A real estate transfer tax is a one-time tax paid at the closing of a property, and is considered a stream of revenue for state budgets. This transfer tax though, once collected is not generally used for housing-related purposes. The tax is based on the value of a property as agreed to by the parties in a real estate contract.

In the excitement of selling or buying a home, often the real estate transfer tax cost is overlooked. Depending on locale, either the buyer or seller pays the tax at closing or escrow, but beware in New Hampshire both the buyer and seller pay, half of 1.5%!. In some states it can be a formidable amount, you should be prepared for what the transfer taxes will be, and who pays them, before you start a home search or list your home for-sale.

The good news is, thirteen states don't have a real estate property tax. They are: Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

The bad news is that the remaining thirty-seven states and The District of Columbia charge taxes on the transfer of a property. The tax is only levied once when a property is exchanged between parties, unlike general property taxes which are paid annually and are based on the assessed value. Real estate transfer taxes range from a low of .01% in Colorado to a high of 1.28% in Washington state.

Variations on transfer taxes include; in Arizona only charges a tax on deeds. However Alabama and Florida charge on deeds and mortgages. To avoid financial surprises, inquire early as to who pays (buyer or seller) and how much transfer taxes will be. Some states dictate who pays the tax, and some just want the tax paid. This cost can typically be negotiated between the parties. Consult an experienced real estate attorney.

Nobody likes to think about their death or what will happen with their property or the taxes that will be owed. However, any responsible individual will take the following tax tips into consideration when it comes to estate planning. One of the most important things to consider is a living trust so that upon your death estate taxes will be minimized.

Arizona estate planning lawyers can help you take taxes into consideration when it comes to estate planning and show you the best way to reduce taxes and leave more for your family. When you speak with your lawyer you will learn that the whole point, in most cases anyway, is to reduce taxes or eliminate them if possible. A tax called the Unified Gift and Estate Tax is imposed on your property when it is to be transferred to your heirs.

Congress has changed the gift tax laws several times and they may do so again. The last change was in 2001 when the laws were overhauled significantly. Certain individuals are subject to more taxes than others. There are some individuals whose estate will fall under the government’s exemption and these individuals do not need to be concerned with the estate tax. However those whose estates don’t fall under the exemption will leave the burden of the estate tax on the estate within nine months.

Too many people believe mistakenly that their estate will not owe any taxes so they do not go to any extremes to avoid paying the estate taxes. The problem here is that too many estates are valued at or above the exemption rate without the owner actually knowing it. As a result the value of your estate must be carefully determined in order to know whether or not taxes will be owed.

In order to determine your estate’s value you must consider all of your property. This includes vehicles, cash, real estate, investments, personal property, retirement assets, life insurance proceeds, business interests, and more. Once the value is calculated it is frequently higher than one originally imagined and the estate is liable for estate taxes.

Now that you know how your estate’s value will be calculated you are better prepared to start making arrangements to avoid as many taxes as possible and leave your heirs with as much of your property as possible. A good lawyer can help you plan your estate and structure investments and the like so that it benefits those you love in the best possible way. Many times taxes are inevitable but you can reduce them as much as possible simply by getting a little tax and estate planning help.

In return, on your private income tariff return they are capable to claim tariff deduction. If the car is not in a running condition then that is okay but it has to be in towing state so that it can be accepted as a donation. Donation of a car to some charity is worth donating than to trade-in.

New rules permit the donor for the deduction only on the transport's amount that charity receives. When charities receive your vehicle then they usually provide free liabilities for you and when they sells your car they always send you form of tax deduction that clearly says that how much money they have received in favor of your car.

There used to be donors of car who required a new vehicle and they finally buy donated as well as repaired vehicles.

You might have many old vehicles standing on the road or sitting on your assets that you use very rarely. Make sure that before donating any of your vehicles you should possess the title here in your hand. You can normally donate the car that is not in a good condition and not running either, depending on the charitable trust.

The donor gets the benefit by the donation made by him by getting a huge possible worth of the transport's tax receipt.

You will be pleased to know that after donating your car, the car will be taken by the charitable trust in couple of weeks. This makes your garage, yard, driveway empty. If any of your vehicles like: truck, motorcycle, boat, automobile, aircraft or RV is of no use than it may even go a lengthy line of attack in supporting the charitable trust of your type.

Ensure yourself to fill up all the formalities of the form that charitable trust gives you and make them ready to arrange for the driver to pick up your car. Advertising is not required. No privacy loss and security risk is there.

And paying for vehicle registration, repairs for your car to keep it in running situation, insurance is not needed while you wait for the buyer.

Try to drop the car to the charitable trust by yourself if your vehicle is in a running condition. This is made in the direction of saving the association from paying in favor of towing prices.

Those state needed security inspection certificate and smog certificates than you can also donate your car without even having these documents. Regarding fair market importance section there are some expectations in latest tax law.

Why the rich pay more tax

Reason 1

Often the rich have high incomes. Since income taxes are based on a percentage of one's income, those with higher taxable incomes will pay more. This is just basic math. If you multiply a specific tax rate by a bigger taxable income, the product is bigger, and so is the tax bill.

Reason 2

The federal tax system is progressive. This means that the tax rates themselves increase as taxable income rises. Therefore, when you do the simple math above, both numbers (the taxable income and the tax rate) are higher for high-income earners than for those who make less. As a result, the higher wage earner's tax bill increases dramatically.

Why the rich do NOT pay more taxes

Reason 1

Remember, it is not gross income but taxable income (income after subtracting your deductions) that determines your income tax. Rich people are more likely to have higher deductions due to their corresponding larger mortgages, state income taxes, and property taxes. These large deductions significantly reduce the amount of wealthy people must pay.

Reason 2

Like it sounds, federal income tax is based on income-not wealth. If you´re worth a million dollars yet have little taxable income, you might not pay it at all. Take the extreme example (and one I've seen first-hand) of a multi-millionaire family where neither parent is employed nor does anything to generate significant income. Combined with an enormous mortgage deduction, they might pay no federal income tax.

Furthermore, high income does not mean you´re rich any more than a comparably lower income means you´re poor. Becoming comfortable (and even rich) is influenced much more by your financial habits more than your income level. Don´t believe it?

You: I'm not convinced yet.

I know you've heard stories about celebrities who make piles of money yet wind up later in life with little money or even in bankruptcy. While celebrities get all the press, this tragic story is a sad reality for many others too-not just entertainers and professional athletes.

If you spend 100 percent or more of your income, no matter how high that income is, you will find it difficult to become wealthy. The opposite is also true. If you save enough money for a long period of time, you can be quite wealthy without ever earning a high income.

The conclusion is simple: some people never paid high taxes but are now rich, while some folks once paid a ton of taxes and are no longer wealthy.

Ultimately, there are just too many factors to permit a blanket answer to the question "Do the rich pay more in taxes?" It's like obtaining a true understanding of how much money the Jones' really have. While it's likely a rich household pays more income tax than a poor one, you cannot be sure.

Pay less tax yourself

The important thing is to pay the least amount of tax (legally, of course) and to pay it as late as (again, legally) possible. Don't get a huge refund and don't save a couple hundred bucks in tax prep fees at the expense of missing a $1,000 deduction. Tax preparers can help, but if you're filling out a 1040-EZ, you won't miss the deduction, so save your money and do it yourself!