Property taxes

[Buff]

Seems like the last two times I voted there was something on the ballot to do away with property taxes.
What ever became of that?
I hate knowing that I really don't own the house that I paid for but that I am only renting it from the state.

[Bazo]

Originally Posted by Buff

Seems like the last two times I voted there was something on the ballot to do away with property taxes.
What ever became of that?
I hate knowing that I really don't own the house that I paid for but that I am only renting it from the state.

That will never go away. I just went on Friday and paid my property taxes. I’m the 6th generation to own my land and hate paying taxes every year. It’s easy money for them.

[Landrover]

Following!
I have a firm on retainer that challenges my property taxes every year or so. It is such a screwed up system.

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[BrianL]

The only way it would go away is with a state income tax, which would be worse!

[Radar]

I hate the way it is set up now, its all a scam.

[Clay C]

Originally Posted by Landrover

Following!
I have a firm on retainer that challenges my property taxes every year or so. It is such a screwed up system.

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Originally Posted by Radar

I hate the way it is set up now, its all a scam.

I handle property taxes at work. We have property in around 100 counties. About 80 in Texas, and the rest spread out around a few other states. To say it is a screwed up system is an understatement. By far the most frustrating part of my job.

[Johnny44]

If you major land owners want to avoid taxes 100% I can tell you excactly how to do it.

You find a 100% disabled veteran, put all of your land in their name, build them a house, and let them hunt the property with a gentleman’s agreement to deed it back at some point.

Doesn’t matter how much property or the value of said either.

Any takers?

[flywise]

Originally Posted by Johnny44

If you major land owners want to avoid taxes 100% I can tell you excactly how to do it.

You find a 100% disabled veteran, put all of your land in their name, build them a house, and let them hunt the property with a gentleman’s agreement to deed it back at some point.

Doesn’t matter how much property or the value of said either.

Any takers?

Lol, that's awesome.........sure like your ingenuity

[flywise]

They do suk and there certainly needs to be huge limits placed on these county and s hool districts.
My wife's grandparents built a house on lake LBJ, been paid for for 40 years. Her aunt inherited it and the taxes went up to 11k a year......that's pure horse ****.
No way a gov. Entity should be able to tax you out of a property.

[Johnny44]

They ain’t gonna just tax you out of a property, they have a new plan that gets around tax exemptions. They institute fees, they have already started. Its real low now but lookout.

“Texas” is definitely a state of mind only to get more pathetic.

[texansfan]

With no property tax we thus need an income tax.
Or would you like a VAT of around 40% on everything you buy?

School teachers and policemen need to be paid somehow, right?

[Johnny44]

The subject is debatable.

School taxes when you ain’t got kids

Military paying school taxes when schools already get federal funding because they host military kids. This is why the school sends surveys asking bout military...Big BS!

Paying cops to write a report after the fact.

Would an income tax be more than some property taxes, I doubt it.

Its all to fund big government.

Lets talk about non state run toll roads now

How bout car insurance, I get a much better at the corner vendors in the barrio. I went from paying USAA $250 a month down to $32. I buy better whiskey now.

In fact, I’ve opted out of most of the fear and money weights that drag you down financially, payed tv included.

[doghouse]

Just glad I have the ability to pay them. Someone smarter than me can figure it all out. No to state income tax.

[RiverRat1]

Originally Posted by texansfan

With no property tax we thus need an income tax.
Or would you like a VAT of around 40% on everything you buy?

School teachers and policemen need to be paid somehow, right?

You can spell so you're not that dumb...I don't think.

Paying taxes is fine with most people. The issue is they always raise the tax rate. That's 100% BS

If they could run off a lower tax rate 20 years ago they should be able to run off a lower tax rate now (with more people paying taxes). Taxes should go down, not up.

[Playa]

6, 1 half dozen, or the other. If we didn’t have property tax we would have state income or VAT. The state will get theirs, one way or another. If you don’t pay, they will place a lien on your property. The results are the same, the only difference is what they tax you on.

I’m with Oscar. I use a firm to challenge my property taxes

[Hooverfb]

Limits need to be put in place. Before federal income tax the major tax source was booze and tobaccy. I'd for sure go back to those days if I could change it. Now we have income tax AND these taxes.

Separate than our ridiculous property taxes. Mine are okay but the stuff i read is ridiculous. Need limits on valuation jumps.

