Property Taxes When Buying a Columbia SC Home

One might think that when you buy a Columbia SC home, your property taxes will be what the previous owner paid, right? WRONG!

When buying a Columbia SC home, your taxes will most likely be higher than what the seller of that house was paying.

Why Taxes May Be Higher on Your New Columbia SC Home:

When you buy a Columbia SC home, your new taxes will be based on the sales price. It’s common sense if you think about it. The sellers of the property probably paid a lot less for the house than you just did whenever they bought it (unless they bought it a year or two ago). Their taxes were based on that price, plus whatever the legally allowable annual raises in taxes were.

Once the city/county assessors office gets the paperwork on the new sales price of your home, the taxable value is adjusted and your taxes will likely go up.

Don’t rely on the current taxes advertised on a house to set your budget. Know what your taxes will be after you buy and you’ll be all set. How do you do that?

Try going to Google or Bing and finding your city or state’s property tax estimator. Try searching for “Columbia SC estimated property taxes.” If that doesn’t get you any results, try to search for a more specific query such as “Columbia SC estimated property tax” or “Columbia SC property tax estimator.” Keep trying, you’ll find it eventually.

Finding the correct property taxes you’ll be paying when you move into your new Columbia SC home is important. If all else fails, call the local Columbia SC assessor’s office and ask what your taxes will be based on the value you’re buying your home for.

If you’re our client and we’re helping you find the perfect Columbia SC home, we’ll assist you in determining what your new property tax rate will be. Just ask us. The last thing we want for you is to have budget shock when you get a property tax bill that is much higher than what you may see listed for taxes for a particular property.