We are considering retiring in Alabama or Florida. I know that Alabama property taxes are very low which is appealing. I, however, prefer the weather in Florida so my question is... Does the fact that Florida has no state income tax offset the state's cost of property taxes? I hope I worded that right.

quote:

Originally posted by Killer:
We are considering retiring in Alabama or Florida. I know that Alabama property taxes are very low which is appealing. I, however, prefer the weather in Florida so my question is... Does the fact that Florida has no state income tax offset the state's cost of property taxes? I hope I worded that right.

If its your primary residence you qualify for homestead exemption which I forget the % but I thought it was 25% off your primary residence.

Not sure if you need to be a resident for certain amount of time. Unless you are moving to a very expensive home I doubt you will worry much about the difference in property taxes.

Sales tax can be slightly higher depending on county especially but I wouldn't consider the total difference enough to NOT live where you want and enjoy the weather you want.

ETA: A quick google search shows the exemption is the first 25K of your house is exempted from property tax. I quit reading after that as I haven't owned property since joining the military.

Based off last years numbers a 200K-valued property will cost you about 1K more a year in Florida. Exemptions would change that a bit more but I'm ignorant on Alabama exemptions so it may be an even wider gap.

Nope.

I would think that would depend on how your income is structured and the value of your property, specific location etc. But I'm certainly not an expert and I'm in Ohio.

quote:

Originally posted by Killer:
We are considering retiring in Alabama or Florida. I know that Alabama property taxes are very low which is appealing. I, however, prefer the weather in Florida so my question is... Does the fact that Florida has no state income tax offset the state's cost of property taxes? I hope I worded that right.

Here in Broward County you have several homestead exemptions (has to be primary residence), the normal one takes $50k off of the sale price, then property taxes are around 2% of that value per year and can only increase a maximum of 3% per year.....for example if you pay $250k for a house, your taxable value would be $200k and about $4k a year in taxes........If your elderly or have a disability there's a larger exemption.

Here's the website for Broward county, but each county has their own and most have calculators as well as the different homestead exemptions.

https://bcpa.net/

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by Killer:
We are considering retiring in Alabama or Florida. I know that Alabama property taxes are very low which is appealing. I, however, prefer the weather in Florida so my question is... Does the fact that Florida has no state income tax offset the state's cost of property taxes? I hope I worded that right.

Here in Broward County you have several homestead exemptions, the normal one takes $50k off of the sale price, then property taxes are around 2% of that value per year and can only increase a maximum of 3% per year.....for example if you pay $250k for a house, your taxable value would be $200k and about $4k a year in taxes........If your elderly or have a disability there's a larger exemption.

Here's the website for Broward county, but each county has their own and most have calculators as well as the different homestead exemptions.

https://bcpa.net/

Thats how I understood it, but its further broke down that the first 25 is state property tax, the second is local property tax? Some shit like that...I'm admittedly talking about a topic that I know nothing of.

My parents relocated from Columbus, OH to Florida last year after my dad retired.

They love it and the weather, and I hope to be joining them if I can ever find a job.

I asked the same question when I was there last week. My dad said it about evens out, and if there is a difference its slight.

In all reality I don't think it matters much to him. He is happy and enjoys fishing everyday and having nice weather.

He is like me, he gets the fall/winter blues and can be a mite touchy.

Unless you have your heart set on Florida, Consider South Carolina. Good luck

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by Killer:
We are considering retiring in Alabama or Florida. I know that Alabama property taxes are very low which is appealing. I, however, prefer the weather in Florida so my question is... Does the fact that Florida has no state income tax offset the state's cost of property taxes? I hope I worded that right.

Here in Broward County you have several homestead exemptions, the normal one takes $50k off of the sale price, then property taxes are around 2% of that value per year and can only increase a maximum of 3% per year.....for example if you pay $250k for a house, your taxable value would be $200k and about $4k a year in taxes........If your elderly or have a disability there's a larger exemption.