[texansfan]

Originally Posted by Hooverfb

Limits need to be put in place. Before federal income tax the major tax source was booze and tobaccy. I'd for sure go back to those days if I could change it. Now we have income tax AND these taxes.

Separate than our ridiculous property taxes. Mine are okay but the stuff i read is ridiculous. Need limits on valuation jumps.

When was that? When majority of folks rode "locomotives" and polio was the leading cause of death?

[flywise]

Originally Posted by RiverRat1

You can spell so you're not that dumb...I don't think.

Paying taxes is fine with most people. The issue is they always raise the tax rate. That's 100% BS

If they could run off a lower tax rate 20 years ago they should be able to run off a lower tax rate now (with more people paying taxes). Taxes should go down, not up.

Agreed
They blow money on stupid **** just because they can blow money on stupid ****. They are very good at creating more stupid ****. I'm not real sure what the solution is but I think starting with a max of say 5k for everyone....no exemptions would be a good start.
Find a max and make these taxing authorities figure out how to live in those limits

[rtp]

Originally Posted by Landrover

Following!
I have a firm on retainer that challenges my property taxes every year or so. It is such a screwed up system.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Lots of people making lots of money on the "system". We arent one of them.

[Radar]

Originally Posted by Clay C

I handle property taxes at work. We have property in around 100 counties. About 80 in Texas, and the rest spread out around a few other states. To say it is a screwed up system is an understatement. By far the most frustrating part of my job.

I have to pay Personal Property tax on my delivery truck, inventory tax to the county as well.

Two years ago the county sent me a letter with a satellite image looking down on my home. On the image was my delivery truck parked next to my metal building, the letter said I would need to start paying taxes on the additional building(delivery truck) I put up. They had it measured out and said tax would be 460.00 a year.

So I drove the "storage building" down to the assessors office and made the girl walk outside to show her the "storage building". I told her you charge me 2600.00 a year in personal property taxes for this truck and now you decide to call it a "storage building" and charge 460.00 extra. They fixed it.

Last year when I got my personal property tax for the truck the value went up 60,000.00. I protested the tax and asked how a truck increases in value when they should depreciate. A day before my hearing the assessor calls and said they made a mistake and included my personal pick up truck in the personal property tax and they were sorry.

Can you imagine how many people do not catch those things and the county wont say chit about it.

[Clay C]

Originally Posted by Radar

I have to pay Personal Property tax on my delivery truck, inventory tax to the county as well.



Two years ago the county sent me a letter with a satellite image looking down on my home. On the image was my delivery truck parked next to my metal building, the letter said I would need to start paying taxes on the additional building(delivery truck) I put up. They had it measured out and said tax would be 460.00 a year.



So I drove the "storage building" down to the assessors office and made the girl walk outside to show her the "storage building". I told her you charge me 2600.00 a year in personal property taxes for this truck and now you decide to call it a "storage building" and charge 460.00 extra. They fixed it.



Last year when I got my personal property tax for the truck the value went up 60,000.00. I protested the tax and asked how a truck increases in value when they should depreciate. A day before my hearing the assessor calls and said they made a mistake and included my personal pick up truck in the personal property tax and they were sorry.



Can you imagine how many people do not catch those things and the county wont say chit about it.

Yeah. I deal with stuff like that all the time. It’s incredible how difficult they will make it to solve even the simplest issues. Tax offices in other states I deal with are usually great. Very easy to deal with and they don’t act like you’re burdening them with a phone call. I can call an office in Mississippi and just say “hey I think you overvalued that property, it should be this” I’ll get a corrected statement within the hour.


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[Playa]

Originally Posted by RiverRat1

You can spell so you're not that dumb...I don't think.

Paying taxes is fine with most people. The issue is they always raise the tax rate. That's 100% BS

If they could run off a lower tax rate 20 years ago they should be able to run off a lower tax rate now (with more people paying taxes). Taxes should go down, not up.

It isn’t the tax rate I take issue with, it’s the fuzzy math they use to “valuate” property. They never have to raise the tax rate, just inflate the values

[texansfan]

Originally Posted by RiverRat1

You can spell so you're not that dumb...I don't think.

Paying taxes is fine with most people. The issue is they always raise the tax rate. That's 100% BS

If they could run off a lower tax rate 20 years ago they should be able to run off a lower tax rate now (with more people paying taxes). Taxes should go down, not up.

