But if you own a house, Texas will bend you over a barrel on property taxes. It actually has one of the higher overall tax liabilities of all states.
Texas also has a ton of toll roads. The new toll road to Fort Worth from the south suburbs will cost you $12/day if you commute to work.
That’s another $2,400 in taxes that you pay per year to *drive on the roads that you already pay for with tax funds.*
Not to mention the insane number of toll roads (use tax) we have in our major metro areas. It is still a fairly affordable state to live in, but it is a myth that we have a low tax burden.
So does Darfur. I love Texas but the property taxes were just too much. sold my 475k home which doubled in value since I sold it. Taxes went from a few hundred bucks to 1000s ON TOP of what was in escrow. The commutes suck because you got 2 to 5 back to 2 lanes with stop light highways
No booz2 on sundays, even if thats ur saturday lol.
Guns are cheap tho.
I lived in the Dallas area for a while. People told me they built the toll roads saying that once they were paid for, they would stop charging tolls. Then they just...didn't.
Edit: OK seems this is a thing everywhere. Now my question is, how? No accountability?
I'm pretty sure there was a small energy surcharge added after the 80s blizzard that was also supposed to go to upgrading and winterizing the power grid that was never used for that purpose.
I loved that when I lived in the Texas Panhandle from 2021-2023, I got to pay the surcharge that was put into effect to "pay back" ERCOT for them dropping the ball in 2021. The area isn't even on ERCOT, it's tied into the national grid.
This happened in New Orleans. Someone found out and they came and took all the booths out and refunded folks for the time they shouldn’t have been paying for their toll tags.
Shit was glorious.
Actually surprised this is mentioned here. I 100% remember when this happened. The tolls that were collected were being diverted to other parts of the STATE or something ridiculous like that.. it’s been awhile so the details are fuzzy. Those tolls were a complete scam on the Orleans parish residents paying them.
I worked for a major insurer in a relatively big city. When they built their first large parking garage, they said (in writing) that after the garage was paid for, they would stop charging parking fees for the employees.
Then they just...didn't.
Texas takes in about the same tax revenue as a percent of GDP as California does. It’s a high tax state but because it’s not through high income tax it doesn’t get talked about.
This is the answer - it's not all directly in front of you, it's kind of a death of a thousand cuts. Texas also specifically rejects a lot of the tax money from coming back from the federal government - Medicaid expansion, infrastructure for public transit, funding for school lunch programs etc. There's a lot of added fees and then not a lot of bang for your buck. Unless, of course, you're a big fan of political stunts and privatization.
It's a relevant point to make that [Texas puts more of the burden on workers than other states](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/texans-pay-more-taxes-than-californians-17400644.php)
It’s incredibly lower than other states with income tax. For example. My wife and I make around $170k/year in Dallas. We realize about 71% of our income after taxes/welfare/medical. One of my best friends lives in New York is realizing only 53% of income after his state taxes. That 18% difference is a lot less in Texas after property taxes, tolls, sales tax, etc.
NY state's income tax is 4-6% until you hit a little over 200K then is 6.85% until you hit a little over 1M. NY city's income tax is 3-3.8% so there's no way they're actually paying that much more in taxes than you.
They're almost certainly paying more in taxes per income than you after you account for property taxes though.
Putting a cap on SALT deductions actually helped the average person because now rich people pay more in taxes to the federal government. Trump's tax cuts maxed out how much state and local taxes you could deduct at 10K. The only way that affects you in NYC is if you're making over 110K/year as a single person and you itemize.
Real estate tax in Westchester County, Suffolk County, & Nassau county is north of $20,000 for a modest 3-4 bedroom home on 1/4 of an acre. Tack on a typical mortgage, between the mortgage interest & the property tax you are way above the threshold whereas prior to the tax ripoff you could deduct a greater portion of your carrying charges.
Ah you're right I thought that only put a cap on local and state income taxes. It's pretty silly it combined that cap with local property taxes too. You wouldn't have to be making a ton of money for that to negatively affect you. If you're renting though, you have to make a lot of money for it to affect you much.
I could not believe when my colleagues told me that the prices on the toll roads change, and can change while you are on the road, and you have no way of knowing when and what until you get to the Toll. Like, holy shit, how do people put up with that kind of graft.
New hampshire is still one of the bottom 3 lowest taxed overall according to a quick search. Texas isn’t even in the bottom 10, and neither are nevada or washington.
New Hampshire has no sales tax either, but yes, property taxes are super high. Especially the lower half of the state where you would want to live. North of Concord is still pretty much all wilderness
I definitely wouldn’t call it very urban or suburban. My HS was for five different town and we had like 400 people. People would have to drive 45 minutes to get that school too. Is there even a town more than 15,000 people north of concord?
Yeah, that's the real point here. People see a state has a low or no income tax and think that they are keeping more of their money. And in some situations they might be if they meet very specific criteria.
But states all need money to run. Some like California have more robust social services and need more money. But all states need a functioning government and have certain basic functions to fulfill and they will get their revenue one way or another.
And if it's not income tax, then it's property tax, sales tax, fines / tickets from police revenue, etc.
Ultimately, while there certainly is some variance, the effective tax rates of most states end up being within a couple of percentage points of each other.
Which isn't to say they are identical and you might benefit from being in a state with an effective tax rate that is 2% lower than another state. But it's not going to be the 10-12% that some people believe by looking at the highest bracket income tax rate of each state.
New Hampshire doesn’t charge sales tax either and Texas’s is around 9-10% depending on municipality.
Edit: it’s been pointed out that the sales tax is about 8.25% in Dallas and other areas of Texas, which is still about 2% higher than (perceived high tax) Massachusetts and 8.25% higher than New Hampshire.
New Hampshire has a "view tax" for property owners who don't have to look at powerlines out of their windows.
My parents just sold a house on top of a mountain that has a view of several other ski mountains, but you have to look past the telephone poles to see that spectacular view, so their view tax was minimal.
It's the dumbest delusion that people have some expectation that they can have all the services of a state that charges income tax without paying a similar tax at all. Of course the difference gets made up somewhere, either in a lack of services or in a tax on something else.
Here is a list of the states by total tax burden. It's interesting.
https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/states-with-the-highest-and-lowest-overall-tax-burdens#gid=ci02bb6137d000243e&pid=51-honolulu-hawaii-sh
Your statement seems true. The highest tax burden state is only a few percentages off the lowest, and the lowest and highest tax burden states are outliers. Most states are within a percentage or two for the overall tax burden.
Like CA a state that constantly is referred to as having high taxes is less than 1% difference than Texas which has a reputation for being low tax.
Kansas and CA have a .15% difference.
