Wyoming Taxes – Great Facts About Wyomings Wonderful Tax Climate

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Last week Christy and I were treated to an excellent discussion at our Jackson Hole Sotheby’s International Realty morning meeting about Wyoming Taxes.  Every Wednesday the agents and staff at Sotheby’s get together to discuss new listings, recent sales activity, office policies and important educational seminars.  This past week we had the pleasure of having Jim Gersack, VP of Wealth Management at First Interstate Back in Jackson Hole (who can be reached at 307-732-7852 or by email at james.gersack@fib.com) give us an interesting presentation of the current momentum Wyoming is receiving from individuals looking to relocate their residency to Wyoming.  You see, Wyoming is simply one of the top states in the country to live in if you are looking to preserve wealth and to avoid major taxes that many state impose on individuals and businesses.

So why is Wyoming so special?:

In March, 2013 Wyoming was rated as the top tax-friendly state by Barrons Penta (Barron’s Penta offers advice for families with assets of $5M or more). Residents of Wyoming reap significant tax benefits due to its tax certainty, asset and creditor protection and state budget surplus of $1 billion.

• According to a study by 24/7 Wall Street, Wyoming is the 2nd best run state with regards to account debt per capita, budget deficits, unemployment, and median household income

• Wyoming has very progressive estate and tax planning legislation with more to come

• Wyoming has $6.1 billion in their Mineral Trust Fund and nearly $1.3 billion in cash in their Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account

• Wyoming has a AAA credit rating, the highest possible (and better than the Federal Government)

• All Wyoming high school graduates have access to the Hathaway Scholarship, a state program that provides free college tuition who qualify with both merit- and needs

• And if you need more convincing, Wyoming has the lowest beer tax at just 2 cents per gallon.

When compared to higher tax states such as California, New York, Illinois or Maryland (which recently instituted a “rain tax” estimated to cost Marylanders $300 million annually) it becomes clear why Jackson Hole, Wy is experiencing a surge of tax-motivated buyers.

To learn more about Jackson Hole and some of its advantages please feel free to contact us – the Jackson Hole Real Estate Experts – at 307-413-5243 or by email at Garth.gillespie@jhsir.com


 

 

Jackson Hole – Wyoming – Disaster Free?

Maybe not exactly but Wyoming ranked 5th for Distaster Resistant real estate locations from the MSN real estate site:

Here’s the link:  http://realestate.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=25641997&GT1=35006 

Here’s what they had to say about Wyoming and Jackson Hole:

Wyoming

Want to live tax-free, but don’t want to deal with hurricanes? Welcome to Wyoming, where individual and corporate taxes are as nonexistent as oceans and gulf currents. Residents may wonder how their state can be considered so safe when it was declared a disaster area in July after a serious bout of flooding. Simple: With only eight major disasters declared since FEMA started keeping tabs back in 1953, the least-populous state (roughly 540,000, or fewer than in Tucson, Ariz., alone) takes calamities including floods, tornadoes and winter storms in stride. With all that cash savings and little worry about impending doom, Wyoming newcomers should feel free to splurge on such homes as Sotheby’s $7 million, four-bedroom, seven-acre spread in Jackson Hole with a stone fireplace, infinity-edge outdoor hot tub, heated concrete floors, six-car garage, guest house and a 30-foot window wall with a view of the Tetons.

All I can say is somehow Utah beat us?  I beg to differ!

Wyoming Tax Benefits – There Is Alot You Need To Know!

 There are several reasons why many people choose to live in Jackson Hole.  Many live here for the scenic beauty of Grand Teton National Park, several for the fly fishing in the Snake River in the summer, and many for great skiing at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in the winter. However there is also a practical reason to live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming’s overall tax-climate benefits when compared to other states. 

Bloomberg Wealth Management magazine continues to rate Wyoming as the #1 Tax Friendly State in America. It’s easy to understand why….. 

  • No state income tax on personal or corporate income
  • No state inheritance tax or estate tax
  • No tax on the purchase or sale of real estate
  • No state capital gains tax
  • No state gift tax
  • No state excise tax
  • No tax on out-of-state retirement income
  • Dynasty Trusts are permitted and allow you to shield assets from federal real estate taxes

Owning property in Jackson Hole gives you unlimited access to our breathtaking mountains, our magnificent forests, pristine streams and world class sporting opportunities. Now you have another great reason to own real estate in Jackson Hole!

 Call or email The Gillespie Real Estate Team to learn more about real estate opportunities in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Wyoming ranks FIRST in 2009 Business Tax Climate!