Huh?
You have more teachers and policemen making more money than they did 20 years ago
You also have more things you have to pay for
20 years ago You didn't need fiber optic cabling to be run in every elementary school (today you do)

Why do I have to explain this stuff?

It's all numbers, man. Pure math.
Didn't the fire fighters in Houston just get some big pension thing they won? That will cost the city more money and it was an expense that the city did not have 20 years ago, not even 20 weeks ago.
So the city of Houston needs to find a way to pay for all these pensions that just got dropped in their lap and the way to go it is cut other things out raise taxes.
Since nobody likes their programs cut (squeezing more kids per classroom for example) then they will raise taxes.

[texansfan]

Originally Posted by flywise

Agreed
They blow money on stupid **** just because they can blow money on stupid ****. They are very good at creating more stupid ****. I'm not real sure what the solution is but I think starting with a max of say 5k for everyone....no exemptions would be a good start.
Find a max and make these taxing authorities figure out how to live in those limits

This is that stupid sheet the city finds ways to spend more money they don't have

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/new...e-13335857.php


Within the next few years I'm sure the teachers will go on strike with their hands out for more money too

[Mertzon Man]

Originally Posted by Playa

It isn’t the tax rate I take issue with, it’s the fuzzy math they use to “valuate” property. They never have to raise the tax rate, just inflate the values

Bingo, they are killing me raising my value substantially every year. They are taxing me out of my retirement home.

[rtp]

I would prefer a sales tax to property tax. That way everyone can contribute to the system. It would also allow a person to actually own property free and clear. If a person is going through a rough time financially they can cut their spending those reducing their tax paid. If they're going through a rough time financially currently there is nothing they can do to cut their property and are then at risk of losing it if they dont have the money to pay. Late fees and interest will eat them alive in a few years.

[Ironman]

Originally Posted by rtp

I would prefer a sales tax to property tax. That way everyone can contribute to the system. It would also allow a person to actually own property free and clear. If a person is going through a rough time financially they can cut their spending those reducing their tax paid. If they're going through a rough time financially currently there is nothing they can do to cut their property and are then at risk of losing it if they dont have the money to pay. Late fees and interest will eat them alive in a few years.

I agree completely.

[LWC]

Originally Posted by Ironman

I agree completely.

Yep! The state gets the taxes they need...and if you don't want to pay taxes, there is a simple solution. Don't buy anything.

[muzzlebrake]

I filed homestead exemption when I turned 65. My taxes are now less than a tank of gas but I still have to pay. Tarrant County.

[muzzlebrake]

In Texas, there are several types of exemptions that can help seniors. ... Over 65 Exemption: In addition to the $25,000 exemption that all homestead owners receive, those age 65 or older qualify for a $10,000 homestead exemption for school taxes.May 17, 2016

I file for my exemption in 2011.

[Dirtymike]

Taxed when you earn it. Taxed when you spend it. Taxed on items you own that you spent it on. It never ends.

[Buff]

The taxes will force me out of my house when I retire.
I own my place out right but the taxes on it are over $1,000.00 a month.
I hope to retire at 66, I will have to sell out and move into another smaller place.
I worked hard to build up enough to have a nice place. It saddens me to think I will have to retire to a shack over the tax burden when the county did not help me build this place


I am all for a VAT tax. If I want to spend like a drunk sailor then I will pay the tax. If I want to set on my money and spend nothing then I don't pay.

It is just hard to understand that they could send a SWAT team out to MY house and put me in the street

[BrianL]

Originally Posted by Buff

The taxes will force me out of my house when I retire.
I own my place out right but the taxes on it are over $1,000.00 a month.
I hope to retire at 66, I will have to sell out and move into another smaller place.
I worked hard to build up enough to have a nice place. It saddens me to think I will have to retire to a shack over the tax burden when the county did not help me build this place


I am all for a VAT tax. If I want to spend like a drunk sailor then I will pay the tax. If I want to set on my money and spend nothing then I don't pay.

It is just hard to understand that they could send a SWAT team out to MY house and put me in the street

At some point, I had to decide if that type house worth the monthly expense due to taxes. I decided to go barndo and land at about 1/6 the taxes of the same value house on 5 acres. I knew the rules, so built within those rules to reduce tax values as much as possible. Once retired, that property tax money is a big hit to cash flow.

