Taxes in MD versus VA

[Anonymous]

I live in Montgomery county and make high six figures on a W2. The loss of SALT deduction is making me reconsidering moving to northern VA for the lower income taxes. I rent and dont plan to buy a home.

Anyone else thinking of moving from MD to VA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Montgomery county and make high six figures on a W2. The loss of SALT deduction is making me reconsidering moving to northern VA for the lower income taxes. I rent and dont plan to buy a home.

Anyone else thinking of moving from MD to VA

We made that move then moved back. I wouldn't do it again. Our friends and family are in Maryland. Driving to visit sucks and your friends don't want to drive to Virginia to see you. Housing is more expensive in Virginia. They have a car tax. You have to get your car inspected every year (this is cheap and it's a good idea but it's inconvenient). Driving over the American Legion bridge is horrible, I don't understand why it slows down with no exits.

On the plus side, your votes will be more important in national elections - but on the negative side you're going to be absolutely inundated by phone calls during the elections (and by this I mean many calls every day). If you do move, make sure you turn in your Maryland license plate because as soon as they find out you don't have auto insurance in the state any longer and you still have your plates they fine you every day.

[Anonymous]

Not worth the loss of rights. While NoVa is liberal, ROVa is very conservative and ROVa currently has more control of state politics and laws. This is how women lost the right to control their own bodies. And while most of the near suburbs are pretty color-blind, you only have to go 30-60 minutes outside the beltway where things turn much more conservative. White supremecists have become much more active since the Trump presidency started and there are scary situations happening in ROVa. For our mixed race family, it is not really comfortable.

[Anonymous]

Yes, if you make close to seven figures, it would be tax beneficial to do it. I know someone who did it, though he makes many millions. He bought a smaller place in VA for his main residence, and kept the family home in Potomac for when the kids visit. Most of the kids are out of the house though.

[Anonymous]

I would move to Virginia just based on the comparative quality of drivers.

[Anonymous]

Taxes are not always lower in one vs the other. It depends. Check this out, though it was analyzed before the latest federal tax changes:

https://ggwash.org/view/8404/taxes-lowest-for-dc-residents-and-car-free-virginians

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taxes are not always lower in one vs the other. It depends. Check this out, though it was analyzed before the latest federal tax changes:

https://ggwash.org/view/8404/taxes-lowest-for-dc-residents-and-car-free-virginians

OP said that he makes close to a million dollars a year. VA income tax (which is not deducible anymore if you have a decent house) is capped at 5.75%. In MoCo you pay state and county, so the max in say Potomac is 3.2% for MoCo and 5.75% for MD. So, that's $32k more just for living in MD. The VA car tax does not make up for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taxes are not always lower in one vs the other. It depends. Check this out, though it was analyzed before the latest federal tax changes:

https://ggwash.org/view/8404/taxes-lowest-for-dc-residents-and-car-free-virginians

The is only for $200k though. At that level, it doesn't really matter, but at higher levels it absolutely does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not worth the loss of rights. While NoVa is liberal, ROVa is very conservative and ROVa currently has more control of state politics and laws. This is how women lost the right to control their own bodies. And while most of the near suburbs are pretty color-blind, you only have to go 30-60 minutes outside the beltway where things turn much more conservative. White supremecists have become much more active since the Trump presidency started and there are scary situations happening in ROVa. For our mixed race family, it is not really comfortable.

Same story in MD, though. Have you been to the Eastern Shore?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not worth the loss of rights. While NoVa is liberal, ROVa is very conservative and ROVa currently has more control of state politics and laws. This is how women lost the right to control their own bodies. And while most of the near suburbs are pretty color-blind, you only have to go 30-60 minutes outside the beltway where things turn much more conservative. White supremecists have become much more active since the Trump presidency started and there are scary situations happening in ROVa. For our mixed race family, it is not really comfortable.

Same story in MD, though. Have you been to the Eastern Shore?

I understand. But in MD, the conservatives are a minority and the liberals control the legislature. In VA it is the opposite which is how laws such as the ultrasound law were passed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not worth the loss of rights. While NoVa is liberal, ROVa is very conservative and ROVa currently has more control of state politics and laws. This is how women lost the right to control their own bodies. And while most of the near suburbs are pretty color-blind, you only have to go 30-60 minutes outside the beltway where things turn much more conservative. White supremecists have become much more active since the Trump presidency started and there are scary situations happening in ROVa. For our mixed race family, it is not really comfortable.

Same story in MD, though. Have you been to the Eastern Shore?

I understand. But in MD, the conservatives are a minority and the liberals control the legislature. In VA it is the opposite which is how laws such as the ultrasound law were passed.

Funny you say that, considering MD's Governor is Republican and Virginia's a Democrat.

[Anonymous]

We recently moved from MD to VA.

Here are the financial differences:
- No more MoCo tax (3.2%)
- Property taxes are a bit lower (MoCo just raised property taxes in 2016 by almost 9%)
- Car tax depends on the age of the car you drive. For example, for a 2007 vehicle, we pay less than $80 in car tax.
- Homeowners insurance is about half in VA for what we paid in MD (e.g. $1k in MD and $500 in VA) though our house in VA is double the value than our house in MD
- No more bag tax in VA (MoCo charges 5 cents per plastic bag)
- Red light and speed cameras are almost non-existant in VA (in MoCo, you get at least 1 or 2 of these per year)

All of the above adds up to meaningful savings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
- No more bag tax in VA (MoCo charges 5 cents per plastic bag)
- Red light and speed cameras are almost non-existant in VA (in MoCo, you get at least 1 or 2 of these per year)

Those are negatives. The plastic bag liter and waste really went down in DC and MoCo after the disposable bag fee. As for cameras, I don't want people running red luights or speeding. For both of these, behavior can avoid the fees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not worth the loss of rights. While NoVa is liberal, ROVa is very conservative and ROVa currently has more control of state politics and laws. This is how women lost the right to control their own bodies. And while most of the near suburbs are pretty color-blind, you only have to go 30-60 minutes outside the beltway where things turn much more conservative. White supremecists have become much more active since the Trump presidency started and there are scary situations happening in ROVa. For our mixed race family, it is not really comfortable.

Same story in MD, though. Have you been to the Eastern Shore?

I understand. But in MD, the conservatives are a minority and the liberals control the legislature. In VA it is the opposite which is how laws such as the ultrasound law were passed.

Funny you say that, considering MD's Governor is Republican and Virginia's a Democrat.

Yes, that is the executive branch. I said the legislature which writes and passes the laws. Yes, the governor can veto a law, but a united legislature can (and has) overruled a veto. The governor has some checks and balances on the legislature, but not all and both legislatures are very powerful. The controlling party in both states has a fairly strong hold on the legislature which is significantly more important than the governor in setting state law.

[Anonymous]

We moved from MD to VA. It wasn't just taxes, but it was for better schools, better commute and public college options. Our house in Virginia was more expensive, but well worth it.