6 ms·

You don't even have to be poor to be worse off in TX. Our household income is a little over $300k, and moving to Austin would raise our total tax burden compar

You don't even have to be poor to be worse off in TX. Our household income is a little over $300k, and moving to Austin would raise our total tax burden compared to where we live now. It is not a low tax state.

nostromo 4y ago
> compared to where we live now Which is?
- idontpost 4y ago
  A well known "high tax state" with astronomical property values (but low property taxes).
dimitrios1 4y ago
I imagine you own a decent home in Texas, though. Quite the issue in California.
blantonl 4y ago
This solely depends on what type of home you purchased in Texas. If you bought a 200K Pulte box home, you'll be WAY better off. If you bought a 1MM Toll Brothers new build, yeah, you gonna get killed in taxes in Texas
- runako 4y ago
  OP is talking about moving to Austin, where there are no houses or condos with > 1 BR for sale at or under $250k. There are a handful of listings in the ~$300k range, where the property tax will run around $800/mo.
  - ceeplusplus 4y ago
    I find that hard to believe. A quick look at Redfin says tax on this $385k home is about $564/mo [1]. In any case, the lower tax rate in CA gets baked into the property value (hence the sky-high valuations) so you're paying for it either way. Comparing equivalent homes in NYC/Jersey City or Boston to those in Silicon Valley or LA makes it easy to see the effect property taxes have on valuations. [1] https://www.redfin.com/TX/Austin/2015-Ploverville-Ln-78728/home/31582786 https://www.redfin.com/TX/Austin/2015-Ploverville-Ln-78728/h...
    - runako 4y ago
      > A quick look at Redfin says tax on this $385k home is about $564/mo The tax estimate is based on an assessment based on a sale that happened 6 years ago, which ends up valuing the house at $100k (roughly 25%) less. :-) A new buyer would have a hard time paying the same tax because this would involve successfully arguing that the property is worth $100k less than what they just paid for it. $800/mo is likely in the ballpark of what the new owner would be looking at. EDIT: Since millage rates are public, we don't have to guess. The topline Austin (Travis County) millage rage is 2.1767, so if that property were in the city of Austin its taxes on a $385k assessed value would be 8,380.29, or $698/mo. It may actually be in Pflugerville (hard to tell at a glance) where the taxes are lower due to letting Austin taxpayers pay for the big shared muni services. The other effects are interesting, but my experience living in TX is it is definitely not a low-tax state.
      - ceeplusplus 4y ago
        Sure, but if you're going to compare taxes you have to compare the effect of Prop 13 on property valuations, as that's basically a tax but with the revenues going to existing property owners rather than the state. > but my experience living in TX is it is definitely not a low-tax state Dunno, I'd take property taxes (i.e. taxes on consumption of real estate) over income taxes. Particularly since income taxes are progressive whereas property taxes are a flat percentage. Even if I paid $2k/month in additional property taxes, the difference in income taxes would still make TX cheaper.
        runako 4y ago
        Including prop 13 as a tax is extra, like including private school as a tax in places where the schools are bad. Possibly relevant to cost of living, but not a measurable tax. The killer with high property taxes is that you have to keep earning more as your property increases in value, or there is a real risk of you falling behind. Similarly if you are ever unemployed you might prefer a tax proportional to your income. Obviously this also makes retiring early even more difficult. But there’s a system to suit every need, I guess.
- neonate 4y ago
  That sounds like the land-value tax regime that the Georgists argue for.

nostromo 4y ago

> compared to where we live now Which is?

idontpost 4y ago
A well known "high tax state" with astronomical property values (but low property taxes).

dimitrios1 4y ago

I imagine you own a decent home in Texas, though. Quite the issue in California.

blantonl 4y ago

This solely depends on what type of home you purchased in Texas. If you bought a 200K Pulte box home, you'll be WAY better off. If you bought a 1MM Toll Brothers new build, yeah, you gonna get killed in taxes in Texas

runako 4y ago
OP is talking about moving to Austin, where there are no houses or condos with > 1 BR for sale at or under $250k. There are a handful of listings in the ~$300k range, where the property tax will run around $800/mo.
- ceeplusplus 4y ago
  I find that hard to believe. A quick look at Redfin says tax on this $385k home is about $564/mo [1]. In any case, the lower tax rate in CA gets baked into the property value (hence the sky-high valuations) so you're paying for it either way. Comparing equivalent homes in NYC/Jersey City or Boston to those in Silicon Valley or LA makes it easy to see the effect property taxes have on valuations. [1] https://www.redfin.com/TX/Austin/2015-Ploverville-Ln-78728/home/31582786 https://www.redfin.com/TX/Austin/2015-Ploverville-Ln-78728/h...
  - runako 4y ago
    > A quick look at Redfin says tax on this $385k home is about $564/mo The tax estimate is based on an assessment based on a sale that happened 6 years ago, which ends up valuing the house at $100k (roughly 25%) less. :-) A new buyer would have a hard time paying the same tax because this would involve successfully arguing that the property is worth $100k less than what they just paid for it. $800/mo is likely in the ballpark of what the new owner would be looking at. EDIT: Since millage rates are public, we don't have to guess. The topline Austin (Travis County) millage rage is 2.1767, so if that property were in the city of Austin its taxes on a $385k assessed value would be 8,380.29, or $698/mo. It may actually be in Pflugerville (hard to tell at a glance) where the taxes are lower due to letting Austin taxpayers pay for the big shared muni services. The other effects are interesting, but my experience living in TX is it is definitely not a low-tax state.
    - ceeplusplus 4y ago
      Sure, but if you're going to compare taxes you have to compare the effect of Prop 13 on property valuations, as that's basically a tax but with the revenues going to existing property owners rather than the state. > but my experience living in TX is it is definitely not a low-tax state Dunno, I'd take property taxes (i.e. taxes on consumption of real estate) over income taxes. Particularly since income taxes are progressive whereas property taxes are a flat percentage. Even if I paid $2k/month in additional property taxes, the difference in income taxes would still make TX cheaper.
      - runako 4y ago
        Including prop 13 as a tax is extra, like including private school as a tax in places where the schools are bad. Possibly relevant to cost of living, but not a measurable tax. The killer with high property taxes is that you have to keep earning more as your property increases in value, or there is a real risk of you falling behind. Similarly if you are ever unemployed you might prefer a tax proportional to your income. Obviously this also makes retiring early even more difficult. But there’s a system to suit every need, I guess.
neonate 4y ago
That sounds like the land-value tax regime that the Georgists argue for.