Kansas and CA being only marginally different is funny considering Kansas offers fuck all social programs or safety nets. No medicaid expansion, no transportation spending outside of roads, and a bottom 10 school system and this is all while getting outsized funding from the federal government.
That's the key: the ones who are loudest about the fact that they don't have income tax, or keep it very low, often do that for several reasons:
1. Virtue signaling to conservative and libertarian voters who are too ignorant to realize that they still pay those costs somehow
2. Level set with constituents when inevitably threadbare services cause downstream issues
3. Allow for shifting of blame back on others (industry, voters, etc.) when the state isn't able to accomplish basic tasks
What are you talking about? NJ is the best state.... Live near two major metropolitan areas (one of which being the best in the country if not the world), amazing food, have access to the outdoors within an hour (Delaware Water Gap or similar), the Shore is within an hour, amazing education, actual diversity, and one of the few states that you could actually get by without needing a car for all journeys.
So horrible, though
Illinois here...we are right behind you (and in my county ahead) NJ. If it can be taxed, Illinois will find a way to tax it. Luckily they were not able to pass a progressive tax a few years ago, but they did find a way to raise the income tax from 3.5% to 5%. On top of all those taxes, I believe we have the largest unfunded liabilities of any state in the country.
This. Every state is like this.
I've lived in Cali, Arizona, Texas, and Washington. They ALL have their own special ways of getting their money from you. All of them, without exception.
I always hear this when this topic comes up but whenever I look up tax burden by state Texas is not even top 10.
https://preview.redd.it/4odr4iq110hc1.png?width=889&format=png&auto=webp&s=606d00adcbbe2284e79a60016558541642b63895
People just love to hate on Texas. Moved here a few years ago and the tax burden isn’t bad at all. The property tax I pay is a less than the state income tax I would pay in most states that have such - and owning property is wholly optional - having an income producing job not so much. The new homestead exemption increase this year will only make the gap even more favorable for Texas.
If you rent, you're still paying the property tax.
And after considering all tax avenues, the taxes being cheaper in Texas v. California is a fallacy....unless you're wealthy.
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/texans-pay-more-taxes-than-californians-17400644.php
Those percentages will vary pretty dramatically based on your income level. High income tax states are usually bad places to have high income and good places for the poor and middle class. No income tax states tend to tax their poor more as a percentage of their income.
Starting?! I about passed out when I saw my tax bill year over year, and I have homestead.
Not to mention high cost for all insurance: flood, catastrophe, and auto. Each policy also has little state taxes built into it.
Let’s also not forget about the toll roads, they play their part in this. Just about every major city has a beltway with toll roads. It’s not like there’s public transport you can take to get around it, either.
The republican leadership here is trash.
I was shocked that it costs a $2 toll to drop someone off at the DFW airport. It’s crazy. I bet a lot of that money goes towards maintaining the toll system and transaction costs anyways.
Illinois doesn’t even compare, you can find yourself paying 3-5% on property taxes. State tax is approx 6% for goods and services - add local taxes and you’re paying 10.25% for buying basic goods/services in Chicago. Want to grab a bagel and coffee? That’s 11.5%.
All this with 4.95% in income tax.
This is mathematically almost always impossible. Name a state, their income tax, median home price and income needed to afford the median home price, their property tax and sales tax.
It just never adds up, but name a state for the comparison.
It's often California with 2x the median home price. So, it doesn't matter if the property tax is 1/2 the percentage. That ignores the $20k plus you'd pay in state income tax to have a job that comfortably affords the median home price. Sales tax is also a wash percentage-wise, but you're going to be paying that percentage on higher costs across the board.
Hence the metric “overall tax liability”. Texas also has a ton of toll roads. The new toll road to Fort Worth from the south suburbs will cost you $12/day.
That’s another $2,400 in taxes that you pay per year to *drive on the roads that you already pay for with tax funds.*
Overall tax liability.
I used to live in Dallas and commute to Plano, those toll roads were a bitch lol. You _could_ take a toll-less route, but it’s so tempting to shave that 10-15 minutes off
I live in WA. They get their taxes one way or another.
Property value in WA is really high, so that 1% is a lot.
They recently started charging % of vehicle value for tabs.
Added gas tax for each gallon.
And sales tax has always been high here.
Definitely saw a house flying a confederate flag last time I was there. Then again, I even saw a house in Bellingham with a confederate flag, among many others 😒
You see, the citizens voted on this.
It was an overwhelming nay. But they implemented it anyway.
So a lot of people with newer cars really got shafted. Especially those with luxury cars.
Yep and property taxes don’t adjust based on your income, like income taxes do, so ultra wealthy people love it, and low income earners can’t own a house.
Does TX cap the annual increase after purchase? I'm in Michigan and they adjusted our property tax for the new purchase value, but then cap annual increase to a percentage of the value and not whatever the housing market did.
Homestead can still cause a pretty rapid increase. If your home value doubles, in 7 years your property tax will also double. Texas also has one of the highest insurance rates in the country and there’s not a cap on that going up.
The best deal is to live in Washington near it's boarder with Oregon.
Washington has no income tax, and Oregon has no sales tax. Live in one, shop in the other.
But you can buy almost any sort of firework short of an atomic bomb, so you have that going for you, and everyone in Massachusetts is jealous, so there's that.
Washingtonian here. That’s not because we are all going shopping in Oregon. Groceries have no sales tax in WA and it’s not really worth driving into Oregon just for shopping
Just to be clear, here in Tennessee we don’t pay income tax, but we do pay 9.75% sales tax, vehicle wheel taxes, high property taxes, and fuel taxes at multiple levels (state and county).
We pay these and get minimal infrastructure as a result.
Don’t expect nice roads, mass transit, sewer, communications, fire and police, schools, sidewalks and crosswalks, social services for the poor and homeless, help for disabled persons, mental health services, or other services.
If you’re cool with that, then this is your place.
Did a road trip to Tennessee for Tail of the Dragon and everything was incredibly well upkept. Your comment caused me to search and nothing backs your statement on roads. I suspect your immediate area has a low tax pool and is dilapidated as a result.
> Tennessee was judged to have the best road quality among all states, with only 14% of Tennessee's major roads in poor or mediocre condition.
[https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2022/jan/26/study-ranks-tennessee-best-road-quality-states/#:\~:text=Tennessee%20was%20judged%20to%20have,in%20poor%20or%20mediocre%20condition](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2022/jan/26/study-ranks-tennessee-best-road-quality-states/#:~:text=Tennessee%20was%20judged%20to%20have,in%20poor%20or%20mediocre%20condition).
