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March 3, 2017 - As those of us in the baby-boom generation approach retirement, one of the things that many of us are looking at is the affordability of the places we may be considering retiring in. Property taxes play a big role in that. The average amount paid for homeowners nationwide is more than $2,000 annually. For those who don't own a home of their own, property taxes are still a big factor because they are included in your rent. And depending upon where you live, you may also have to pay property taxes on the vehicles you drive. A new report from Nerdwallet now provides a quick and easy means to evaluate property taxes nationwide.
The report is quite interesting. If you live in New Jersey, you are paying the highest property taxes in the country; averaging 2.35% of assessed value annually. On the other hand, if you live in Hawaii, you are paying the lowest property taxes in the US. I don't know about you, Hawaii vs. New Jersey for retirement is pretty much a no-brainer.
But of course, there are 48 other states and the District of Columbia to consider too. If you are more into the mountains and skiing than you are the beach, Colorado and Wyoming (8th and 9th lowest property taxes respectively) don't look too bad. But if you choose to go to New Hampshire, You'll be paying the 3rd highest property taxes in the nation.
When it comes to vehicle property taxes, the smallest state in the nation will take the largest bite out of your wallet. Rhode Island charges 4.77% of your vehicle's value in taxes. Ouch. That's almost $1,200 on a 25,000 car. The real surprise to me when I went through the numbers was that half the states in the country had vehicle property taxes.
Perhaps the old saying that the only sure things in life are death and taxes is true. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't move in order to reduce the tax burden.
byJim Malmberg
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