By Emilio DiSpirito, Top Real Estate Agent in Rhode Island, Real Estate Blogger & Radio Show Host with the Real Estate Radio Network, Representing the Rhode Island Market.
This year, homeowners in towns & cities throughout Rhode Island have seen an increase in their real estate taxes. Many citizens are upset about the increase and this blog will be a transparent place for Rhode Islander's to see where we stand and where our tax dollars go! After a ton of research.. Cities and Towns in Rhode Island clearly do not tell you where your tax dollars go without a ton of digging. It's my goal to make Rhode Island real estate information obtainable in a quick and reasonable manner to our current and soon to be residents! :)
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In example: A $176,000 home in Rhode Island holds a real estate tax of roughly $2829 per year which is nearly six times the amount of property tax for the same house ($489 per year) in Hawaii. Hawaii is the #1 best state for lowest property taxes in the United States.
So first off.. Why are our property taxes going up?! Politicians will tell you that the "good news" is the tax rate has not increased... However, the valuation of homes has. In an increased market, cities and towns are roughly one to two years behind in actual values on the way up and also on the way down. Thus why it's common you will see "assessments" lower than actual sales prices in an escalating market and higher in a falling market.
Rhode Island property taxes are due quarterly and are paid six months in arrears meaning after the taxes are owed. When you take out a mortgage with an escrow program, taxes are collected in your mortgage payment monthly and are then paid quarterly by your mortgage servicer. Much easier than having another bill to remember to pay. Real Estate property taxes are also tax deductible, as they should be.
So the biggest question is.. Where do our property taxes go? What do they fund? Well, not so surprisingly, the RI town and city governments are not so transparent on where the money goes... After much digging, we did not find a RI page that disclosed this but found on google mainly what property taxes cover the following:
- ANIMAL CONTROL
- LOCAL ROAD REPAIRS & SERVICES
- POLICE DEPARTMENT
- "SAFE" DRINKING WATER (what if you have a well... why should you pay for city water?)
- TREATMENT OF SEWAGE (hmmm... what if you have a septic?? why are you paying this??)
- Building Code Enforcement/Saftey
- Fire Station
- Community Centre Sewage
- Emergency Planning
- Heritage Planning / Zoning
Hope this information was useful to you! For further details and any real estate information, feel free to contact me direct: 401-359-2338 or Click Here
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