There has been a lot of talk about the Tax Credit for First Time Homeowners on this blog so I thought I would switch it up and let you read about all the terrific tax situations in the great state of Wyoming.

An excellent source of tax information whether it is Wyoming’s excellent tax climate or the tax climate of your state.

State By State Map

Wyoming

And maybe most importantly – Beer Tax NOTICE who is #1 in least amount of Beer Tax!

TEN TAX BENEFITS OF OWNING REAL ESTATE IN JACKSON HOLE

1. No state income tax

2. Dynasty trusts: In Wyoming, you can shield your real estate from federal estate taxes for up to 1,000 years through a dynasty trust.

3. No inheritance tax

4. No state gift tax

5. No tax on out-of-state retirement income

6. Low property taxes (well, we think so) actually ranked 38th.

7. No excise taxes

8. No tax on mineral ownership

9. No intangible taxes

10. No tax on the sale of real estate.

To learn more about the benefits of owning real estate in Jackson Hole and Wyoming please visit us. Feel free to call us at 307-739-8056 or email us at garth.gillespie@sothebyshomes.com.

First Time Homeowner Tax Credit – Explained – How Does It Help Jackson Hole Homebuyers?

Information about first time home buyer tax credits as amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (HR 1).

We highly suggest that you please consult your tax advisor / accountant to determine whether you are eligible for this tax credit before making any decisions or changes to your tax status. This website is for information only and should be verified by a tax professional.

The 3 changes to the first-time home buyers tax credit program include:

Tax credit has been increased to $8,000.
Homes have to be purchased between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009
No repayment/recapture clause for homes sold after 36 months of occupancy and ownership.

The Tax Credit is for home buyers (either spouse if filing jointly) who have not owned a principle residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.

The maximum credit is $8,000 or 10% of the home purchase, whichever is less – not an issue here in Jackson Hole or Teton Valley, Idaho.

The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 31, 2009.

To qualify for the full tax credit, married couples’ modified adjusted gross income should be under $150,000 and single filers’ modified adjusted gross income should be less than $75,000. Partial tax credits may be available for married couples with modified adjusted gross incomes of over $150,000 but under $170,000 and single filers with incomes over $75,000 but under $95,000. If married couples who qualify for the first-time tax credit file separately, they would both claim 5% of the home purchase or $4,000 each on their tax returns.

Home buyers who qualify for this program, but who do not intend to purchase a home till the end of 2009, may elect to alter their tax withholdings (up to the amount of the of the tax credit) in order to save up money for a down payment. However, if the purchase of the home does not occur, the taxes must be repaid to the IRS.

There is no recapture or repayment clause IF the home is owned for at least 36 months.

The effective date of purchase for new construction (even if buyer owns title to the lot) is the date the owner first occupies the house. So even if construction began in 2008, as long as the home and buyers qualify for the tax credit, they will be eligible if they take possession any time during 2009. However, new construction bought from the builder is only eligible if the settlement date (closing) takes place between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009.

The law allows taxpayers to elect to treat qualified 2009 purchases as a 2008 purchase so that they can receive the tax credit on their 2008 tax returns.

The full amount of the eligible tax credit is refunded to the buyer, regardless of whether the buyer has paid an equivalent amount in taxes.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Read more

Housing and the Stimulus Package – Jackson Hole Status Report

February 17, 2009

Christy and Garth Gillespie, the “Jackson Hole Experts” have reviewed the Stimulis Bill and Treasury announcements made last week and being signed today and here are our thoughts.

We were in support for a $15,000 tax credit but that was defeated. We are very excited to report much of what the National Association of REALTORS campaigned for was introduced and kept into the bill and are equally excited to see the already established tax breaks stay in effect.

So here’s what is part of the package: 1) the loan limits will be raised to $727,000 in high cost areas, 2) the tax credit will be raised to $8,000, 3) the bill has over $50 billion in it for foreclosure mitigation, 4) Fannie has just agreed to lift the cap of 4 investment properties eligible for loans and raise it to 10.

In addition, the Government preserved what we have – mortgage interest deductability, real estate tax deductability, and the $250,000/$500,000 cap gains exclusion (an overall package worth more than $100 billion).

We also reviewed where the $727 billion dollar stimulus package was being spent – unfortunately NOT in Teton County, Wyoming or Idaho….

We will continue to update the benefits of the Stimulus Bill as more details are released. For more information on the Jackson Hole Real Estate market please feel free to contact us at 307-739-8056 or send us an email to gillespie@NUMBER1EXPERT.com.