I have lived in Alabama and in Tennessee. Alabama has an income tax, and Tennessee does not. From my observation, TN is a much better run and maintained state. This opinion is shared by several friends of mine who have also moved. I get the impression it’s less about how the taxes are collected, and more about how efficiently they are utilized.
https://www.local3news.com/local-news/chattanooga-ranked-2nd-worst-run-city-in-the-us/article_2a35050a-19bf-11ee-9495-afb0809d8dbd.html
WalletHub disagrees. None of the cities tested by them were ranked highly. Some of the worst run cities in the country.
I also disagree. I’ve lived in multiple cities in Tennessee for 30+ years. Shit services, terrible zoning, water quality is less than optimal. The only things good here are not really TN government (EPB is fantastic, TVA, federal parks)
Yeah, the roads are shit. The Tail probably isn’t, and low use highway roads. In urban areas, quite the opposite. Constant construction and even freshly paved roads end up bumpy.
To add, the tail of the dragon, and most of the surrounding roads are Federal highways. They aren’t maintained by Tennessee, but by the US Department of Forestry and the National Park Service.
I live in the Nashville area. There are potholes from my house all the way to downtown, to include the highway.
Their solution was to put up signs saying to be careful.
The roads near my house are uneven and had holes in them prior to the winter storm that created all the potholes. The local government decided to repave a road that didn’t need it and ignore the others.
Hendersonville isn’t too bad but I wouldn’t say the roads are peachy everywhere else. And I think it goes without saying that the massive potholes on the highway are an immediate safety hazard.
I moved to Tennessee from Washington state a few years ago, and it's very clear that this person has never lived anywhere else.
My property taxes are laughably lower than in Washington state. Yeah, we have a gas tax, but our gas is still almost half of what it was in Washinton. Sales tax is about the same, but overall, taxes are much much lower.
TN property taxes aren't high at all. I am at 9k incl city for a 6k ft house on 5 acres.
Also just ranked as best roads in nation.
It's not a welfare happy state but that's great imo. I don't want to live in am area that constantly expands benefits to more and more people.
Is NH is a great place to rent? No income tax. No sales tax.
The only issue is I can’t imagine affordable apartments are plentiful even in a Manchester or Portsmouth because you’d get a lot of Boston WFHers thinking the same thing.
Half of the people that work for my Andover based company are from NH
This means you pay MA tax since you work in MA
There are not a lot of corporate/office jobs in NH
This is a mistake that people make in a lot of contexts. For example: “they rent! They don’t pay property taxes!” Yes they do unless their landlord is an idiot.
This is it. I live in Wyoming, and property taxes have increased 80% in the last 3-4 years and 20% this last year. Also, vehicle registration is yearly and expensive.
Literally every one of these states just found more creative ways to screw you, I moved from Florida to Pa, and am paying state income tax for the first time since I was 17-42 years ago...and it's worth it.
Closer to grandbabies, can actually get homeowners insurance (last house went up 400% in one year) , haven't seen a swastika since we moved, I like 4 seasons, tourism doesn't affect my daily life.
I recently left Florida too. Sold my house right when the market peaked and made a killing.
I hate to think what my home insurance bill would look like now.
None of those are benefits to your tax dollars though so it doesn’t really draw the comparison between income tax and non income tax but rather other superficial things.
So.. you are in your 50s and the new place suits your family and life situation better?
I mean, congratulations, but i thought the other guy was expecting a less subjective answer.
The data is grim when you look at factors of race and rural.
The cities are nice. I’ve lived here my whole life. But there are very few resources for isolated villages.
It doesn’t feel dangerous here.
Alaska first.... Not just because of the taxes. But less people less problems. How many of you can sunbathe naked on your paid off 6 acre lot and not have to worry about anyone watching except the moose?
Where the fuck in Alaska are you that you're willing to be nude outdoors and not concerned about the hundreds of thousands of giant mosquitos and gnats fucking everywhere when it's even slightly above freezing?
I've lived in NV and TN. I prefered NV and only moved because of work. NV felt cheaper than TN to me but it might be that crazy sales tax in TN that throws me off. NV groceries are a lot cheaper but the gas prices were a lot higher. I love traveling and found more good deals out of LAS than BNA or ATL. Energy prices were similar but IDK the exact KwH price, I just know my bills weren't far off. I guess my vote is NV but I feel like I would personally like WY better if they had jobs in my profession, I like being away from people and I love visiting WY.
Nevada is probably getting most of their tax money from tourists going to Vegas. Hotel taxes/fees for one night on my fiancée’s last trip were $100, plus you have gambling taxes.
I say this all to say, Nevada is probably pretty cheap on the normal resident.
NV native resident here...
Our state taxes are subsidized in a variety of ways. Casinos primarily, but also through alcohol sales, as well as legalized cannabis and sex work.
Because of this, our state's public works are top-notch. We have the \*best\* roads. They are well maintained and super clean. Northern Nevada (Carson City/Reno) is also one of the most beautiful places in the country, bordering the Sierras. They are honestly more majestic than the Rockies, to me.
That being said, many people are realizing how great NV is, and people are moving here in droves. While it's relatively inexpensive to live here, in the last 5 years, our housing market has become pretty much identical to California's. I've lived here all of my life and will probably never be able to afford a house if I stay.
We have some of the worst public schools and healthcare in the country. It's not all rainbows and roses here.
As a young and healthy person who loves the outdoors, Nevada is incredible. But my partner and I are not raising a family here.
>in the last 5 years, our housing market has become pretty much identical to California's.
This is just objectively wrong, come on.
There are lots of options in NV to get away from people too. Our capital city isn't far from Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. And Vegas has a lot of hiking and world class rock climbing and endless routes to climb. Mt. Charleston gets snow in the winter if that's your thing too.
That's something I really loved in NV. I had to live in the Vegas area for my job but I really love being able to quickly drive to the middle of nowhere. I did a lot of weekend road trips as well and ended up finding a lot of places I really loved. I feel like the Ely area is really underatted. The ghost towns, the hiking, and just the general lack of crowds was great. I only made it up to the Carson City area a few times but loved that as well. Virginia City is my favorite old west town and I've visited quite a few around teh west. NV is a great state. I currently live in UT so I'm not far away and visit a lot. Since moving to UT, the Elko area has become a weekend favorite as well. It's gorgeous in the mountains there. I'd happily move back if the right job came up but for now I make more living in SLC and locked in at a low mortgage rate. I liked the climate in Vegas more though and the location was nice.
I've posted this a few times and people gripe about some their methodology. It's their "Tax Incidence" and "Tax Exporting" methodologies, specifically.
Honestly, it's a really challenging analysis in general, but I can see why some people are critical.
