Taxes by State.

[..]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/taxes/2018/02/20/states-where-americans-pay-least-and-most-taxes/350963002/

[Serk]

Much as I love The Republic of Texas, I've been tempted to pack up and move to Wyoming after riding through there last year...

If it just weren't for their 9 months of winter... 

[..]

Much as I love The Republic of Texas, I've been tempted to pack up and move to Wyoming after riding through there last year...

If it just weren't for their 9 months of winter... 

That's the way I feel about some of the States like CO and UT. Beautiful  but then it snows.

[DirtyDan]

Ahh the joys AZ

Wyoming is a rough state

Dan

[Jess from VA]

Those state by state comparisons must average costs per state.  Living in NoVA (3 counties) is much more costly than living anywhere else in the state.  Communism sucks.

I'll bet there's other states like this besides VA.

Also, how taxes are collected makes a difference;  When retired, you're better off with big sales taxes and not much else.  If you're smart you buy all your big ticket items before retirement.  They don't get much taxes on guys who only spend on sox and underwear.  Buying on Amazon helps, but they're figuring out how to get their taxes anyway.  

[John Schmidt]

Jess, if you make a big ticket purchase you're allowed to include that individual tax paid when filing your income tax if you itemize. Kinda like when you buy a car, you can write off the tax paid. A couple years ago we bought a new dishwasher and washing machine, at 6.5% it doesn't sound like much but was an extra $50 something deduction. 

PS: With my honey now in rather poor health, we have rather large medical deductions when you add in the health insurance premiums. The last couple years it's been well over $13k.....kinda bites on retirement income but we do have a $700 refund coming of which I'm only taking half and carrying the rest forward.

[Jess from VA]

John, when I hit 62 and got my social security, I paid my house off. (But nearing the end of a mortgage, you know the interest deduction finally starts dropping largely, not like I enjoy paying huge interest just so I can deduct it on my taxes).

Next year, on Turbo, I went through all the step by step to itemize every damn thing (and I still have pretty big real estate tax, but not a hell of a lot more), and when I got to the end, Turbo tells me the std deduction saves me more money.  Really?  Double checked, and it did.

And I hear the std deduction is going up bigly with the new tax plan (and I'm glad to hear it).

I freekin' hate doing my taxes, so we'll see in April.

Really, I'm pretty much done with big ticket items.  Other than the seemingly constant problems with the house wearing out.  It's humorous to me, that as I officially enter the old guy club, my house is following right along with me.  I always looked forward to having a nice new(er) truck in retirement, and I could afford it, but I will be cursed if I'm going to let my county share in my good fortune on big car taxes.  My '03 Dodge just turned 30K, and is all I really need.

Calling the plumber is a big ticket item.     (Elizabeth honey, it's the big one)  As an attorney, on my best days ever, I never made what my plumber does.

Sorry about your medical expense, and the reasons therefor.

[0leman]

Two of the things I like about Oregon is no sales tax and the reduction in amount of taxes on my retirement income.  Seems the State Gov folks decided to charge income tax on only a portion of my retirement.  The percent of my total work time from when I started to 1993 is not taxed.  Cuts the total tax amount by over half. 

Since I, like Jess and many others, have paid off home mortgage, and don't have many big ticket items, can't show enough items on Itemized Deductions  to beat the standard deductions.  Though do use it for State Tax returns (OR has us use the Fed Itemized Deductions).

Now if we could just get rid of the folks in Portland, Eugene, Salem it would be a lot better.

[cookiedough]

always knew WI sucks and this link just proved it.  Yah,  can only do std. deduction as well NO itemizing deductions.

[3fan4life]

That's some interesting info