not drawing $89,000 in retirement income. I didn't say NO ONE is. So in those "worst places to retire" lists, they'll still say RI taxes social security but in all practicality they don't. Also, 88,975 is above the social security max payment so those relying only on social security are safe
Maybe so in your example. But all RMDs increase taxes- that is the main point- especially when added to SS and any other pension, interest income, etc. It's total income in retirement and if you don't even have a mortgage, most won't have any deductions beyond the standard deduction.
Personally, I have noticed that older retirees in Florida are generally healthier and more physically active than those in many other states. Most of my older relatives who relocated to Florida (in retirement or earlier) lived to be 85 years of age or older. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the older relatives who remained in New England in retirement. Perhaps, natural selection is to blame — the relatives who were frail and unhealthy (by their middle or late 60s) were unable to relocate to Florida (or anywhere else in retirement) for obvious reasons.
Still, for older persons, there are plenty of “non-wage benefits” to living in Florida, especially if you enjoy boating, fishing, golfing, swimming and other outdoor activities that are best enjoyed in warm weather. There is an osmosis factor at play — if you live in the Villages and see dozens or, perhaps, hundreds of older people playing golf ever day, then you might be inclined to take up the sport yourself or stick with it in your golden years.
And the northern part of the state has some hills, lots of woods, slight seasonal change (with cooler winters and shoulder seasons) and very little traffic and congestion. Not all of Florida is like Fort Lauderdale.
"We could no longer afford our home here now if we had to start over." I think a lot of people in every state are now in that boat!
Senior and homestead goes by town in RI, so check taxes in town halls where you're interested in living. Barrington, for example, has no senior discount unless you've lived there a looong time and are practically penniless.
Here's some homestead info- not sure if it's totally up to date...
Homestead exemptions are available for the following Rhode Island towns: Central Falls, East Providence, Johnston, Lincoln, Narragansett, North Providence, Providence, West Greenwich, and Woonsocket.
Here's a senior tax exemption example for East Providence:
I just found this as well- don't know where or if it's been implemented:
The second piece of legislation (2021-S 0103, 2021-H 6238) authorizes cities and towns to establish programs to offer tax credits to property owners age 60 or older in exchange for volunteer hours, allowing seniors to earn up to $1,500 off their property taxes.
“Many older property owners, particularly retirees, struggle under the burden of their property taxes. Allowing them to reduce their tax liability by volunteering for their city or town lets them use some of resources they have — time and skills — to lighten the load,” said Sen. Coyne. “This is an idea that would benefit seniors and municipalities alike. Seniors are very dependable volunteers who have a lifetime of skills and experience to offer. In these days of tight municipal budgets, it could bring in some very valuable volunteers for cash-strapped towns.”
“Besides the obvious financial benefits for both seniors and the towns, this is an idea that can also strengthen our communities, creating new opportunities for town residents to meet and interact with their neighbors, and helping older residents maintain connections and form new ones in their neighborhood,” said Rep. Knight (D-Dist. 67, Barrington, Warren).
My town offers this property tax benefit to volunteer fire personnel. It's the least we can do, given the high cost of living in some of the states pricier communities.
Very good news for lower income retired Rhode Islanders. Along with the obvious climate change, it gives these seniors more options of staying here - rather than running to Florida.
Not Rhode Island but we won’t have much tax burden a few miles over the line in the Massachusetts South Coast. We will have a bit less than 6 figures of combined Social Security income with no state tax. The mill rate here went down to $8.78 per thousand and I’m assessed at around 70% of market value. The flat 5% flat tax on the rest of our income isn’t much of a burden.
Our plan of record is to spend 90 days in Southern Europe in 1-month furnished rentals to cut the edge off of winter. It’s off season so there is plenty of availability at lower prices. Lisbon and coastal Spain are in the 60s. Rome is in the 60s by March.
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