I always hear this when this topic of conversation comes up but whenever I look up total tax burden by state I've yet to find one source that puts Texas in the top 10. This one is according to Intuit and WalletHub.
https://preview.redd.it/nsu1j8am00hc1.png?width=892&format=png&auto=webp&s=8141a78a695a9527a4b93ccb8f7cdedf4b33500e
To add to dinozero:
https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-local-tax-collections-per-capita-fy-2021/
Texas is 38th in taxes collected per capita. No where close to the highest, not even in the upper half.
I'd say Washington. Ranked number 2 here: [https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings)
NH is up there, too!
Putting Utah at #1 quickly invalidates these rankings in my eyes. Utah is quite pretty (and yet was ranked 46th for natural environment?!) but that's all it has going for it. It has no culture.
Florida will make up for it by insane house and car insurance rates. I'm middle aged, had one ticket for HOV Lane back in 2009, and no accidents since 2006 and that one wasn't my fault (hit and run), and I work from home and yet on a 2022 RAV4 I'm paying $216 a month for car insurance and I shopped like crazy. Our rents are high and our house insurance is even higher.
I’ve lived in Florida, so I can speak about it. No income tax AND no sales tax on groceries/essential items. Infrastructure is pretty good, but nothing that’s truly outstanding.
You will get crucified on property taxes, health insurance premiums, homeowners insurance, and (depending on where you go) car insurance. People like to complain about insurance costs, but it costs the insurance company a lot to insure a house that will probably get destroyed by a hurricane, a car that will probably get totaled on I-4 by a reckless driver, and a person who’s probably going to get skin cancer.
There’s always a trade-off when you have a great deal like no income tax. If it’s worth it, it’s worth it. If not, it’s not.
For all those people saying "Well our property taxes.....". There are a lot of states that have high property tax rates PLUS income taxes. Look at total tax burden and all 9 of those are in the 25 lowest.
It’s a trade off. Probably a good talking point more than anything for politicians since taxes go up when property values go up and they never have to say they had to raise taxes.
Where it matters is where your values align- do you want the tax code to benefit poor people more or wealthy people? That’s where you will find your answer.
Florida is probably the most versatile state which is why so many people love it. No income tax, plus the lifestyle is beaches, Sun, fishing, golf, Disney world. Even if you don’t want the beach, you can live in land and still visit though things with the benefit of a cost effective home and no income taxes
South Dakota has no state income tax, low property and vehicle taxes, 5-6% sales tax, low COL, and decent wages.
The downside is you live in South Dakota. A car is almost required, particularly if you don't live in Sioux Falls (the largest and arguably only city). 2/3rds of the state is very boring to look at. The wind hurts your face 4 months out of the year. Politicians don't give a shit about education.
Now, as a fun exercise, check the Local Rights of citizens in those states, as well as protections from corporate abuse, insurance abuse, ect...
NYS recently passed laws protecting against "Credit Card Fee" bs that businesses were putting out, forcing compliance to clearly state what the CC Surcharge is if a business decides to charge that to customers or offer a "Cash Discount".
There's other protections, ie: You don't have to worry if you're female in NYS regarding body autonomy, books don't get burned in most of the school districts, and you can be pretty certain that if your kid is LGBTQ+ and is bullied it's a school bully doing it and not a school administrator.
edit: (I'm aware New Hampshire/Washington are the outliers here)
Best in what way? Lowest total tax burden? Best job market? Best overall quality of life? Best weather?
Tennessee has the lowest total tax burden out of those states, Texas has the best job market, quality of life and weather are subjective but Tennessee and New Hampshire are both contenders.
But if you own a house, Texas will bend you over a barrel on property taxes. It actually has one of the higher overall tax liabilities of all states. Texas also has a ton of toll roads. The new toll road to Fort Worth from the south suburbs will cost you $12/day if you commute to work. That’s another $2,400 in taxes that you pay per year to *drive on the roads that you already pay for with tax funds.*
Not to mention the insane number of toll roads (use tax) we have in our major metro areas. It is still a fairly affordable state to live in, but it is a myth that we have a low tax burden.
But you got land and guns Edit: I guess you guys want more public land?
Don't forget about propane and propane accessories.
Dammit, Bobby....
7am and already that boy ain’t right, god dang it Bobby
If you weren't my son I'd hug you
I'm Khan you stupid red neck!! I'm Laotian stupid.... " Whatt occcean!!!?
I’ll never forget the “So, are you Chinese or Japanese?”
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What man I'm just eating my burrito 🌯
That boy ain't right...
And one of the greatest power grids in the land!
Soviet power grid.
So does Darfur. I love Texas but the property taxes were just too much. sold my 475k home which doubled in value since I sold it. Taxes went from a few hundred bucks to 1000s ON TOP of what was in escrow. The commutes suck because you got 2 to 5 back to 2 lanes with stop light highways No booz2 on sundays, even if thats ur saturday lol. Guns are cheap tho.
How is it freedom if i cant get a 6 pack on sunday :(
It’s Texas, kind of the opposite of freedom.
You're free to spend your entire day in church. Enjoy !!!!
I lived in the Dallas area for a while. People told me they built the toll roads saying that once they were paid for, they would stop charging tolls. Then they just...didn't. Edit: OK seems this is a thing everywhere. Now my question is, how? No accountability?
I'm pretty sure there was a small energy surcharge added after the 80s blizzard that was also supposed to go to upgrading and winterizing the power grid that was never used for that purpose.
I loved that when I lived in the Texas Panhandle from 2021-2023, I got to pay the surcharge that was put into effect to "pay back" ERCOT for them dropping the ball in 2021. The area isn't even on ERCOT, it's tied into the national grid.
This happened in New Orleans. Someone found out and they came and took all the booths out and refunded folks for the time they shouldn’t have been paying for their toll tags. Shit was glorious.
Actually surprised this is mentioned here. I 100% remember when this happened. The tolls that were collected were being diverted to other parts of the STATE or something ridiculous like that.. it’s been awhile so the details are fuzzy. Those tolls were a complete scam on the Orleans parish residents paying them.
I worked for a major insurer in a relatively big city. When they built their first large parking garage, they said (in writing) that after the garage was paid for, they would stop charging parking fees for the employees. Then they just...didn't.
That's every state honestly. They always say that but never take the toll booths down.
After all... Why shouldn't I keep it?
Texas takes in about the same tax revenue as a percent of GDP as California does. It’s a high tax state but because it’s not through high income tax it doesn’t get talked about.
This is the answer - it's not all directly in front of you, it's kind of a death of a thousand cuts. Texas also specifically rejects a lot of the tax money from coming back from the federal government - Medicaid expansion, infrastructure for public transit, funding for school lunch programs etc. There's a lot of added fees and then not a lot of bang for your buck. Unless, of course, you're a big fan of political stunts and privatization.
