Anybody have a good guide that breaks down taxes state by state?

[dm1333]

The thread in the political forum about CA residents buying guns now, before Kamala Harris becomes the AG, has drifted a little bit into state taxation.  I'm stationed in CA right now and considering retiring from the USCG in 2.5 years.  Are there any good guides out there that break down state taxes so that a person could look state by state and figure out where they might want to live?

I'm considering the following states; South Dakota, Idaho, Oregon (central or east), Washington (central or east), Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and maybe New Mexico.  The reality may be that I end up where ever I can find a job, move to SD because their economy is doing well right now, or move to southern CO (Colorado Springs, Canon City, Pueblo) and look for a job, but if I can pick a state that is pretty reasonable with taxation that would be even better.

[TechMan]

http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/9.html

http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/

[makattak]

The thread in the political forum about CA residents buying guns now, before Kamala Harris becomes the AG, has drifted a little bit into state taxation.  I'm stationed in CA right now and considering retiring from the USCG in 2.5 years.  Are there any good guides out there that break down state taxes so that a person could look state by state and figure out where they might want to live?

I'm considering the following states; South Dakota, Idaho, Oregon (central or east), Washington (central or east), Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and maybe New Mexico.  The reality may be that I end up where ever I can find a job, move to SD because their economy is doing well right now, or move to southern CO (Colorado Springs, Canon City, Pueblo) and look for a job, but if I can pick a state that is pretty reasonable with taxation that would be even better.

Don't make your decision based on current tax structure if you are planning to make the move in 2.5 years.

A lot can change in that time.

Choosing a state that appears to have a bent towards lower taxes and regulation over a long period of time is a good start, though.

[Brad Johnson]

New Mexico.

Might want to visit there first.

What do you consider "reasonable taxation"?  No state income tax?  No property tax?  No sales tax?  Lots of gaps to fill in.  I'd be looking at overall tax burden vs income instead of any single tax issue.

Brad

[Ben]

No input, but thanks for starting the thread -- I'm doing the same looking around. :)

I found this overview while looking the other day:

http://retirementliving.com/RLtaxes.html

[Monkeyleg]

There's a zillion guides out there, and a zillion different results. Some break down the states by individual type of tax (property, sales, income), some by a combination of all but not taking into account average income, some by a percentage of average income, and on and on.

When we were looking, I checked the property tax, sales tax, corporate tax and income tax rates for each state, and then applied them to what I expected our situation to be.

We wouldn't be paying any income tax in TN, but our property tax would be much higher, so the two states are fairly close.

[dm1333]

Don't make your decision based on current tax structure if you are planning to make the move in 2.5 years.

A lot can change in that time.

Choosing a state that appears to have a bent towards lower taxes and regulation over a long period of time is a good start, though.

This.  Exactly.  I'm looking to learn what I might be paying in taxes in a state I choose to settle in, and looking to see the history of the state and taxes.  California could revise their tax code and a whole bunch of other things today but you couldn't convince me that the taxes are going to remain the same past the next election.

I've learned a few things that are surprising.  One is that South Dakota is the only state in the group I have chosen that doesn't tax military retirement, mainly because the state doesn't have an income tax.  I had heard that Washington didn't tax retirement either but didn't see them listed on Military.com  I also want to find out which states have rainy day funds that are full, as opposed to those that are either flat broke, way the heck in debt (this means you, CA!) and those that may have just spent some of that fund.  A state that has a full rainy day fund now would seem to be pretty conservative fiscally speaking, and to have control over their spending.

Any input people have about these states, especially South Dakota, Colorado and Utah would be appreciated. 

[Regolith]

Nevada has no income tax as well.

[dm1333]

Thanks!  I love northern NV.  I could probably work online as a medical biller and transcriptionist but I would really like to teach school and the job market in NV isn't too hot right now.

[Doggy Daddy]

... and the job market in NV isn't too hot right now.

Ahhh, but the housing is reasonable at the moment...   

DD

[BridgeRunner]

A friend of mine is Las Vegas insists that the job market is great for anything but unskilled labor.  I haven't seen too many posting, but that's the word from someone there. 

Brad:  What's wrong with New Mexico?  I'm moving along in the hiring process for a fedgov job with openings at a half-dozen different sites--including Albuquerque.  (And Arlington, TX and Denver--I'm REALLY hoping I get this job)

[Brad Johnson]

Brad:  What's wrong with New Mexico?  I'm moving along in the hiring process for a fedgov job with openings at a half-dozen different sites--including Albuquerque.  (And Arlington, TX and Denver--I'm REALLY hoping I get this job)

If you're anywhere except the couple of large metro areas, New Mexico is very stranger-inhospitable.  Most of the state is comprised of small, insular communities where anyone who didn't grow up their is an outsider and always will be.  If you are not of Hispanic or American Indian origin, this goes double.  Also, most of the state is basically poor as dirt - agrarian communities scratching out a living.  As a result a huge portion of the rural population is dependent on govt assistance.  Alby, Sante Fe, and the tourist communities are very nice places but most everywhere else is a recurring combination of post office, church, and bar surrounded by a gaggle of homes in dire need of repair.  Rural roads are horrible.  Period.

[Regolith]

Ahhh, but the housing is reasonable at the moment...   

DD

Heh. I think the two might just be related...

A friend of mine is Las Vegas insists that the job market is great for anything but unskilled labor.  I haven't seen too many posting, but that's the word from someone there. 

Probably correct.  Most of the unemployment is related to casinos laying off workers because of the economy.  OTOH, the mining industry (which is the 2nd largest industry in Nevada) is booming.