State/County Taxes

West Virginia has Homestead Exemption for older folks. Makes taxes less of a strain. We do have a 6% food/sales tax as well as very high cigarette taxes. There is also a personal income tax here. Gasoline prices are usually higher than in Virginia.

 

What is today will not be tomorrow. I lived in WNC when taxes were cheap. They have skyrocketed since then. Every state and town are looking for every way to get every dollar and property taxes increase everywhere especially when population grows in that area from people seeking low taxes.

 

I agree with Beeman. I'm no where near,where you asked about, but things will change, you can count on that... :waa: The more people, that move in, the more improvements are made, the higher the taxes will go, and keep going..
I have a new neighbor that found that out.. He moved from NC to Mt. has had land there for years.. Was told by the county, years ago, that even if he built a million dollar home, his taxes would never be more than $200.. wrong!! This year for fencing the last 2 sides on his 20 acres in, (he's still living in a travel trailer) his tax bill jumped $140.00.. They now told him, if he didn't like it. To take his fence back down, or go back where he came from... (did I say they are friendly folk?) We all know if he takes the fence down, the taxes won't go DOWN.... and we live on the cheap side of the state, in the west, taxes are in the thousands..... Good luck!!! but plan ahead....and then don't count on it..... :worship:

 

Usually a lot of the retirement sites (like AARP) have those tables.

But, you want to look more at what you DO get for those taxes as well. If you're paying high taxes yet live within walking/biking distance of everything you need, so you don't need a vehicle so much, great! If you're paying high taxes but have a long commute, yet nothing to speak of in the way of good roads, police/fire coverage, schools, no quality medical care, etc., not so good.

You can deduct your taxes, but you cannot deduct things like car expenses (gas/repairs, etc. In some places you can deduct the registration taxes).


Just another thing to consider.

 

go to www.bestplaces.net ................and click on compare 2 cities and they'll give you all kinds of info..........fordy

 

The net effect difference in property taxes between states is negligible....almost to the point of being insignificant.

As others have pointed out, ALL forms of taxation are always in movement. What may be the least expensive today.....can turn into yuppieville tomorrow. Sales taxes are constantly changing. Vehicle registration fees are also in a state of flux.
Then throw in the "optional" taxes such as beer/wine/licquor, cigarette, entertainment, etc

At the end of the day, if you live in a modern big house and have 200 acres......you'll be taxed heavily.....regardless of where you live.

Schools need to be built & operated. Streets need to be built & maintained. Police & fire protection are a must. And as the get tough on criminals era continues.....more prisons need to be built & maintained.
Don't count on taxes going down anywhere.

 

I'm going to agree with Hoop that property tax differences are probably not significant in making a decision as to which state one chooses. It might have a marginal impact.

I do think that one should consider carefully how one can minimize property taxes as you develop a property. For example, I'm probably going to skip a fixed/glass greenhouse and just stick to plastic hoop ones.... temporary structures generally won't raise your taxes like an additional building would.

You can always challenge assessed valuations. We just had some (not a lot but every little bit counts!) lopped off the assessed valuation of our house. (We challenged an increase in assessed valuation).

You can also get creative. We are on track to get an acre of our house property under current agricultural use valuation because we generate more than $2,500 in agricultural income from it. That should lop off some more.

As usual, just my 2 cents.

Mike

 

here's a couple of things to look for in a county;
Large farms owned by members of the same family( more than likely the land can't be sold or broken up and must be passed down) means less Growth.
Dry counties (can't sell booze) Less growth in the tourism business.
The average age of the residents in the county ( 35 or older will tell you that most the young people are moving away, again less growth)
There are some more things to look for but you get the idea.
Less growth, less people, less taxes.
I just bought 40 acers with a house built smack dab in the middle of it
(long driveway)That is on a dead end dirt road and borders the national forest. Heeeavvvvvveeeeeeeeennnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!! I actully smile when i'm asleep at night. Anyways our taxes are paid monthly in our mortgage
and it is 8 dollars a month. Yep thats right 8 bucks.
Good luck in your search for your chunk of heaven.

 

In my area of the world (wi) if you have woods and have over 10 acres there are programs you can get into that'll drop your taxes to almost nothing (as long as you leave it that way)...also CRP programs that'll pay you...look around, there are breaks even in super high taxed states like this one!

 

where is this? what state? county?

 

Unreg,
I recently bought 35 acres in Waushara County. Mostly hardwoods with a little lowland and some meadow. Taxes will eat you alive, as you kknow!

-where can I get info on these tax programs?

- got any pros and cons........DNR??

 

Here is the link to the DNR website that discusses these programs: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/forestry/ftax/Index.htm I haven't looked at these real close lately, but I believe that you must let hunters and other recreational users onto your property. There are other stipulations I'm sure, which are probably explained at the website.

Nick

 

When you check on the family farms, also check into what tax breaks they're getting and how long they're getting them. In areas that are highly developed, or getting that way, many farmers/foresters sold for development when the breaks ran out.

 

'ppreciate it Nick

 

Try this site: http://www.retirementliving.com/RLtaxes.html

 

Hey guys, check this out, it may make change some ideas. When we had property in ND. they'd nail you on Vehicle taxes, and only gave you a short term, not when yours ran out. (cop stopped me, he said 20 days after moving there. And there's cheap places in the Dakota's because, you only get days to pay your taxes, or back taxes,(not years like some places), your place is listed in the paper and sold at a cop sale, and they sell alot. Real Estate agents, have a market, and many split the money, including county workers that lose your taxes or send them to your old address. Darn thing is, some even are proud of their business..
And some of those TAX breaks tie up your land, so even YOU can't use it as you THINK.. and neither can your kids, or their kids..Careful What you sign
As they say, if it looks too good, it just may be...


http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0116-01.htm

 

http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0116-01.htm

Corruption? Here in Mississippi the corrupt officials just get caught and reported more. In bigger states the corrupt take very big amounts of money and keep it better hidden through connections.

 

Taxes here are 1% of the value.. Usually they use the loan value.. For example you buy a house here, your loan was for 200K. Your taxes are 2,000. plus whatever little school bills they got passed. COurse 20 yrs from now they will not use the loan value they will "appraise" your property for what THEY think its worth.... Which can be good or bad LOL...
Anyone of you notice how they make the first tax date due Dec 15 right before Christmas?? Like they figure they better hit you up before you spend it all on the holidays LOL