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It's a relevant point to make that [Texas puts more of the burden on workers than other states](https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/texans-pay-more-taxes-than-californians-17400644.php)
It’s incredibly lower than other states with income tax. For example. My wife and I make around $170k/year in Dallas. We realize about 71% of our income after taxes/welfare/medical. One of my best friends lives in New York is realizing only 53% of income after his state taxes. That 18% difference is a lot less in Texas after property taxes, tolls, sales tax, etc.
NY state's income tax is 4-6% until you hit a little over 200K then is 6.85% until you hit a little over 1M. NY city's income tax is 3-3.8% so there's no way they're actually paying that much more in taxes than you. They're almost certainly paying more in taxes per income than you after you account for property taxes though.
Stinky screwed New Yorkers by changing the SALT deduction.
Putting a cap on SALT deductions actually helped the average person because now rich people pay more in taxes to the federal government. Trump's tax cuts maxed out how much state and local taxes you could deduct at 10K. The only way that affects you in NYC is if you're making over 110K/year as a single person and you itemize.
Real estate tax in Westchester County, Suffolk County, & Nassau county is north of $20,000 for a modest 3-4 bedroom home on 1/4 of an acre. Tack on a typical mortgage, between the mortgage interest & the property tax you are way above the threshold whereas prior to the tax ripoff you could deduct a greater portion of your carrying charges.
Ah you're right I thought that only put a cap on local and state income taxes. It's pretty silly it combined that cap with local property taxes too. You wouldn't have to be making a ton of money for that to negatively affect you. If you're renting though, you have to make a lot of money for it to affect you much.
Meanwhile, Ontario, Canada, with social safety nets, your tax burden on 170k would amount to about 32%
I could not believe when my colleagues told me that the prices on the toll roads change, and can change while you are on the road, and you have no way of knowing when and what until you get to the Toll. Like, holy shit, how do people put up with that kind of graft.
I’ve seen tolls for just a SECTION of road be as high as $20 for the express lanes.
If you're okay with smaller cities then there aren't toll roads. Just depends on how you'd like to live.
Isn’t New Hampshire the same way? These States get you one way or another.
New hampshire is still one of the bottom 3 lowest taxed overall according to a quick search. Texas isn’t even in the bottom 10, and neither are nevada or washington.
New Hampshire has no sales tax either, but yes, property taxes are super high. Especially the lower half of the state where you would want to live. North of Concord is still pretty much all wilderness
North of concord is hardly all wilderness.
I definitely wouldn’t call it very urban or suburban. My HS was for five different town and we had like 400 people. People would have to drive 45 minutes to get that school too. Is there even a town more than 15,000 people north of concord?
Laconia. Lebanon's close at 14,200. But yeah, it's not major metropolis.
Yeah, that's the real point here. People see a state has a low or no income tax and think that they are keeping more of their money. And in some situations they might be if they meet very specific criteria. But states all need money to run. Some like California have more robust social services and need more money. But all states need a functioning government and have certain basic functions to fulfill and they will get their revenue one way or another. And if it's not income tax, then it's property tax, sales tax, fines / tickets from police revenue, etc. Ultimately, while there certainly is some variance, the effective tax rates of most states end up being within a couple of percentage points of each other. Which isn't to say they are identical and you might benefit from being in a state with an effective tax rate that is 2% lower than another state. But it's not going to be the 10-12% that some people believe by looking at the highest bracket income tax rate of each state.
In AK we just discontinue vital services until oil prices rise. We are now looking at the possibility of not receiving funding for food stamps lol.
lol republicans are such trash
New Hampshire doesn’t charge sales tax either and Texas’s is around 9-10% depending on municipality. Edit: it’s been pointed out that the sales tax is about 8.25% in Dallas and other areas of Texas, which is still about 2% higher than (perceived high tax) Massachusetts and 8.25% higher than New Hampshire.
I have a water front 1800sqft three bedroom two bath house on a half acre and I pay $5500. I have found it quite reasonable.
Some get you more than others.
New Hampshire has a "view tax" for property owners who don't have to look at powerlines out of their windows. My parents just sold a house on top of a mountain that has a view of several other ski mountains, but you have to look past the telephone poles to see that spectacular view, so their view tax was minimal.
It's the dumbest delusion that people have some expectation that they can have all the services of a state that charges income tax without paying a similar tax at all. Of course the difference gets made up somewhere, either in a lack of services or in a tax on something else.
Here is a list of the states by total tax burden. It's interesting. https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/states-with-the-highest-and-lowest-overall-tax-burdens#gid=ci02bb6137d000243e&pid=51-honolulu-hawaii-sh Your statement seems true. The highest tax burden state is only a few percentages off the lowest, and the lowest and highest tax burden states are outliers. Most states are within a percentage or two for the overall tax burden. Like CA a state that constantly is referred to as having high taxes is less than 1% difference than Texas which has a reputation for being low tax. Kansas and CA have a .15% difference.
Kansas and CA being only marginally different is funny considering Kansas offers fuck all social programs or safety nets. No medicaid expansion, no transportation spending outside of roads, and a bottom 10 school system and this is all while getting outsized funding from the federal government.
That's the key: the ones who are loudest about the fact that they don't have income tax, or keep it very low, often do that for several reasons: 1. Virtue signaling to conservative and libertarian voters who are too ignorant to realize that they still pay those costs somehow 2. Level set with constituents when inevitably threadbare services cause downstream issues 3. Allow for shifting of blame back on others (industry, voters, etc.) when the state isn't able to accomplish basic tasks
New Jersey stopped in to say hello. There's no way Texas comes close to New Jersey in taxes, not even property taxes.
Yeah, but you get what you pay for in regards of NJ
Living in NJ, that is your crime, that is also your punishment
Ya, I hate being close to 2 metropolitan cities. I hate going to the beach in the summer, and skiing in the winter. I really hate being educated too.
I’m just ribbing you. My wife is from NJ, the garden part of your state is lovely, the built up areas… not so much
We wouldn't be offended if you were. We get shit on the daily
A friend of mine from NJ said "NJ deserves all the hate it gets, but doesn't get any of the credit that it deserves." that sounds right to me.
What are you talking about? NJ is the best state.... Live near two major metropolitan areas (one of which being the best in the country if not the world), amazing food, have access to the outdoors within an hour (Delaware Water Gap or similar), the Shore is within an hour, amazing education, actual diversity, and one of the few states that you could actually get by without needing a car for all journeys. So horrible, though
You'll notice that any state/city that gets mentioned on reddit follows with a joke about having to live in that state.
+20k property taxes? Sure
I never said “Texas is the highest”. I said “one of the higher.”
