If you are considering moving to a retirement community, that doesn’t mean you have to sell off your property holdings. In the right state and with the right estate plan, property can sometimes be more valuable retained than sold off. This is especially true in Alabama, where property taxes are very forgiving for seniors, and other taxes incentives add additional value to retiring in the Yellowhammer State.
CPA Tonya Moreno noted for About.com that “The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax research group in Washington, D.C., found that people living in Louisiana, Hawaii, Alabama, the District of Columbia, Delaware, and Mississippi paid the least property taxes compared to home value.” That’s a great deal if you are disinterested in selling property to fund your retirement, or want to hang on to it for estate reasons or other purposes.
As for Alabama’s other retirement incentives, you can enjoy a 4% statewide sales tax that doesn’t affect prescriptions or insulin-related items, and a slew of exemptions on state income taxes, including pensions and Social Security. This makes it easy for everyone to save big, even those who choose to sell off property or continue working.
As you plan ahead and make decisions for your retirement, it might simplify your process to know that Alabama is highly rated by retirees down to the last financial detail. When you factor in Tuscaloosa’s many other cultural benefits, such as the University of Alabama, Ol’ Colony Golf Complex, nice restaurants like Kozy’s Fine Dining and Cypress Inn, and fun nightlife at spots like the Houndstooth Sports Bar and The Jupiter, there’s really no reason to settle down elsewhere.