Taxes and cost of living: Portland vs Vancouver (Lind, Klickitat: low income, sales)

[HAL9001]

I'm thinking of relocating to the Portland area in about a year from the suburbs of Minneapolis. I am 57 and semi-retired though I do work some.
I lived in Cedar Hills for about 4 months right before 9/11, but had to move back to MN because my house didn't sell and fall/winter was arriving and you DON'T want your house to be vacant in MN during those times! I've been reading a lot here about the Portland vs Vancouver debate and would like to get some knowledgeable opinions about taxes and cost of living:
Property taxes(this is particularly important to me)
Vehicle taxes
Utility costs
Any "Gotcha" taxes a n00bie would be unaware of.

Several web sites have rated Washington state taxes higher than Oregon, but with no income tax and a claimed property tax about 40% lower in Clark county (a comment I received on my other post), this doesn't add up to me. I don't buy much in the way of durable goods, so the sales tax doesn't matter that much to me. I will be buying a house or condo, so property tax does mean a lot.

My target areas are the area around Cedar Hills and Hillsborough for OR and the area around 205 in Clark county. I know about the income tax and sales tax issues for both areas. In reading a tax comparison between the 2 places WA state is considered quite a bit higher than OR. So where is the difference made up? I only make 20-30k a year and I don't typically buy very much stuff. About 10k of my income is from dividends; if those are treated differently in the 2 states. I'm aware of cultural differences and would like to see this thread focus on financial issues. Thanks for any input.

(I've posted the same post in Oregon>Portland, but only gotten 2 responses. Hopefully the Washingtonians are a more vocal bunch)

[cdelena]

I shopped both areas and settled in Washington. It seems that my property tax rates are slightly lower than most areas I looked at in and around Portland (and properties are cheaper in Washington), but the big difference for us is income tax. Even being retired you must look at taxes on IRA/401 withdrawals which is taxable income. From the Washington side you can still shop in Oregon to duck sales tax on most purchases although you can't skip the tax hit on a vehicle purchase.

[scottsostuff]

Well it sounds like you have done your homework regarding residing in either Oregon or Washington. The top reasons that we hear that people relocate here from Oregon and other areas of the US to Clark County Washington are;
-No personal income taxes
-Smaller town feel
-Close to PDX
-Great hospitals
-Schools

We are in a great location of Washingon State and basically you are 1 to 1-1/2 hours to beaches, mountains or desert. We have great local areas for fishing, hunting, water skiing, camping and more.

While we have no sales tax on groceries we do have a sale tax of 8.2% on pre-made food and non food items. Since Oregon has no sales tax most people go across the bridge to Oregon for large purchases. Must be why Costco at the airport is the top selling Costco in the US. They have gas at Costco there as well.

We just recieved the NAR Relocation Report from The National Association of Realtors. This 2006 report offers the most recent data regarding where people relocate from to Clark County, WA. According to the report we had 4057 households move from Oregon to Clark County, WA.

we hope that this helps you. : )

[StealthRabbit]

You can do the calculations based on your planned value for home, and income amount. (OR has a very low tax threshold & taxes everything in your income)

OR does have lower vehicle fees and insurance is slightly lower too ($40 for 2 yrs vs $50 in WA each yr) (OR has mandatory insurance to get your tabs... WA has 40% UN-insured drivers making our insurance rates higher... check with your agent, or I'll refer you to mine) There is a rouge bill being presented to WA legislature to tax your vehicle based on engine displacement, so don't bring a muscle car.... (my pickup 5.9L would go from $40 to $400 / yr) Hopefully this won't pass...

DO BUY your new car BEFORE moving to WA if your sales taxes are lower. I think you can bring in 2 vehicles. Proof of paying sales tax may be required if purchase was near move date.

OR probably will have lower Property taxes, as they use a different calculation for taxable value, but these will likely be pretty close. (do check on the specific taxes on each location based upon your choice of location / price range, this is worth the discussion with the assessor, as rates can vary significantly within close proximity.) With low income you may qualify for prop tax reductions, and these are significant !!

WA props are often considered lower, but most of the best paying jobs are in OR (which you may not need), folks often say they can get more property for the value in WA, you will want to keep your expense low, as taxes are based on what you pay.

Utility prices are lower in WA (So I've been told)

Food cost is similar, and bargain bulk / fresh places exist on each side of the river.

I would consider the congestion and accessibility to your places of interest.
Cedar Hills and Hillsboro can be pretty busy. Also Hillsboro has quite a migrant population. If Light Rail is important, then you would likely want to stick with OR. WA will get it, but not for awhile, There are some direct buses from Fisher's Landing to MAX station in NE Portland, but I don't think C-Tran (Vancouver bus) runs too late.

[JKA]

I am retiring early next year and will either stay in CA or move to Portland or Vancouver, WA area. In CA my property taxes cannot go up more than 1% per year. I am afraid that in OR or WA property is reassessed to market value every couple of years and taxed at the new assessed valuation.

Can anyone post a URL, or other contact information where I could get an authoritative answer to this?

Thanks

[StealthRabbit]

For Vancouver / Clark County WA, go talk to Peter. He has a really nice office that us taxpayers bought for his predessesor Linda Franklin.

Assessment & GIS - Clark County Washington

Many of my CA co-workers keep their homes in CA specifically for prop 13 benefit. They retire back to CA and keep home in WA in Klickitat, Cowlitz, or Skamania County.

In WA they don't get Prop 13 protection. WA State Supreme Court struck down the vote of the people to curb / limit property tax increases. My property taxes went from $800 / yr to $14,400 / yr cuz the appraiser for the County Assessor really likes my house. He personally tells me to "sell it to a CA immgrant". (since I can't afford the taxes).

I repay 100% the ENTIRE price of my home in property taxes every 7 yrs. I have a special case / distaste for assessors. I built my house to LIVE in, not to re-sell. I can freeze my taxes if I am destitue and age 65. My taxes will be over $100k/yr by the time I'm age 65.

YMMV. Taxes can be QUITE cheap too. KNOW your areas (there is published Levies for every district) and be kind to your assessment office employee. They can willingly rape you (2x every yr).

[Ultrarunner]

I've posted before about the 80% assessment increase 18 months above the purchase price...

Home was bought within a few thousand of then current assessed value.

Love just about everything about Washington... just doubt I can retired there.

The 80% assessment increase really floored me...

Too bad I-747 supported by the voters was tossed out...