Many of my phone calls are from folks that live in a state other than Oklahoma. They are either moving here due to jobs, family, etc, or they are considering moving here as a retirement location.
Tax concerns are sometimes different for the two scenarios but not always.
My objective is to bring together some information here in this post for you who are moving to Oklahoma, in particular, Southeast Oklahoma.
For income tax information, the state of Oklahoma has a simple page with easy to understand charts. Just follow the link.
Sales taxes are a little different… Some of it is based on the city’s rate, some of it on the county’s rate, and some n the state of Oklahoma’s rate. There doesn’t seem to be a chart anywhere that states the total that you would pay for different locations. Let me just say that most of them are between 9 and 10 percent total in the towns in our area. Oklahoma charges sales tax on food, but Texas that is about 20 miles south of us does not.
Ad valorem taxes are a little more complicated. The tax amount takes into consideration 4 things: (1) The market value of the property, (2) The assessment rate in Oklahoma, (3) The exemptions that are allowed and that you file for, and (4) The millage rate for your location.
Most of the time, in our area, when you purchase a property, it is re-assessed for ad valorem taxes (property taxes). The deed that is filed at the county courthouse has documentary stamps put on it when it is filed, based upon the sales amount. That is the amount that is often used as the “market value”.
In Choctaw County and McCurtain County, at this time, the assessment rate is 11%. So multiply the sales amount by 11% to get your assessed value.
Now you substract any exemptions that you qualify for and have been approved for, by your county. Those can include homestead exemption, additional homestead exemption based upon income, disabled veteran exemption, and you may qualify for the senior citizen valuation freeze. Ask the tax assessor about qualifications for these and forms. Their numbers are below.
After deducting your exemptions, you multiply the amount remaining by the millage rate for your location. That varies with school districts. The best way is to call your tax assessor and ask for that rate…. But even better is to just ask them how much your taxes would be for property that sold at the amount you are considering paying for your purchase… saves you the trouble of going through all of these calculations. The McCurtain County Tax Assessor’s phone number is 580-286-5272. The Choctaw County Tax Assessor’s phone number is 580-326-2358.
Oklahoma has an excellent pamphlet on ad valorem taxes, if you’ll email me, I’ll be happy to email you a copy of it.
So there you have it. Remember that paying taxes is one of the two things you can’t avoid in life, but the tax rates in Oklahoma seem to be lower than many states.If I can help you with more information, please call me.
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Other helpful posts on moving to Oklahoma:
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Life in Southeast Oklahoma is GREAT! If you're looking for a home or land in my part of the country, give me a call: Judi Barrett, broker, Integrity Real Estate Services, 580-212-5946. Or visit one of our websites:
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