How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Non-investing personal finance issues including insurance, credit, real estate, taxes, employment and legal issues such as trusts and wills.

How much are your annual property taxes?

Poll ended at Sun Apr 26, 2015 12:11 pm

Less than $1,000
20
5%
$1,001 - $2,500
80
18%
$2,501 - $5,000
120
28%
$5,001 - $7,500
82
19%
$7,501 - $10,000
60
14%
$10,001 - $15,000
46
11%
$15,001 - $20,000
10
2%
$20,000 +
15
3%
 
Total votes: 433

hicabob
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by hicabob »

jasc15 wrote:
gloomydog wrote:Wow I will try never to grumble about our almost 9K tax (1.86% in metrowest MA). I've never heard of >3% property tax before this - what are you getting for your money?
I ask myself the same question. Since I usually go by the adage "there is no free lunch", what are you getting for 3% property taxes that you don't get with 1%?

In CA prop13 happened before I arrived and prop-tax rates went from high down to 1%. A couple effects were no more school buses and road repair being delayed longer, public school rankings went from the best in the US to near the bottom. I have heard North Jersey schools are about the highest ranked in the US nowadays.
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leonidas
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by leonidas »

17K in 675K House 40 minutes from Philly. I am working on my wife to move South of the Mason/Dixon line!
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SanityCheck
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by SanityCheck »

In regard to this comment "Our place is about 2000 sq. ft., on an acre, and over 7k in property taxes. No income taxes, though. New Hampster"......I assume the OP means "New Hampshire". If so; there is an income tax ....5% of all Interest / Dividends (with $4800 exemption per couple). This can be quite an extra and unexpected tax hit.
bhsince87
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by bhsince87 »

jasc15 wrote:
gloomydog wrote:Wow I will try never to grumble about our almost 9K tax (1.86% in metrowest MA). I've never heard of >3% property tax before this - what are you getting for your money?
I ask myself the same question. Since I usually go by the adage "there is no free lunch", what are you getting for 3% property taxes that you don't get with 1%?

I think it's all over the place. When I lived in NC a few years ago, property taxes covered local school, fire, police, sewer, road maintenance, garbage collection, street lights, sidewalk installation, and probably a few other things.

Where I live now, they cover the local school district only. Edited to add: On top of that, we also have an additional 1.25% income tax for local schools.

Of course, property tax rates were higher in NC.
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Gnirk
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Gnirk »

Our 2800 SF house built in 1994 on about 1/3 acre is worth $ $432,000 and our property taxes are a little over $6,000 per year.
spectec
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by spectec »

Property taxes =- $2,800/yr
2600 sq ft on 1/3 acre
Home value = $240K
Inside city limits, so all city services included
Charlotte, NC

I've always assumed one big reason property taxes are lower in the south is due to not having to maintain snow removal equipment. On those rare occasions when it does snow, most everything non-essential shuts down or goes on delay, then back to normal after a couple of days.

State income tax hovers around 6% after itemized deductions
Last edited by spectec on Tue Apr 21, 2015 2:42 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

jasc15 wrote:
gloomydog wrote:Wow I will try never to grumble about our almost 9K tax (1.86% in metrowest MA). I've never heard of >3% property tax before this - what are you getting for your money?
I ask myself the same question. Since I usually go by the adage "there is no free lunch", what are you getting for 3% property taxes that you don't get with 1%?
Government employee pensions at start after twenty years on the job at 80% of pay and free health care. Mods arrive in 1, 2, 3... :annoyed
Looking4Ward
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Looking4Ward »

Our tax rate is 3.2664% of appraised value.

3,350sf home is currently appraised at $245K for tax purposes so this year our taxes will be $8,002

This is in the Austin TX area:

TRAVIS COUNTY 0.456300%
TRAVIS COUNTY HEALTHCARE DISTRICT 0.126400%
MANOR ISD 1.515000%
AUSTIN COMM COLL DIST 0.094200%
TRAVIS CO MUD NO 2 0.974500%
TRAVIS CO ESD NO 12 0.100000%
Total Tax Rate: 3.266400%
Last edited by Looking4Ward on Tue Apr 21, 2015 2:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
rayson
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by rayson »

22K on a house assessed at $750K in Midwest.
bigred77
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by bigred77 »

Property : 3/3.5, 3250 sq ft. Tiny Lot in the city.
Value: a little over 600k.
Prop Tax: Around 11k

No state Income Tax.
Spirit Rider
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Spirit Rider »

gloomydog wrote:Wow I will try never to grumble about our almost 9K tax (1.86% in metrowest MA). I've never heard of >3% property tax before this - what are you getting for your money?
I'm sure you have heard of prop 2 1/2, passed about 25 years ago. Prop 2 1/2 limits the property tax levy to 2.5% of assed valuation. Yet, many towns in the metro area override the levy restriction on a regular basis. So they are at least 2.5% and I wouldn't be surprised if some of them are 3% or greater.

At least the excise tax is still limited to 2.5% instead of the 6.6% it was before 1980. Imagine paying 6.6% on the value of your car every year for the privilege of then paying the registration fee to register your car.

