There are not too many people who enjoy paying property taxes. In fact, you will probably be hard pressed to find one person who likes giving their money to local government. That being said, paying property tax is a way of life in the United States. If you are going to buy a home, no [...]
Property Taxes
Since 2006, the median price of a home in the United States has declined nearly 20%. Because local tax assessors use historic trends (e.g., the “sales comparison approach”) to value properties, your home’s Fair Market Value (FMV) and its Taxable Assessed Value (TAV) may lag behind current market trends in your neighborhood. Of course, some [...]
If you could lower your property tax would you do so immediately? Of course you would. The less you pay in property tax the more you are going to save. There are several ways that you can lower your property tax bill, and in turn keep more money in your pocket. Here are several tips [...]
If the IRS, state, or local tax bureau realizes that you have an unpaid property tax liability, they will send you a “bill” in the mail. They expect you to pay the amount due or make other arrangements as soon as possible. If you do nothing, they have the right to file a notice of [...]
Protecting your property from estate tax, so that your family can receive more upon your death, is an admirable act. After all, many people do not take the time to do this and in turn leave their beneficiary with much less than they could have. While there are many things you can do to protect [...]
Many people do not know the first thing about estate tax. For this reason, they are surprised to find that they owe money on property that has been inherited. Not only are there many facts about this type of tax, but there are several myths about property taxes that have been confusing people for many [...]
Estate tax is one of the foremost issues in today’s uncertain economy, and many people are waiting to see how Congress will revise the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) of 2001. This law increased the estate tax exemption to $3,500,000 as of 2009. Additionally, the whopping 55% rate was gradually reduced to [...]
It’s important for all potential home buyers to include property taxes when budgeting how much they can afford to pay for a home. The amount of property taxes should be weighed against other county and local taxes. Some states may have high property taxes, but do not impose taxes on W-2 earnings. Especially in today’s [...]
The new modified carryover basis regime is something that property beneficiaries need to be aware of. In the past, beneficiaries of property received a “step-up in basis” of the property that they inherited. This is no longer the case. Instead, beneficiaries are still allowed to inherit property but will do so under the “modified carryover [...]
A key misconception that property owners have is that the purchase price (or market appraisal value) of a real property dictates the assessed value for property tax purposes. In the current economy, with home values at an all-time-low, it is especially important to ascertain a property’s Tax Assessed Value (TAV). Although property taxes are managed [...]
