Wyoming remains one the most tax-friendly states in the nation year after year. If you are looking to stretch your retirement dollars or protect your estate this can be a very important consideration. Below is a list of top 10 tax benefits offered by Clay Geittmann, Senior Vice President and Manager of Trust Services at Bank of Jackson Hole, on why it’s good to own a home in Wyoming.
With no state tax on personal or corporate income, “you have more disposable income,” Jones says.
In Wyoming, you can shield your real estate from federal estate taxes for up to 1,000 years through a dynasty trust. “You can establish a trust in Wyoming for the benefit of your family or other beneficiaries,” Jones says. “You can transfer your real estate into a limited liability company or family partnership and then put that into the ‘dynasty trust,’ which can continue for a thousand years.” As a result, multiple generations can make use of and enjoy the property, without having to pay estate taxes or worse, having to sell the property in order to pay the taxes. A key point to remember: The trust must be administered in Wyoming.
“Wyoming can collect a very limited estate tax, which is tied to the federal estate tax credit, but you have to have a very large estate before that would kick in,” Jones says. “But in general, Wyoming doesn’t collect any inheritance tax.”
“Somebody who owns property in Wyoming can ‘gift’ that real estate to their heirs without having to worry about paying a state gift tax,” Jones says.
“A lot of people in Jackson Hole use Wyoming as a second home,” Jones says. “They have retirement income that comes from other states where they may be a resident. Wyoming doesn’t tax that retirement income that’s earned outside of Wyoming, which is certainly beneficial.”
“Wyoming has very low property taxes compared to other states,” Jones says. “The taxes that you do pay here are based on the assessed value of the property.” For Teton County, he says, the rate is 1.2 percent of a property’s assessed value. The rate for the city of Jackson is 8/10 of 1 percent.
When you fill up your car’s gas tank or buy a bag of groceries in Wyoming, you won’t pay any state tax on your gas or food.
“A lot of states charge owners a tax on their mineral ownership, but Wyoming does not,” Jones says. “If you own minerals, you won’t pay a tax on it like you would your home.
Wyoming doesn’t make you pay a tax on financial assets like stocks and bonds.
Carol Linton has been a Wyoming resident and property owner since 1980. Her passion for real estate, interior design, and architecture has contributed to her enormously successful career.
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