[batmaninja]

Property values go up and down all of the time, yet taxes rarely seem to mirror the change in values. The truth of the matter is with all of the flooding that TX saw, some properties should be devalued. New flood maps are coming out as well, which will put more properties into map floodplains, and again change values.

[Leemo]

Originally Posted by Buff

The taxes will force me out of my house when I retire.
I own my place out right but the taxes on it are over $1,000.00 a month.
I hope to retire at 66, I will have to sell out and move into another smaller place.
I worked hard to build up enough to have a nice place. It saddens me to think I will have to retire to a shack over the tax burden when the county did not help me build this place


I am all for a VAT tax. If I want to spend like a drunk sailor then I will pay the tax. If I want to set on my money and spend nothing then I don't pay.

It is just hard to understand that they could send a SWAT team out to MY house and put me in the street

It’s sick, I’m 54, and my wife is 51. We just bought some property in Matagorda and are building a small shack because of that very reason. Taxes this year are $9,260.66.........on my house
I’m being punished for working hard

[rtp]

Originally Posted by Dirtymike

Taxed when you earn it. Taxed when you spend it. Taxed on items you own that you spent it on. It never ends.

What is amazing is how many people there are that never realize exactly what you just typed. They just go along with everything and never question anything.

[100%TtId]

Originally Posted by Dirtymike

Taxed when you earn it. Taxed when you spend it. Taxed on items you own that you spent it on. It never ends.

...taxed when you die...

[Jen-Man]

Originally Posted by texansfan

Huh?

You have more teachers and policemen making more money than they did 20 years ago

You also have more things you have to pay for

20 years ago You didn't need fiber optic cabling to be run in every elementary school (today you do)



Why do I have to explain this stuff?



It's all numbers, man. Pure math.

Didn't the fire fighters in Houston just get some big pension thing they won? That will cost the city more money and it was an expense that the city did not have 20 years ago, not even 20 weeks ago.

So the city of Houston needs to find a way to pay for all these pensions that just got dropped in their lap and the way to go it is cut other things out raise taxes.

Since nobody likes their programs cut (squeezing more kids per classroom for example) then they will raise taxes.

Truth, it’s not the schools, it’s the state. At one time they funded 80 something percent of public ed funding, now it’s down to 30 something percent. It has to do with property values..... the more local funding that goes to school districts the less comes out of the state. And the extra money the state gets or saves by doing this goes to balancing the budget instead of to the schools. Thousands of School age kids moving to Texas yearly and the state pays less..... I think there is a little wasteful spending going on. Time to make some noise in Austin.


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[Radar]

Originally Posted by BrianL

At some point, I had to decide if that type house worth the monthly expense due to taxes. I decided to go barndo and land at about 1/6 the taxes of the same value house on 5 acres. I knew the rules, so built within those rules to reduce tax values as much as possible. Once retired, that property tax money is a big hit to cash flow.

I would like to ask you about the barndo. How does a barndo keep the property tax down, because it is not considered a dwelling?

If one were to build a barndo how many sq ft can it be and how "nice" can the living quarters be? I do not know anything about this and am just asking?

This has been in the back of my mind for sometime now.

[Draco]

It keeps the property values down just by costing less to build. It is, in many ways, a better house too. It can't burn, rot and is virtually maintenance free. They can be very nice houses as well.

[flywise]

Originally Posted by Radar

I would like to ask you about the barndo. How does a barndo keep the property tax down, because it is not considered a dwelling?

If one were to build a barndo how many sq ft can it be and how "nice" can the living quarters be? I do not know anything about this and am just asking?

This has been in the back of my mind for sometime now.

It can be as big as you want it and as nice as.you want it.

[LFD2037]

Originally Posted by Draco

It can't burn,

Ha!

[RiverRat1]

Originally Posted by texansfan

Huh?
You have more teachers and policemen making more money than they did 20 years ago
You also have more things you have to pay for
20 years ago You didn't need fiber optic cabling to be run in every elementary school (today you do)

Why do I have to explain this stuff?

It's all numbers, man. Pure math.
Didn't the fire fighters in Houston just get some big pension thing they won? That will cost the city more money and it was an expense that the city did not have 20 years ago, not even 20 weeks ago.
So the city of Houston needs to find a way to pay for all these pensions that just got dropped in their lap and the way to go it is cut other things out raise taxes.
Since nobody likes their programs cut (squeezing more kids per classroom for example) then they will raise taxes.