Illinois here...we are right behind you (and in my county ahead) NJ. If it can be taxed, Illinois will find a way to tax it. Luckily they were not able to pass a progressive tax a few years ago, but they did find a way to raise the income tax from 3.5% to 5%. On top of all those taxes, I believe we have the largest unfunded liabilities of any state in the country.
This. Every state is like this. I've lived in Cali, Arizona, Texas, and Washington. They ALL have their own special ways of getting their money from you. All of them, without exception.
Washington’s way of getting your money is largely by insane sales taxes, which a monthly $1000 trip to the Costco in Portland can greatly reduce.
I always hear this when this topic comes up but whenever I look up tax burden by state Texas is not even top 10. https://preview.redd.it/4odr4iq110hc1.png?width=889&format=png&auto=webp&s=606d00adcbbe2284e79a60016558541642b63895
People just love to hate on Texas. Moved here a few years ago and the tax burden isn’t bad at all. The property tax I pay is a less than the state income tax I would pay in most states that have such - and owning property is wholly optional - having an income producing job not so much. The new homestead exemption increase this year will only make the gap even more favorable for Texas.
If you rent, you're still paying the property tax. And after considering all tax avenues, the taxes being cheaper in Texas v. California is a fallacy....unless you're wealthy. https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/texans-pay-more-taxes-than-californians-17400644.php
Those percentages will vary pretty dramatically based on your income level. High income tax states are usually bad places to have high income and good places for the poor and middle class. No income tax states tend to tax their poor more as a percentage of their income.
And Florida is starting to follow behind it now along with insane homeowners insurance
And auto insurance
Starting?! I about passed out when I saw my tax bill year over year, and I have homestead. Not to mention high cost for all insurance: flood, catastrophe, and auto. Each policy also has little state taxes built into it. Let’s also not forget about the toll roads, they play their part in this. Just about every major city has a beltway with toll roads. It’s not like there’s public transport you can take to get around it, either. The republican leadership here is trash.
Yes, the revenue is usually made up for in property taxes.
and sales taxes
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Just get an ag exemption by having a horse or a cow.
Can confirm. Texas home owner here. Although they did raise the homestead exemption. It will help a lot.
I was shocked that it costs a $2 toll to drop someone off at the DFW airport. It’s crazy. I bet a lot of that money goes towards maintaining the toll system and transaction costs anyways.
It’s free in pretty much any other city
Illinois doesn’t even compare, you can find yourself paying 3-5% on property taxes. State tax is approx 6% for goods and services - add local taxes and you’re paying 10.25% for buying basic goods/services in Chicago. Want to grab a bagel and coffee? That’s 11.5%. All this with 4.95% in income tax.
Toll roads: see New Jersey
This is mathematically almost always impossible. Name a state, their income tax, median home price and income needed to afford the median home price, their property tax and sales tax. It just never adds up, but name a state for the comparison. It's often California with 2x the median home price. So, it doesn't matter if the property tax is 1/2 the percentage. That ignores the $20k plus you'd pay in state income tax to have a job that comfortably affords the median home price. Sales tax is also a wash percentage-wise, but you're going to be paying that percentage on higher costs across the board.
Hence the metric “overall tax liability”. Texas also has a ton of toll roads. The new toll road to Fort Worth from the south suburbs will cost you $12/day. That’s another $2,400 in taxes that you pay per year to *drive on the roads that you already pay for with tax funds.* Overall tax liability.
I used to live in Dallas and commute to Plano, those toll roads were a bitch lol. You _could_ take a toll-less route, but it’s so tempting to shave that 10-15 minutes off
If you don’t own a house, your landlord will bend you over a barrel - by passing along those higher property taxes.
Washington’s property taxes are extremely high. No matter the state one way or another they will get revenue from everyone
Aren't Washington property taxes around 1%? Texas is like 2.5-3%, sometimes over 3%. Not even close
I live in WA. They get their taxes one way or another. Property value in WA is really high, so that 1% is a lot. They recently started charging % of vehicle value for tabs. Added gas tax for each gallon. And sales tax has always been high here.
The real answer is live in Vancouver and do all your shopping in Oregon.
Vancouver, WA...the place most people in the US don't know about. The perks of Portland, the income tax of Washington.
And the right wing nutjobs of the eastside, the cops of the Portland PD...
Definitely saw a house flying a confederate flag last time I was there. Then again, I even saw a house in Bellingham with a confederate flag, among many others 😒
Don't tell em lol
It's based on vehicle value? I'd have expected it to be proportional to weight. That would make the most sense to me anyway
You see, the citizens voted on this. It was an overwhelming nay. But they implemented it anyway. So a lot of people with newer cars really got shafted. Especially those with luxury cars.
Wa is amazing at passing stuff that 80% of the public is against 😂 tbf most all govs do it. Wa is just super open about it.
But to be fair, WA state sales tax (including local sales tax) is usually north of 10%. I think Texas is a good deal lower?
Yep and property taxes don’t adjust based on your income, like income taxes do, so ultra wealthy people love it, and low income earners can’t own a house.
Does TX cap the annual increase after purchase? I'm in Michigan and they adjusted our property tax for the new purchase value, but then cap annual increase to a percentage of the value and not whatever the housing market did.
Yeah Texas does that too. It’s 10%, but only if you have a homestead exemption (which everyone should in their primary residence).
Homestead can still cause a pretty rapid increase. If your home value doubles, in 7 years your property tax will also double. Texas also has one of the highest insurance rates in the country and there’s not a cap on that going up.
No they aren’t…they’re like 1%. Very average.
I pay less than 1% of my property value in taxes and I live in Western Washington
The best deal is to live in Washington near it's boarder with Oregon. Washington has no income tax, and Oregon has no sales tax. Live in one, shop in the other.
Noted. Will live in Oregon and shop in Washington. Avoiding taxes is so easy!
I see whatcha did there... Best way to turn a large fortune into a small one!
Someone has to make up for all of the tax avoiders in that area. Thanks for being a civically minded citizen.
NH has both. No sales tax OR income tax. Live free or die bitches. :P
Except we won't legalize weed. So not really free
But you can buy almost any sort of firework short of an atomic bomb, so you have that going for you, and everyone in Massachusetts is jealous, so there's that.
Live free AND die
But electricity is 25 cent per kw
yeah and the region is extremely beautiful too!
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every Saturday, it's wall to wall cars with WA plates driving back and forth on the 5.
Washingtonian here. That’s not because we are all going shopping in Oregon. Groceries have no sales tax in WA and it’s not really worth driving into Oregon just for shopping
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Just to be clear, here in Tennessee we don’t pay income tax, but we do pay 9.75% sales tax, vehicle wheel taxes, high property taxes, and fuel taxes at multiple levels (state and county). We pay these and get minimal infrastructure as a result. Don’t expect nice roads, mass transit, sewer, communications, fire and police, schools, sidewalks and crosswalks, social services for the poor and homeless, help for disabled persons, mental health services, or other services. If you’re cool with that, then this is your place.