An escapee of forty (40) years ago from the People's Republic of Massachusetts.
Broken Man 1999
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

We pay right at $1,600/year for a home worth $250,000. 2800 square feet.

At the height of the housing bubble we paid $2,700/year.

Our state has a proposition similar to California which caps the rise of property taxes at the rate of inflation or 3%, whichever is lowest.

Our growth rate has allowed the tax collections to be robust even while the cap is in place.

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Toons
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Toons »

Crimsontide wrote:
Toons wrote:1500 sq feet
$677.00
Tn.
8-)
My mother lives in Alabama and pays around $600 for her 2000 sqft on 2 acres...
:thumbsup
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rustymutt
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by rustymutt »

LRDave wrote:$2636 - for a 4/2.5 suburban 3000 sqf home - 2/3 acre - value: $290K

Metro Altanta

Some of the responses in this thread made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. :D
Didn't Ga just pass no income tax?
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rustymutt
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by rustymutt »

Currently living in Kansas and our house was assessed at 300K and we paid $3648. or about 1.23% of assessed value. Local taxes are going up with the new cuts in income taxes for businesses.

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Rainier
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Rainier »

This is like comparing apples and pianos. Too many variables with no comparisons.

Mine are about 1% of appraised value, we don't have trash pickup but we do have the best public schools in the state and possibly the country. The mill rate in the town (city) next to ours is about double...they have socialized garbage collection and horrible schools.
MnD
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by MnD »

Denver suburbs 0.65% of what I think the house would easily sell for.
Income tax is 4.63% flat tax on federal taxable income with a few adjustments including being able to subtract 100% of gross 529 contributions.

I'm not sure what extra goodies people are getting in cities/states with 2%+ property tax and 8-9% income tax, but I'm happy i don't live in one of those.
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

Close to $14K, home assessed at $430K, market is about $525K. There is seemingly no rhyme or reason with the assessments. Market comps are all over the place. I've been in quite a few of the neighbors homes, a number of them are assessed high and they need significant work to bring them into the "modern" era.
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

MnD wrote:Denver suburbs 0.65% of what I think the house would easily sell for.
Income tax is 4.63% flat tax on federal taxable income with a few adjustments including being able to subtract 100% of gross 529 contributions.

I'm not sure what extra goodies people are getting in cities/states with 2%+ property tax and 8-9% income tax, but I'm happy i don't live in one of those.
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by LRDave »

rustymutt wrote:
LRDave wrote:$2636 - for a 4/2.5 suburban 3000 sqf home - 2/3 acre - value: $290K

Metro Altanta

Some of the responses in this thread made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. :D
Didn't Ga just pass no income tax?
I wish, but no.......
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TomatoTomahto
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

MnD wrote:I'm not sure what extra goodies people are getting in cities/states with 2%+ property tax and 8-9% income tax, but I'm happy i don't live in one of those.
In our case, and I imagine many of the others in NJ, it's the proximity to NYC that counts the most. My wife's job can be found in NYC and London. There are jobs available elsewhere, but if you want the most options, you'll be in one of those two cities. Even Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney are a notch down.

Another extra goodie: my particular town reputedly has the best (or near best) schools in the state; we found that to be untrue for the younger two of our kids kids (I think reputation hasn't caught up with the reality of decline), and paid $40k/child/year for private school.
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tj
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by tj »

Mine's around $1400 on $135k purchase/$200k current value property. It was a bit less when I lived in it and had the homeowner's exemption (California)
IlliniDave
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by IlliniDave »

About $2900/year for me. ~$1210/yr on my primary residence in Alabama, about $1650/year for my cabin in Minnesota.
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BarbK
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by BarbK »

You northern NJ folks have it horrible. I actually grew up in NJ and my parents always complained about how high the property taxes were THEN but I had no idea. They moved to Maryland when my dad retired probably in the mid 80s.

Florida - good schools, 1/3 acre on inter-coastal
tax assessed at $325K
sq ft - 4500+
taxes $5300 (around $5100 if paid in November)

What we don't pay in property taxes, we pay in home insurance (based 700K - mandatory)

Probable resale value $425-450K
likegarden
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by likegarden »

I am not sure if 'school tax' is usually part of 'property taxes'. Here in NY state in my town for my $300k house 'property tax' is $1.2k and 'school tax' is $4k (very good public school). For retirees with lets say $80k annual income the school tax only would be $2.7k.
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plannerman
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by plannerman »

I'm not going to post my numbers because the last thing we need down here are more yankees telling us how they used to do things up north.

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rikki
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by rikki »

Western Massachusetts
Assessment 375,000 (1635 sf townhouse)
Rate 1.65%=6200/year and rising every year
Excellent schools; big chunk also for excellent library, historic preservation, storm water management (river)
bluelight
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by bluelight »

Also in Northern NJ. A little over 9K on 300K assessed value (3.026%). Small 1300 sq home on postage stamp lot. Town has a very good school system and a fairly easy commute to NYC.
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

Although schools don't impact us personally NOW, I wouldn't buy my house today, if I had school-age children, as the assigned schools have deteriated since my children attended them. Really sad to see.

