Will you retire in Texas?

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

I am not aware of any ag exemption you can get by feeding wild birds. Raising game hunting birds, or domestic poultry, could get an ag exemption if the scale was large enough. Care to share the rationale you're using for the wild bird feeders?

Most ag exemptions require a substantial investment, such as cattle, hay production, or horse breeding. One of the easier ones to get is with honeybees, but you have to have a minimum number of hives per acre, and you actually have to harvest the honey.

There is also a wildlife exemption that works similar to ag, except you must improve/protect habitat and not develop the exempt land.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by Ole Texan

oil capital, your assumption about me being over 65 is clear from my post. Born in 1946, retired 18 years ago clearly makes me 77 and retired.

I do not live in the city of Chicago. I believe I stated Chicago metro area, which span's 14 counties in northeast Illinois.

I know Texas does not have a state income tax. Many tax conversations point out that Illinois income tax offsets other states higher property taxes. That is why I noted that my retirement income is exempt from Illinois income tax.

In my location my property tax is 68 (so I fudged a little) percent of what it would be in the Austin area even with exemptions.

Are you comparing it to if you had retired in Texas 18 years ago and frozen your school taxes at that point in time? It makes a huge difference. My mom passed away at 81 y/o and was paying just under $2k in taxes on a house valued at ~$350k.

[Ole Texan]

oil capital, don’t care, your not buying it.

Try this, recently looked up taxes on home in Austin I lived in many years ago. 2023 tax was about 14k. Don’t know if there are any exemptions. Let’s suggest 3-4 k off that number.

My current home is 1000 sq ft living space larger and lot is 50 percent larger. My 2023 tax was $5884.06.

Not sure what your problem is, but I’m done.

Have a nice day.

[NewMexicoCowboy]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

I am not aware of any ag exemption you can get by feeding wild birds. Raising game hunting birds, or domestic poultry, could get an ag exemption if the scale was large enough. Care to share the rationale you're using for the wild bird feeders?

Most ag exemptions require a substantial investment, such as cattle, hay production, or horse breeding. One of the easier ones to get is with honeybees, but you have to have a minimum number of hives per acre, and you actually have to harvest the honey.

Ya we first had honeybees but it didnt work out. We had a falling out with the bee guy we hiredMy family member is handling the taxes for the bird feeders on our property so I dont know for sure but he has been working on it lately.I think it maybe a wildlife exemption instead of ag exemption.I think the rationale is possibly the government wants habitat for birds.

[Ole Texan]

Trainwreck22, no just comparing today.

However when I was 65 my tax was $3170. The real estate burden for the 47 years in Illinois, minus the 18 years of no Illinois income tax after retirement was less than my parent’s Texas real estate tax. I know this because I prepared their Tax returns. And yes their Texas real estate taxes went down. Had I inherited my parent’s house, the one I used in the prior post, and moved back to Texas, my real estate burden would have increased significantly for several years. Maybe the total burden over the long haul would have been closer than my current calculations.

This is not the most relevant reason Texas was a financial non started. As I said, my income for the same employment and retirement in Illinois was 2 to 3 times more than in Texas.

Also as I stated I have nothing against Texas, it was not in my financial best interest to return.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by Ole Texan

Trainwreck22, no just comparing today.

However when I was 65 my tax was $3170. The real estate burden for the 47 years in Illinois, minus the 18 years of no Illinois income tax after retirement was less than my parent’s Texas real estate tax. I know this because I prepared their Tax returns. And yes their Texas real estate taxes went down. Had I inherited my parent’s house, the one I used in the prior post, and moved back to Texas, my real estate burden would have increased significantly for several years. Maybe the total burden over the long haul would have been closer than my current calculations.

This is not the most relevant reason Texas was a financial non started. As I said, my income for the same employment and retirement in Illinois was 2 to 3 times more than in Texas.

Also as I stated I have nothing against Texas, it was not in my financial best interest to return.

Honestly not trying to argue with you, just curious. We did not really look at IL since we have little drawing us there (my wife did her undergrad at NU but has no desire to live in a cold place again).

As it is, family will likely play a huge role in where we retire, not to mention the network of friends we have built up over 60 years. The differences in taxes, at the end of the day, are generally not massive - trade one for another, etc - and it will vary with each situation.

[rochesterforever]

Retirement location fantasies:

July-September: North Shore Lake Superior between Lutsen and Grand Marais (Minnesota) or Skaneateles, NY.

Oct.-Dec.: Hudson Valley (northern Westchester or Putnam or Dutchess or Columbia counties).

Jan.-March: metro San Antonio, TX.

April-June: Hudson Valley.

(With emphasis on fantasies).

[ringwise]

When we first moved here to the DFW area, the plan was to work until retirement, then move somewhere closer to family (the east coast).

Now that we've lived here for awhile, we're slowly adjusting our retirement strategy (10 years down the road, so plenty of time to pivot if necessary). We love Texas, we love the amenities, and love the people. We don't love the traffic, but retirement would make rush hour and commuting a thing of the past. We bought our home for peanuts during the recession, so it's almost paid off. We've spent a lot of money updating and renovating the house, so we'd see a return on our investment in enjoyment.

The things that have changed our minds are the proximity to DFW airport (direct flights to almost everywhere our family lives), and the fact that we're geographically close to a lot of the country. We would be able to keep our home, then hit the road in a motorhome if we want, then return to a place we love.

[rabbit33]

In the end it's going to be property taxes that drive it. We have our retirement plans and they're Texas all the way. We are both part of that increasingly rare population of native Texans. But if the property taxes drive us out, then they'll drive us out.

[oil capital]

Originally Posted by Ole Texan

oil capital, don’t care, your not buying it.

Try this, recently looked up taxes on home in Austin I lived in many years ago. 2023 tax was about 14k. Don’t know if there are any exemptions. Let’s suggest 3-4 k off that number.

My current home is 1000 sq ft living space larger and lot is 50 percent larger. My 2023 tax was $5884.06.

Not sure what your problem is, but I’m done.

Have a nice day.

My "problem" is, I object to falsehoods being tossed about on theses forums. I take no issue with your desire to retire somewhere other than Texas, but to suggest that Austin or any other metro Texas property taxes for retirees are double (or even 68% higher than) those for comparable houses in metro Chicago is just false information. Anyone seriously interested can look up property tax information for comparable houses on Realtor.com and with a little more effort on public tax agency websites.