[Jennifer]

Looking for recommendations for a financial planner/tax consultant for an individual who is retired.
The retired person lives in western Washington where tax’s keep going higher and higher.

Ideally, someone with experience in personal finance, tax planning, and investment strategies.

If you’ve worked with someone you trust, I’d love to hear about your experience and any details on their approach, fees, and expertise.

Thanks in advance!

[Tristan]

I’m in western Washington and a wealth advisor/investment strategist who hates paying a penny more in taxes than anyone has to.

Not sure of their situation to see if there is anything I can do to help, but they are welcome to message me info and I can let them know if there is anything I could help with or potentially point them in the direction of someone who could!

[Joel]

Hum. I’m retired and live in Western Washington. What taxes are you referring to? Property taxes? Where in Western Washington? King County?

I used to live in King County. I moved out to the Sequim / Port Angeles area.

Our property taxes have gone up 37.8% here since 2020. Looking at the property I sold in King County, I’d guess that it’s been about the same there – though the sale of my house kind of messed with the property valuations.

Also, there are currently no income taxes in Washington state, unless you count the 7% long-term capital gains tax for LTCGs in excess of $270,000 (for 2024, inflation adjusted) or the (stupid) 0.58% Washington Cares Payroll Tax.

Avoiding either of these shouldn’t be difficult as a retiree. Are you referring to other income taxes?

I’m just wondering why you are worried about state taxes 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒓…

[Corley]

You said, 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒂𝒙’𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒅, 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒚.

How did that happen? I sold my house in Redmond in 2022 and the house went for 36% over asking – and I was asking more than the tax appraisal – but the taxes on the property today are less than 150% of what I was paying before I sold it. Property taxes don’t just triple over night, even in Seattle.

𝑰 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒙 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒂𝒙’𝒔.

Hum. That probably depends on whether or not they are actually raising the livestock for income and the size of the associated property.

Also you have to be careful there. Some of the options that lower tax rates require a zoning change. That reduces your appraised value, but it also makes it more difficult to sell your land to a developer so your property’s practical value is reduced.

If this land was intended mainly as an investment, perhaps it’s time to consider selling some or all of the land to a developer?

This would eliminate the cost and raise capital to help cover the cost of living in an increasingly urban area.

As for myself, I just sold my house, invested most of the profits and moved to a more rural area.

I have no complaint about the tax costs here, but there is a significant downside when it comes to healthcare costs and options.

[Author]

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