Taxes and Moving

CGPinFL · Post by **CGPinFL** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 2:55 pm

After a very short stint in San Francisco, while still living in corporate housing, the company that had just hired me folded. Fortunately my partner and I hadn't sold our house in Florida, and he hadn't quit his job.

After about a year and half of searching I've finally found a company in Kansas City that is in both our field. We feel that KC is our best option since my family is in Saint Louis and his family is in Omaha. We want to be close, but not TOO close. The company happens to be in Shawnee Mission, but being a former Missourian I'd like to live in KC, preferrably downtown or near the Plaza. My question is, do people who commute to work in another state pay income tax in both states? And does Kansas have a personal property tax on cars, boats, motorcycles, etc. like MO? (or maybe that's county by county?) Also, are KC residents supposed to volunteer 1% of their income to the city like in StL?

Thanks in advance.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 3:02 pm

if you live or work in KCMO you pay the 1%. Problem is living in KCMO and working outside you have to remember to pay it, I don't think any company outside KCMo will hold out those taxes for you. So just another tax form to fill out.

Yes, KS and MO both have personal property tax. Difference is in MO you only pay what you own as of Jan 1st of that year. In KS you pay right away i believe.

You will file state taxes for your income in both states. You end up filing for a credit with one state the state tax you paid to the other state. I believe whatever state you claim residence you fill out first then claim that credit to the state you work in. Hell I can't remember, it's something like that. Not too bad actually.

scooterj · Post by **scooterj** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 3:31 pm

KC wrote:Problem is living in KCMO and working outside you have to remember to pay it

I didn't know that. Whoops!

scooterj · Post by **scooterj** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 3:34 pm

One other thing... many companies will withhold income tax for both states for you if you ask, which can make things a lot easier at tax time.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 3:50 pm

you don't have to pay full taxes in both states...when I lived in KS and worked in MO. I paid my MO taxes, took the credit in the KS tax form and still had to pay some more to KS...taught me the lesson about who had higher taxes.

scooterj · Post by **scooterj** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 6:13 pm

KC wrote:you don't have to pay full taxes in both states...when I lived in KS and worked in MO. I paid my MO taxes, took the credit in the KS tax form and still had to pay some more to KS...taught me the lesson about who had higher taxes.

Yep, I typically owed Kansas more than a grand even *after* applying the MO refund and the Mo credit.

Post by **bahua** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 9:06 pm

CGPinFL, welcome to Kansas City!

Taxes, wherever you live, are a bitch in the metro. I live in MO, and work in KS, and still haven't quite gotten the taxes right. With that in mind, there really isn't any place to live in the area, where you are at a particular advantage with taxes. One thing, though: If you can wait until after the first of the year to move in, you can avoid paying property tax on your car next year.

If you don't have kids, or if you do have kids, but are willing to pay for their education, I would recommend, without question, to follow your gut feeling and move to the interior of the city. It's where the action is, and it's where the nightlife is, should that be your thing. The dining is also top-notch in the city, and I don't know anybody who doesn't like to eat.

I'd recommend the Crossroads District, Quality Hill, West Plaza, River Market, Columbus Park, or the Crown Center area. All are very cool areas, and all are currently in the process of a housing boom, which means that they will all have even more going on in the future.

Does this help?

tat2kc · Post by **tat2kc** » Wed Dec 17, 2003 10:25 am

I work in KS and live in MO. My employer takes out the city tax for KCMO so I don't need to file anything. The credit I receive for working in KS and paying KS income tax more than offsets my MO tax bill. When adding up property and income taxes and such, I end up having to pay less in taxes living in MO. I also use turbotax, so I can fill out all tax forms, federal and both states, in less than a couple hours. It is not a hassle at all.

Post by **dangerboy** » Wed Dec 17, 2003 12:14 pm

Some larger Kansas employers will withhould the KCMO earnings tax so you don't have to do anything for it - but you probably have to request it yourself. Missouri and Kansas have a tax agreement where you don't pay income tax twice, only once to the state where the income is earned.

In general, Kansas has higher income tax, and Johnson County in particular has higher property taxes. The Missouri suburbs somewhat lower property taxes, and housing costs are around 20-30% less for comparable houses in Kansas. The urban core of KCMO has a low property tax because of the low tax rate for the KC School District. Since you are considering Downtown, keep in mind that some of the for-sale lofts have up to 100% property tax abatement for several years (e.g. Western Auto Lofts)

CGPinFL · Post by **CGPinFL** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 11:12 am

Thanks guys for your help. It's nice to have atleast one concern in my mind settled. When I have time I've got other questions to throw everybody.

I spent last Christmas in KC, and it was great. Wish I was there right now, Christmas in Florida SUCKS.