I'll say this one time. Try and think really really hard.

We the people own property we are taxed on. Look at it like church tithing. That's 10%

Churches typically don't say this next year we need 11% because now we have more people. And after 50 years are asking for 25%

If property values are up that means economy is good and people are making more money so the government makes more.. But it's the same. Sort of like if you get a 5% raise but inflation that year was up 5% you're really not making more money.

[TransPecos]

I got so frustrated with the Comal County Appriasal District that last year I paid the $450 to take the appraisal district to binding arbitration. I was able to get a $41,000 reduction on my appraisal value. This was after only getting $3,000 off going to the standard 3 person protest board in New Braunfels.

I encourage everyone to go through this process. We need to push back HARD against these overly aggressive appraisal districts.

[sir shovelhands]

Originally Posted by 100%TtId

...taxed when you die...

LOL. The estate tax exemption is now $11 million. I'd wager fewer than 20 people on the green screen will get hit with that.

[texansfan]

Originally Posted by RiverRat1

If property values are up that means economy is good and people are making more money so the government makes more.. But it's the same. Sort of like if you get a 5% raise but inflation that year was up 5% you're really not making more money.

Balancing a checkbook is not the same as an economy.
Situation....
You buy your house that is worth 100k @ 3% tax so $300k per year
You make $50k when you bought said house.
3 years later you get a promotion and make $150k and folks flood your city.
Your house is now worth 200k but the city can only increase your taxable value by 10% so instead of $6k taxes the city gets $3300 from you.
The city needs to hire more staff because of all the additional people in the area but now the city must offer more money to entice new talent.

Thus increasing the city's budget but the tax base isn't keeping up Because you're not paying your fair share of taxable value on your $200k home.

This is a very simplistic view but how things can happen.
Think about those homes in Garden Oaks/Oaks Forest that have had residents in them for 30 years But the city can't get the full value for property taxes because the residents have been in there so long or they are over 65 and get exemptions.

I understand and feel your pain
Only thing we can do is ditch the property tax and go to income tax but then folks will complain that welfare queens don't pay their share

Maybe do a 2% income tax and halve all of the property tax rates so we can hit all angles

[TXHunter12]

Let’s keep this real. This isn’t just about we need money to pay for policemen and firefighters!
That is the go to for many tax minded liberals.

What has changed in Texas in the last 20 years? Why are schools so burdened? Why do we need more public services? Why are are states health facilities strained so much?

Almost 1 in every 3 babies born in this state are born of illegal immigrants.
That is not taking into account people coming here illegally.

Yes you are right about one thing ...... it’s SIMPLE MATH.

[175gr7.62]

My dad just bought a RV and claims Texas as his home state. No property tax and no income tax. Colorado in the summer and Texas in the winter.


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[texansfan]

Originally Posted by TXHunter12

Let’s keep this real. This isn’t just about we need money to pay for policemen and firefighters!
That is the go to for many tax minded liberals.

What has changed in Texas in the last 20 years? Why are schools so burdened? Why do we need more public services? Why are are states health facilities strained so much?

Almost 1 in every 3 babies born in this state are born of illegal immigrants.
That is not taking into account people coming here illegally.

Yes you are right about one thing ...... it’s SIMPLE MATH.

How many illegal immigrants (those without usa birth certificates) are we educating in our schools?
I know one thing that ticks me off is the pre-k situation.
It's only available to esl students and then if there is space available they take poor English speaking kids.
But the roads I houston are crahp and I'd pay $50 more per year to have extremely smooth roads and streets that don't flood.

HISD just built a bunch of brand new schools. That's where property tax money goes.

Oh. And those illegal immigrants come here to build our $120k entry level homes
Without illegal immigration the cheapest brand new home will be $200k

[flywise]

Originally Posted by TXHunter12

Let’s keep this real. This isn’t just about we need money to pay for policemen and firefighters!
That is the go to for many tax minded liberals.

What has changed in Texas in the last 20 years? Why are schools so burdened? Why do we need more public services? Why are are states health facilities strained so much?

Almost 1 in every 3 babies born in this state are born of illegal immigrants.
That is not taking into account people coming here illegally.

Yes you are right about one thing ...... it’s SIMPLE MATH.

You are absolutely right.