VA Buying House/Mortgage Benefits
- Thread starter Jared Lee
- Start date
Nothing VA specific.
Property tax break depends on the state. Some require 100%, some require permanent and total, some have sliding scales, some have nothing. They may have grants or other things for low income, which may or may not consider VA pay as income. Those are usually county / city specific.
The VA funding fee is waived if you have a disability, don't need 100% for that.
VA loans are pretty easy to get at a decent rate and still have the lender apply money to costs, but not 100% specific.
Its still common to ask the seller to help with closing costs. There are arguments that you're already a huge risk with 0% down payment, if you can't bring even closing costs to the table you may not be able to save well enough to maintain the home.
The home adaptive house grant isn't VA loan specific, but an option if you need modifications for access.
Property tax break depends on the state. Some require 100%, some require permanent and total, some have sliding scales, some have nothing. They may have grants or other things for low income, which may or may not consider VA pay as income. Those are usually county / city specific.
The VA funding fee is waived if you have a disability, don't need 100% for that.
VA loans are pretty easy to get at a decent rate and still have the lender apply money to costs, but not 100% specific.
Its still common to ask the seller to help with closing costs. There are arguments that you're already a huge risk with 0% down payment, if you can't bring even closing costs to the table you may not be able to save well enough to maintain the home.
The home adaptive house grant isn't VA loan specific, but an option if you need modifications for access.
http://www.veteransunited.com/futurehomeowners/veteran-property-tax-exemptions-by-state/
Thanks Scout. I would have never even thought to look into this.
Thanks Scout. I would have never even thought to look into this.
When you get done with the website ScoutCC posted, please be sure to then go to that particular State's website and read that State's specific qualifications of disability in order to determine/double check your eligibility for whatever property tax beak you may qualify for in that specific State.
Some States require 100% P&T, other 100% TDIU or P&T, others sliding scale depending on our VA disability % rating and on and on.
So go to the State website and read how they have interpreted their property tax relief laws for Veterans.
Texas is one of the easiest and clearest to read property tax relief States.
REMEMBER, YOU NEED TO GO TO THAT STATE'S WEBSITE AND READ THE FINE PRINT!
THIS WEBSITE DOESN'T TELL YOU IF A 100% UI VETERAN CAN QUALIFY - SO YOU NEED TO GO TO THE STATE WEBSITE TO SEE IF A 100% UI VET CAN ALSO GET THE SAME PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION AS A 100% P&T VET CAN GET.
SOME STATES LUMP ALL 100% VA RATED VETS IN ON THE EXEMPTION - MANY DO NOT. YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE STATE WEBSITE TO FIND THIS OUT!
SOME STATES OFFER 100% EXEMPTION, BUT THE EXEMPTION IS INCOME-BASED (LOW INCOME ONLY CAN GET IT).
SOME STATES OFFER 100% TAX EXEMPTION, BUT YOU NEED TO BE IN A WHEELCHAIR OR SOME OTHER "BUT" THING THAT YOU OR I MAY NOT HAVE OR NEED IN ORDER TO QUALIFY.
AND IN OTHER STATES, WELL, THEIR PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION IS OF SO LITTLE VALUE, IT'S NOT WORTH MOVING THERE. IF I CAN ONLY SAVE 200 DOLLARS A YEAR ON MY PROPERTY TAX, OR, IF ONLY THE FIRST 25,000 DOLLARS OF HOME VALUE IS EXEMPTED FROM A 250,000 ASSESSED VALUED HOUSE - SO WHAT??? NOT A BIG DEAL - NOT WORTH IT.
SO DO YOUR RESEARCH!
http://www.veteransunited.com/futurehomeowners/veteran-property-tax-exemptions-by-state/
I just did another long research on this very issue - as well as other tax considerations like income tax and taxation on pensions, etc.
I am single, 100% P&T with no minor children.
Below is a list of States that fit my scenario and how I arrived at the two States that will work best for me - tax wise anyway. With a minimum amount of tax burden, this frees me up for ease of ex-pat living while I use my GI Bill for an overseas education. I will not have to file State income tax returns for either of these two States.
And, by my establishing my residency in either of these two states PRIOR to departure for overseas education, then when I return, I will automatically be able to launch the next phase - which is to build a home in either of these States where I can then "age in place". And have ZERO property tax to have to pay in either State.
Again, this works for me, but everyone is different and has different needs.
But if you are looking at making your retirement dollars stretch, and you or your spouse or kids or even yourself might be generating a working income, then these two States seemed to offer the best bang for my fixed income.
Texas
Florida
Hope this helps!
V/R,
nwlivewire
Dumb question, but you can only use this program Stateside, correct?
What do you mean?
What are you thinking about?
The property has to be physically located within the State where there is a property tax exemption for the disabled Vet in that State.
Is this what you are asking????
As far as retirement taxation or income or wages earned taxation, you generally need to become a resident of that state in order to benefit from their State tax deals.
I know you are thinking about going overseas to get your education and will be gone for a few years.
I'm preparing to do the same thing.
So I'm going to establish residency in Texas right before I depart - get a Texas drivers license, voter ID, mailing address, switch banks to a local Texas branch, and store a few goods all in Texas. Since I know I'll be gone for awhile, I'm selling my car before I go overseas, so whoever buys it will have to get it "plated" for Texas.
Establishing residency in Texas means ALL my retirement pensions will be STATE tax free and I won't have to file a State income tax return every year while I am overseas. Texas doesn't have a state tax return to have to file, so I'll only have to file a Federal Income Tax return. That's just one less piece of Government paperwork to have to mess with every year while I am off US soil for a few years.
OH. There's a FEDERAL FBAR form to file when you establish an overseas bank account, too. Don't know a lot of specifics, but I have read if you fail to file this Federal FBAR form, you can get a heavy fine for failure to file. You have to file this form every year with the Feds and there are cut-off dates, too. I'm not ready to leave yet, so I've not drilled down on this yet. But this is something that I know I will need to do and will have time to more fully understand my obligations at a later date.
Anyway, establishing residency PRIOR to departure will also make it easier and faster when I return to Texas to buy/build a small home in that State. And my bank accounts will be "seasoned" or aged a bit by the time I get back there.
Hope I answered your question???
nwlivewire
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Sorry the ask more directly, can the VA home purchase benefits be used outside of the US? Like retired and wanting to live in the Philippines or Canada?
OH. The Federal FBAR thing I was talking about in my previous posting is actually called FATCA - Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
THIS FEDERAL FATCA affects almost every single US citizen who has a bank account in a foreign country.
Foreign financial institutions are required to report annually on the financial assets and offshore accounts of US citizens and residents, to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This is what the FACTA does - requires the foreign bank to declare to the IRS the assets held by US citizens in their foreign bank account(s) to the IRS.
The Ex-pat then has to submit an annual FBAR and it is separately filed and not part of a Federal tax return (though interest paid on a foreign account is reportable on your tax return).
It sounds like a big headache for the low-money ex-pats, and just one more piece of paper (or form) to have to send into the US Government. It sounds like the FACTA was intended to catch the "Big Fish" money (millions) that was escaping taxation and was intended to cut back on the money-laundering. But it looks like the webbing in the FACTA net is pretty tightly woven and can catch/affect even the little ex-pat fish in the pond.
Here's the IRS FBAR website to read to see if you, as a "little financial fish", will be caught up in the FACTA net....
http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small...t-of-Foreign-Bank-and-Financial-Accounts-FBAR
nwlivewire