I live in South Jersey and work in Philadelphia. My property tax rate is 3.43% in Camden County, New Jersey. A suburb like Blue Bell PA has property tax of 1.2%. I'm not sure what my total income tax (including Philadelphia wage tax which is refundable if I pay NJ taxes) is if I lived in Pennsylvania, but it seems about the same. Does it make economical sense to move to Pennsylvania? Would I be saving money? Right now my house is relatively inexpensive but still my tax is high. As my wife and I have no children, it stings for our property tax to be so high while our property value is low.
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4Property tax is just one piece of the total tax picture, state/local income taxes, sales/use tax, vehicle registration fees, etc. Odds are, the biggest financial benefit to moving would come from reducing commute.– Hart COAug 14, 2017 at 3:39
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3Isn't NJ notorious for high property taxes? Now is a good time to be asking these questions, before you have kids. Compare state income tax, and sales tax, cost of living, and quality of life. Or just go on a tour and look at houses in PA and get a feel for it.– RockyAug 14, 2017 at 17:10
1 Answer
I calculated state and local income tax, property tax and train fares and decided it costs about a $650 less to live in New Jersey.
Pennsylvania New Jersey
State taxes 6.99% 4.12%
Property tax 2.16% 3.47%
Train fares $2,880 $1,440
So, I guess I'm staying in New Jersey.
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112 months of a Septa Zone 3 (Penllyn station on penllyn-blue bell pike?) pass is $2088 not 2880.... in case you subconciously transcribed the value to put a thumb on the scale ;) Aug 24, 2017 at 3:16