Did you just relocate to Georgia with your company? Financial, Tax, and Lifestyle Tips for Corporate Professionals Did you just relocate to Georgia with your company? Financial, Tax, and Lifestyle Tips for Corporate Professionals © 2020 Brightworth. All Rights Reserved. Financial & Tax Whether your company has decided to move its headquarters or operations to Georgia, or asked you to move to their Georgia office, there are likely a myriad of questions running through your mind. Where will I live? How are the schools? What’s the cost of living difference? Who are the best doctors? And on and on. There are a number of financial considerations as well, some of which may not be top of mind. Here are a few tips to help make the financial transition to Georgia as smooth as possible, and avoid some unexpected turns. Understand Georgia’s Income Tax Structure Finally, Georgia offers tax credits which are Georgia’s income tax rate is currently 5.75%. If this is governmental incentives aimed at fostering higher than the state you were previously residing in, specific business activities, such as low income depending upon how much advance notice you are housing development, and our booming film and given, it may make sense to recognize some income entertainment production. Purchasing these state before you move, such as taking capital gains in tax credits at a discount from a reputable company your portfolio or exercising stock options. Certain can help lower your income tax burden, so work states have recapture rules whereby if you earned with a local CPA or financial advisor to see what tax income while working in State A, but move to State credits would benefit your personal situation. Buying B when that income is actually paid out to you, State tax credits makes a lot of sense for most people who A may argue they have claim to their share of the tax pay quarterly income taxes in Georgia, or have big burden. You should consult with a CPA familiar with income years. both Georgia and your prior home state before you Cost of Living and Education make a big income recognition decision. Cost of living is often a major factor in one’s Your take-home paycheck, assuming the same salary, relocation package from their company. In addition may be higher or lower than your prior paycheck to knowing how much more housing and recreation given the difference in state tax rates, so do some may (or may not) cost, consider the cost of the quick math before you sign your relocation and private or public school system. cost of living adjustment package. You may need Tuition can be a substantial budgetary item for any to negotiate a higher salary to keep pace with your family, and if you’ve never had to pay it before, you projected after-tax living expenses. certainly need to plan ahead for how these bills will get paid (more salary, use of bonus each year, savings, “…Do some quick math before you sign your etc.) What your education expenses may be could relocation package.” influence what part of town you live in, therefore how much house you buy, and therefore your | 2 mortgage payment. Families sending their children attractive for Georgia residents attending in-state to private school pay tuition bills averaging $11,000+ public universities here. To read more visit annually for elementary school and $18,000+ www.gafutures.org. annually for high school. Education expenses are major cash flow considerations, so understand how Update Your Will education expenses could impact your long-term Estate tax and probate matters vary from state to financial plan. state. It’s important that your will properly reflect Consider Georgia’s Path2College 529 Savings Plan the state you are a resident of. If you get relocated, your will needs to be updated and possibly amended While saving for college is a major goal for a lot of to comply with Georgia laws. Probate is typically working families, and there are numerous quality not a big issue or expense here. So unless you are plans to choose from, there are tax benefits to planning to keep property outside of Georgia, such funding Georgia’s 529 plan for Georgia residents. as your former residence, a revocable trust may not Married couples in Georgia can take a tax deduction be necessary. The same updating guidance holds true on their Georgia income tax return up to $8,000 per for your financial and health care powers of attorney, child. Single parents can deduct the first $4,000 as these forms and statutory provisions need to they deposit into Georgia’s 529 plan each year, and comply with Georgia’s rules. Of course if you don’t you have until April 15th of the following year to have your estate planning documents in place, use make your contribution for the prior calendar year. this as an opportunity to button up this part of your Review the investment options too – Georgia does financial plan! have age-based asset allocation investment strategies which can be a good option for those who don’t want to worry about managing the investments in their “It’s important that your will properly reflect the 529 plan. The aggressive managed age-based track state you are a resident of. If you get relocated, your will have more stocks throughout the years than the will needs to be updated and possibly amended to managed age-based track which holds more bonds. comply with Georgia laws.” There is also a guaranteed investment option which pays an interest rate of between 1% and 3% annually. If you do rollover your existing plan to Georgia’s Investment Strategy plan, keep in mind you are only allowed one rollover Your investment strategy may also need some fine every 12 months. Finally, if you have children in tuning. If you own municipal bonds in your portfolio high school, you may need to reconsider in-state vs. that are tax-exempt from your original state, they out-of-state college tuition, as your residency has may not be in Georgia so you may want to swap them now changed. Georgia’s HOPE scholarship is very out with Georgia municipal bonds. In Georgia your 3 | capital gains (in non-retirement accounts), interest $860,000 which is up 23 percent in 2019 over the and dividend income is taxable, so consult with a same period one year ago. CPA or financial advisor to understand investment Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood has Atlanta’s taxes so you can adjust your portfolio holdings if priciest homes. According to a September 2018 story necessary. While we don’t advocate letting taxes drive in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the average home investment strategy, it is prudent to be tax aware. sale price in Buckhead is $1.1 million. Since Atlanta has plenty of suburbs with lower-priced “If you own municipal bonds in your portfolio that homes, families can find three- and four-bedroom are tax-exempt from your original state, they may houses for lower prices, generally ranging from not be in your new home state.” $250,000 - $650,000. The commute time to many businesses will be longer, much longer depending Ask for Referrals upon how far OTP (Outside the Perimeter) you live, if your office is ITP. Another trade-off of living OTP is Ask your new coworkers or neighbors for referrals. many high quality public schools are located there, After reading this article you may be looking for new so a family’s education budget can be much lower. tax, financial, and/or legal advisors. One of the best ways to find a qualified professional is to ask trusted Costs to Commute friends or colleagues in a similar job type: “Who have Like anywhere, the costs of commuting will vary you had a good experience working with on your based on whether you own a car vs. ride-sharing and financial planning?” the length of time you are driving and parking. Housing A study by the transportation firm INRIX Inc. shows metro Atlanta motorists paid an estimated $11,578 The cost of housing varies significantly depending on per motorist in 2017 – the eighth-highest cost among where you live in metro Atlanta. 30 U.S. cities studied. Parking, for example, made ITP (Inside the Perimeter) neighborhoods in Sandy up a third of the total cost of vehicle ownership. On Springs and Brookhaven have been enjoying new average, drivers spent more than $3,000 a year on all popularity with home buyers, largely due to a shorter parking-related costs. The national annual average commute to work and new/updated construction. cost of driving was $10,288. The median price of a single-family home in Sandy Springs ITP reflects this trend; it was reported to be | 4 The morning rush hour in Atlanta starts as early as Authority (MARTA) provides train and bus service to 4 a.m., and it can last as late as 10 a.m., but the worst metro Atlanta. MARTA’s Airport Station connects to of it begins around 6 or 7 a.m. In the evening, you Hartsfield-Jackson at the west end of the Domestic can expect the worst traffic from 3:30 p.m. to as late Terminal between Domestic Terminal North and as 7:30 p.m. Domestic Terminal South baggage claim areas. For more information, visit www.itsmarta.com. Lifestyle Here is a fact sheet about the airport: Tip - Get a Traffic App https://www.atl.com/about-atl/atl-factsheet/ The best way to find out how bad the traffic is before you leave home or work is by using a traffic app.