Here's the website for Broward county, but each county has their own and most have calculators as well as the different homestead exemptions.

https://bcpa.net/

Thats how I understood it, but its further broke down that the first 25 is state property tax, the second is local property tax? Some shit like that...I'm admittedly talking about a topic that I know nothing of.

"All legal Florida residents are eligible for a Homestead Exemption on their homes, condominiums, co-op apartments, and certain mobile home lots if they qualify. The Florida Constitution provides this tax-saving exemption on the first and third $25,000 of the assessed value of an owner/occupied residence. While a complicated formula is used to explain this -- as the additional $25,000 only applies to the non-schools portion of your tax bill -- the bottom line is that the basic homestead exemption saved a Broward homeowner in 2020 anywhere from $658.78 to $1,057.30 (depending upon your city's millage rate) in annual tax savings for all homes with a value of $75,000 or higher.

You are entitled to a Homestead Exemption if, as of January 1st, you have made the property your permanent home or the permanent home of a person who is legally or naturally dependent on you. By law, January 1 of each year is the date on which permanent residence is determined."

I’m going to disagree if I understood the question correctly. Paying no income tax is huge. Remember that any “income” is considered taxable. You have mutual funds that pay a dividend? That’s income. Alabama will tax that. Florida won’t. No one can answer this question because we don’t know what your income in retirement looks like. You can control the $$$$ you spend on a house and hence the property tax. If you have done well, Alabama will take their cut every year until you die. Unless your only income is SS and maybe a small whatever, no income tax will add up quick.

Georgia has some great tax breaks starting around 62 and even better 65 and over. Also many counties have large property tax exemptions on the school tax portion of property which is 2/3 of the bill where I live.
You also live in a gun friendly state with mountains to the ocean living options with decent weather most of the year.

Jimmy has the details

Like I said, I am ignorant on this stuff, I know just enough to formulate an opinion

While Alabama Income Tax is low, there was a noticeable difference when compared to ZERO. I worked in Alabama a couple weeks a year and the difference was more than I paid in property tax in FL.

This is a timely thread. We are halfway through a small remodel to spit shine and then sell. My work has greenlighted working remote indefinitely so we are going to escape CA to FL. wife has much extended family in the panhandle. We are going down presidents weekend to look at properties. And hopefully make an offer and be out of here be end of school year.

I’m not a big FL guy, understand the benefits.

We were down around Apalachicola FL a few weeks ago, while not as warm, that may be my kind of FL.

FL rates higher than SC or AL as a retirement State, yes desires vary with individuals.

I have a place in both Florida and Wisc. I'll take Floridas tax costs over Wisc. insane taxes anytime.

Where you choose to live in Florida also has an impact. We moved to the adjacent county (from Broward to Collier) and we pay 1/3rd the property taxes and car insurance.

Mind you, we went from a lot size of 8,700 sq. ft. to 3 acres, and the cost of the house was less than half of what we would've paid had we bought the same setup in Broward. Probably more as the new Collier house was brand new and what was available in Broward was 15-20 years old, and we would've had to upgrade the Broward house with hurricane windows which the Collier house already had.

Florida?
Hot as hell in the Summer and not much better the rest of the year....

not to mention hurricanes from both directions...

why anyone would want to retire there is beyond me... but then it is better than S.C.

Killer, one other thing to consider is property Insurance. When I left FL insurance was darn near impossible to get due to hurricanes and people had to go through the state to get insurance which is very pricey. Just a thought!

Stay out of South Florida it is over rated crowded
mostly dems and high taxes. Don't forget home owners ins is very high in Florida

I have lived all over the country and Central Florida is where I chose to settle.

It ranks among the lowest in tax burden and, in 25 years in Winter Park, not even a broken window from hurricanes. That without storm shutters of any kind.

The only real complaint is the summer temperature. Air-conditioning is an absolute necessity.