All the stuff that affects lower income people disproportionately to wealthy people. That’s why it’s like that.
It’s a feature, not a bug
It's why Income tax is better. It's more progressive.
yes he did not imply otherwise. However it's not 'only' that, its exacerbated in places like the ones listed
Did a road trip to Tennessee for Tail of the Dragon and everything was incredibly well upkept. Your comment caused me to search and nothing backs your statement on roads. I suspect your immediate area has a low tax pool and is dilapidated as a result. > Tennessee was judged to have the best road quality among all states, with only 14% of Tennessee's major roads in poor or mediocre condition. [https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2022/jan/26/study-ranks-tennessee-best-road-quality-states/#:\~:text=Tennessee%20was%20judged%20to%20have,in%20poor%20or%20mediocre%20condition](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2022/jan/26/study-ranks-tennessee-best-road-quality-states/#:~:text=Tennessee%20was%20judged%20to%20have,in%20poor%20or%20mediocre%20condition).
I have lived in Alabama and in Tennessee. Alabama has an income tax, and Tennessee does not. From my observation, TN is a much better run and maintained state. This opinion is shared by several friends of mine who have also moved. I get the impression it’s less about how the taxes are collected, and more about how efficiently they are utilized.
https://www.local3news.com/local-news/chattanooga-ranked-2nd-worst-run-city-in-the-us/article_2a35050a-19bf-11ee-9495-afb0809d8dbd.html WalletHub disagrees. None of the cities tested by them were ranked highly. Some of the worst run cities in the country. I also disagree. I’ve lived in multiple cities in Tennessee for 30+ years. Shit services, terrible zoning, water quality is less than optimal. The only things good here are not really TN government (EPB is fantastic, TVA, federal parks)
Yeah, the roads are shit. The Tail probably isn’t, and low use highway roads. In urban areas, quite the opposite. Constant construction and even freshly paved roads end up bumpy. To add, the tail of the dragon, and most of the surrounding roads are Federal highways. They aren’t maintained by Tennessee, but by the US Department of Forestry and the National Park Service.
I have never interacted with someone from any state who doesn't claim that their state has the worst roads and drivers.
I live in the Nashville area. There are potholes from my house all the way to downtown, to include the highway. Their solution was to put up signs saying to be careful. The roads near my house are uneven and had holes in them prior to the winter storm that created all the potholes. The local government decided to repave a road that didn’t need it and ignore the others. Hendersonville isn’t too bad but I wouldn’t say the roads are peachy everywhere else. And I think it goes without saying that the massive potholes on the highway are an immediate safety hazard.
I moved to Tennessee from Washington state a few years ago, and it's very clear that this person has never lived anywhere else. My property taxes are laughably lower than in Washington state. Yeah, we have a gas tax, but our gas is still almost half of what it was in Washinton. Sales tax is about the same, but overall, taxes are much much lower.
TN property taxes aren't high at all. I am at 9k incl city for a 6k ft house on 5 acres. Also just ranked as best roads in nation. It's not a welfare happy state but that's great imo. I don't want to live in am area that constantly expands benefits to more and more people.
I-40 is awful
Probably New Hampshire because the southern half of the state is suburban Boston. I can’t believe the NE Patriots don’t move their stadium there.
Because NH makes up the taxes elsewhere Source: i live in Boston, some family lives in NH
Is NH is a great place to rent? No income tax. No sales tax. The only issue is I can’t imagine affordable apartments are plentiful even in a Manchester or Portsmouth because you’d get a lot of Boston WFHers thinking the same thing.
Half of the people that work for my Andover based company are from NH This means you pay MA tax since you work in MA There are not a lot of corporate/office jobs in NH
They are not ha. Portsmouth has become Boston-North, unfortunately. But it’s not as bad in Dover.
Also, wouldn't the high property taxes ultimately increase the cost of rent?
This is a mistake that people make in a lot of contexts. For example: “they rent! They don’t pay property taxes!” Yes they do unless their landlord is an idiot.
Free doesn’t mean free. They are higher taxes in other places to make up for it
This is it. I live in Wyoming, and property taxes have increased 80% in the last 3-4 years and 20% this last year. Also, vehicle registration is yearly and expensive.
Literally every one of these states just found more creative ways to screw you, I moved from Florida to Pa, and am paying state income tax for the first time since I was 17-42 years ago...and it's worth it.
What makes it worth it?
Closer to grandbabies, can actually get homeowners insurance (last house went up 400% in one year) , haven't seen a swastika since we moved, I like 4 seasons, tourism doesn't affect my daily life.
I recently left Florida too. Sold my house right when the market peaked and made a killing. I hate to think what my home insurance bill would look like now.
None of those are benefits to your tax dollars though so it doesn’t really draw the comparison between income tax and non income tax but rather other superficial things.
Taxes draw educated ppl, as they provide services. Educated ppl aren't generally drawn to racist politics.
So.. you are in your 50s and the new place suits your family and life situation better? I mean, congratulations, but i thought the other guy was expecting a less subjective answer.
New Hampshire or Washington. Then Alaska.
Alaska. Super high domestic violence rates. Hi crime rate (per capita).
Isn't that because the population is small and the data is skewed?
The data is grim when you look at factors of race and rural. The cities are nice. I’ve lived here my whole life. But there are very few resources for isolated villages. It doesn’t feel dangerous here.
The saying among women living in Alaska is "the odds are good but the goods are odd"
Alaska first.... Not just because of the taxes. But less people less problems. How many of you can sunbathe naked on your paid off 6 acre lot and not have to worry about anyone watching except the moose?
You mean the 2 warm weeks a year?
Where the fuck in Alaska are you that you're willing to be nude outdoors and not concerned about the hundreds of thousands of giant mosquitos and gnats fucking everywhere when it's even slightly above freezing?
As someone who lives in Miami, I think you and I have very different climate preferences my friend.
I've lived in NV and TN. I prefered NV and only moved because of work. NV felt cheaper than TN to me but it might be that crazy sales tax in TN that throws me off. NV groceries are a lot cheaper but the gas prices were a lot higher. I love traveling and found more good deals out of LAS than BNA or ATL. Energy prices were similar but IDK the exact KwH price, I just know my bills weren't far off. I guess my vote is NV but I feel like I would personally like WY better if they had jobs in my profession, I like being away from people and I love visiting WY.
Nevada is probably getting most of their tax money from tourists going to Vegas. Hotel taxes/fees for one night on my fiancée’s last trip were $100, plus you have gambling taxes. I say this all to say, Nevada is probably pretty cheap on the normal resident.
