Property Tax Rate in Hawaii is only 0.27% of home value! We should all move there

[catknit 144]

I was blinded by all the pics!

Taxing the cars in just so weird to me...

[Teddy B 17,252]

Does any other state have non-housing property tax other than VA? Our overall rate for housing is low but we pay property taxes on cars/trucks/boats/etc every year too.

Mass has excise taxes on all vehicles, but I never heard of non-housing property tax, is that the same thing as an excise tax? We pay the excise tax at time of purchase and also yearly based on the vehicle value.

Edited August 1, 2012 by Teddy B

[^_^ 5,021]

I was blinded by all the pics!

Taxing the cars in just so weird to me...

It is kind of arbitrary to tax one form of property and not another. I guess the only consistent approach would be to tax all property (everything you own!) or tax none. But picking and choosing with types of property to tax is kind of weird.

Mass has excise taxes on all vehicles, but I never heard of non-housing property tax, is that the same thing as an excise tax? We pay the excise tax at time of purchase and also yearly based on the vehicle value.

http://www.dornc.com/taxes/property/types.html

[Krikit 1,165]

I wonder what the percentage would be if you include HOA fees.

[^_^ 5,021]

I wonder what the percentage would be if you include HOA fees.

Well, most people don't pay them.

I do, though.. it's about 0.7% of my home value per year.

holy ####### i am getting ripped off

Edited August 1, 2012 by Habitual Offender

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I wonder what the percentage would be if you include HOA fees.

HOA fees aren't taxes. They vary a lot based on the HOA. And if you don't want to pay HOA fees, you can always live in a non-HOA neighborhood.

[Krikit 1,165]

A percentage of the HOA fees go toward services which the city would normally have picked up. e.g. snow removal on the streets, municipal property maintenance, etc.

[Ban Hammer 13,555]

Well, most people don't pay them.

I do, though.. it's about 0.7% of my home value per year.

holy ####### i am getting ripped off

welcome to nj!

[^_^ 5,021]

A percentage of the HOA fees go toward services which the city would normally have picked up. e.g. snow removal on the streets, municipal property maintenance, etc.

Good point!

[catknit 144]

Mass has excise taxes on all vehicles, but I never heard of non-housing property tax, is that the same thing as an excise tax? We pay the excise tax at time of purchase and also yearly based on the vehicle value.

Since I'm by my handy-dandy filing cabinet:

It's called "Semi-annual Personal Property Bill"

Car #1 - hubster's car - Tax Code 10 = regular vehicle and tax rate = $3.72/$100 assessed value. Here's the weird part though - there is a "tax relief" of 44%. The assessment, according to this, is based on DMV records and market assessed values. Tax relief is available for only the first $20k of assessed value [would be 49% if hubster's car had been worth less than $20k].

Nothing on here proclaims it as an excise tax nor do I think would it be...I think it is simply a tax on the value of property owned by a resident - not based on any transaction.

The town also has a personal property tax on all vehicles. Different rate - same wording.

I guess the flag that generates the bill is a motor vehicle registration [boats, motorcycles, etc have this tax but nothing for say, a fabrege egg???].

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

States charge property taxes on vehicles, although they often call it something else, like California calls it a License Fee. Remember that when filling out your taxes, as any tax based on the value of real or personal property can be deducted!

Edited August 1, 2012 by The Patriot

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

A percentage of the HOA fees go toward services which the city would normally have picked up. e.g. snow removal on the streets, municipal property maintenance, etc.

Yes, I know what HOA fees pay for. I pay them, too. But it's my choice. I could very well have bought a house where no HOA fees are due but chose not to. Don't have that choice when it comes to property taxes.

[Krikit 1,165]

Why are you being rude to me?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Why are you being rude to me?

Me? If it came across that way, sorry. Just wanted to make the point that HOA fees are voluntary while property taxes are not.

[^_^ 5,021]

Yes, I know what HOA fees pay for. I pay them, too. But it's my choice. I could very well have bought a house where no HOA fees are due but chose not to. Don't have that choice when it comes to property taxes.

You can choose to pay less property taxes by living elsewhere. You can choose to live in Mississippi instead of Texas and save a ton on property taxes.

But if you live in (let's say) the DFW area, or SoCal, or the NYC metro, you have a certain set of needs and expectations from your residential setting and those probably won't be met in Mississippi.

The same is true on a more local level. I live in the NYC metro area and if I had a need to live near a commuting train station and I only had 350K to spend and I need a train line that runs till 2AM because of the nature of my job, my non-HOA options are extremely limited.

So yes, it's technically a choice but it's not as clean a choice as you make it out to be.