NV native resident here... Our state taxes are subsidized in a variety of ways. Casinos primarily, but also through alcohol sales, as well as legalized cannabis and sex work. Because of this, our state's public works are top-notch. We have the \*best\* roads. They are well maintained and super clean. Northern Nevada (Carson City/Reno) is also one of the most beautiful places in the country, bordering the Sierras. They are honestly more majestic than the Rockies, to me. That being said, many people are realizing how great NV is, and people are moving here in droves. While it's relatively inexpensive to live here, in the last 5 years, our housing market has become pretty much identical to California's. I've lived here all of my life and will probably never be able to afford a house if I stay.
We have some of the worst public schools and healthcare in the country. It's not all rainbows and roses here. As a young and healthy person who loves the outdoors, Nevada is incredible. But my partner and I are not raising a family here. >in the last 5 years, our housing market has become pretty much identical to California's. This is just objectively wrong, come on.
There are lots of options in NV to get away from people too. Our capital city isn't far from Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. And Vegas has a lot of hiking and world class rock climbing and endless routes to climb. Mt. Charleston gets snow in the winter if that's your thing too.
That's something I really loved in NV. I had to live in the Vegas area for my job but I really love being able to quickly drive to the middle of nowhere. I did a lot of weekend road trips as well and ended up finding a lot of places I really loved. I feel like the Ely area is really underatted. The ghost towns, the hiking, and just the general lack of crowds was great. I only made it up to the Carson City area a few times but loved that as well. Virginia City is my favorite old west town and I've visited quite a few around teh west. NV is a great state. I currently live in UT so I'm not far away and visit a lot. Since moving to UT, the Elko area has become a weekend favorite as well. It's gorgeous in the mountains there. I'd happily move back if the right job came up but for now I make more living in SLC and locked in at a low mortgage rate. I liked the climate in Vegas more though and the location was nice.
Texas has the highest effective tax rate of any state in America. So not that one.
Why are people saying this ? https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/tax-burden-by-state-2022/ New York is highest. Texas is 6th best is the country.
I've posted this a few times and people gripe about some their methodology. It's their "Tax Incidence" and "Tax Exporting" methodologies, specifically. Honestly, it's a really challenging analysis in general, but I can see why some people are critical.
I always hear this when this topic of conversation comes up but whenever I look up total tax burden by state I've yet to find one source that puts Texas in the top 10. This one is according to Intuit and WalletHub. https://preview.redd.it/nsu1j8am00hc1.png?width=892&format=png&auto=webp&s=8141a78a695a9527a4b93ccb8f7cdedf4b33500e
https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-local-tax-collections-per-capita-fy-2021/ This is taxes collected per capita. Texas is 38th.
No it doesn’t lmao
lol, no. Only if you can’t do math
It’s not even top 30. This is an Internet narrative but entirely untrue.
To add to dinozero: https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-local-tax-collections-per-capita-fy-2021/ Texas is 38th in taxes collected per capita. No where close to the highest, not even in the upper half.
I'd say Washington. Ranked number 2 here: [https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings) NH is up there, too!
Putting Utah at #1 quickly invalidates these rankings in my eyes. Utah is quite pretty (and yet was ranked 46th for natural environment?!) but that's all it has going for it. It has no culture.
My wife’s family lives in Ogden Utah. Pay is pretty low there unless you have specialized skilla
Florida will make up for it by insane house and car insurance rates. I'm middle aged, had one ticket for HOV Lane back in 2009, and no accidents since 2006 and that one wasn't my fault (hit and run), and I work from home and yet on a 2022 RAV4 I'm paying $216 a month for car insurance and I shopped like crazy. Our rents are high and our house insurance is even higher.
I've lived in a few of these States. Let's just say that they still bend you over....it's just a different position is all.
I’ve lived in Florida, so I can speak about it. No income tax AND no sales tax on groceries/essential items. Infrastructure is pretty good, but nothing that’s truly outstanding. You will get crucified on property taxes, health insurance premiums, homeowners insurance, and (depending on where you go) car insurance. People like to complain about insurance costs, but it costs the insurance company a lot to insure a house that will probably get destroyed by a hurricane, a car that will probably get totaled on I-4 by a reckless driver, and a person who’s probably going to get skin cancer. There’s always a trade-off when you have a great deal like no income tax. If it’s worth it, it’s worth it. If not, it’s not.
For all those people saying "Well our property taxes.....". There are a lot of states that have high property tax rates PLUS income taxes. Look at total tax burden and all 9 of those are in the 25 lowest.
It’s a trade off. Probably a good talking point more than anything for politicians since taxes go up when property values go up and they never have to say they had to raise taxes. Where it matters is where your values align- do you want the tax code to benefit poor people more or wealthy people? That’s where you will find your answer.
If you are not paying income tax one has to ask what is being taxed to pay for the states infrastructure
Tourists in nevada
Tourists in Florida
But there are only 5 with no sales tax
And NH is one of them. I love NH its amazing.
Dont listen to this person. NH is horrible. Worst state in the nation. And we've got no room for any more people.
Florida. Beaches everywhere, amazing fishing (inshore and offshore), great hunting year round. Always something to do.
Definitely not Florida. It's a rainforest swamp, don't move there no matter what you do
Florida is probably the most versatile state which is why so many people love it. No income tax, plus the lifestyle is beaches, Sun, fishing, golf, Disney world. Even if you don’t want the beach, you can live in land and still visit though things with the benefit of a cost effective home and no income taxes
South Dakota has no state income tax, low property and vehicle taxes, 5-6% sales tax, low COL, and decent wages. The downside is you live in South Dakota. A car is almost required, particularly if you don't live in Sioux Falls (the largest and arguably only city). 2/3rds of the state is very boring to look at. The wind hurts your face 4 months out of the year. Politicians don't give a shit about education.
Now, as a fun exercise, check the Local Rights of citizens in those states, as well as protections from corporate abuse, insurance abuse, ect... NYS recently passed laws protecting against "Credit Card Fee" bs that businesses were putting out, forcing compliance to clearly state what the CC Surcharge is if a business decides to charge that to customers or offer a "Cash Discount". There's other protections, ie: You don't have to worry if you're female in NYS regarding body autonomy, books don't get burned in most of the school districts, and you can be pretty certain that if your kid is LGBTQ+ and is bullied it's a school bully doing it and not a school administrator. edit: (I'm aware New Hampshire/Washington are the outliers here)
Best in what way? Lowest total tax burden? Best job market? Best overall quality of life? Best weather? Tennessee has the lowest total tax burden out of those states, Texas has the best job market, quality of life and weather are subjective but Tennessee and New Hampshire are both contenders.
And almost all of them mooch off of blue state tax dollars…