My grandchildren attend better schools in the same school district, but different neighborhoods.

There are still significant differences across the district. I suppose that is the norm in many states.

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Doom&Gloom
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Doom&Gloom »

$235 (including my 50% senior citizen discount)

~3000 sq ft on 1.8 acres in MS.
Alan S.
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Alan S. »

Generally, the states in the NE portion of the US have very high property taxes and often income taxes as well. For decades, retirees in these states have been moving to FL and some other states.

Some of these states are now passing various tax credits for seniors. The MA version comes as a credit against state income taxes, and this IRS memorandum describes situations where the credit is taxable:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-wd/201423020.pdf

These states do have comparatively good public schools, however you have to conclude that these punishing property tax rates have entered well into the area of diminishing returns with respect to the quality of schools.
OutInThirteen
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by OutInThirteen »

I lumped together both properties and voted $2,501 to $5,000. Southern Nevada home 10-year old 2,000 sf house on 3/4 of an acre - $765 per year. Northern New Mexico home 48-year old 2,000 sf house on 1/3 of an acre - $2,082 per year.
Maxman
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Maxman »

Villages Florida 1950 sq ft property tax $1735 plus bond $1500. Appraised value $290k
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by TradingPlaces »

There are key considerations here:

1. What is the SqFootage of the house,
2. What is the true market value of the house.

E.g., in the NYC Metro area, you might have a 1% tax rate in NY, and 2% tax rate in Northern NJ. While 2% is higher, for the same price, you can get a bigger house in NJ.
harikaried
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by harikaried »

Here's a neat interactive map that shows property taxes in each county by dollars and by percent of home price:

http://money.cnn.com/interactive/real-e ... perty-tax/
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prudent
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by prudent »

Ours is 2.0% of value.
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Traveler »

$550 for a townhouse in Atlanta - <1% rate
rupalb9
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by rupalb9 »

SF Bay Area
50 year old ~2,750 sq ft house on 6K sq ft lot.
Assessed value: ~$1.1m
Property taxes: ~$14K

Zestimate: ~$3.6m
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Sheepdog
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Sheepdog »

2000 sq. ft. brick home on 1/2 acre wooded lot in very nice Indiana neighborhood with very good schools.. $1048 annual property tax
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reasonable

Post by daveatca »

Greater Denver
0.7% of market value
Sometimes a bit more or a bit less.
rec7
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by rec7 »

Doom&Gloom wrote:$235 (including my 50% senior citizen discount)

~3000 sq ft on 1.8 acres in MS.
That is amazing.
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Professor Emeritus »

dolphinsaremammals wrote:
jasc15 wrote:
gloomydog wrote:Wow I will try never to grumble about our almost 9K tax (1.86% in metrowest MA). I've never heard of >3% property tax before this - what are you getting for your money?
I ask myself the same question. Since I usually go by the adage "there is no free lunch", what are you getting for 3% property taxes that you don't get with 1%?
Government employee pensions at start after twenty years on the job at 80% of pay and free health care. Mods arrive in 1, 2, 3... :annoyed
How about a cite? The fire fighters I worked with in NJ had a multiplier of 2% at 20 years. teachers were 1.6%

I served on the State faculty pension committee. We could steal faculty from NJ because the pension was so poor.

NB I am not trying in any sense to be political. The question is what you get for the money. We always complained about how generous Pennsylvania was but no body wanted a NJ level of pension.
Last edited by Professor Emeritus on Tue Apr 21, 2015 9:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
effillus
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by effillus »

$630 a year for a two-bedroom in Illinois.
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Doom&Gloom
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Doom&Gloom »

rec7 wrote:
Doom&Gloom wrote:$235 (including my 50% senior citizen discount)

~3000 sq ft on 1.8 acres in MS.
That is amazing.
It doesn't include garbage collection. Sales tax is 7%, with some communities adding a bit to that, and groceries are fully subject to sales tax. There is a state income tax, which doesn't seem too oppressive except in April. Car tags are probably a bit high, but only outrageous for new, expensive cars.

They always seem to get you in one place or another :(
clutchied
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by clutchied »

approx value $380k.
Ohio.
$9000 annually.
aude
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by aude »

17.5 k in HCOL Chicago suburb with top schools, etc.
3000 square feet / 0.25 acre / 5br / 2.2bth
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celia
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by celia »

Prop 13 reset the property tax back to 1% of value back in 1978 with an annual tax increase of 2%. Since the increased value of the house has grown more than that most years, we are now paying 0.3% of its value now.
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by tylerdurden »

Just for a few different data points:
- Previous house in metro Detroit area in Michigan: taxes were ~$3,800 for a 2K square-foot house assessed at $180K and sold for $205K.
- Current house in an Indianapolis suburb: taxes are ~$1,850 or 1% of assessed value. It's a 1,600 square foot single-story house sold for $200K.
- Next house in Texas: taxes will be ~$7,000 for a 2K square-foot house purchased for around $300K.
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Impromptu
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by Impromptu »

harikaried wrote:Here's a neat interactive map that shows property taxes in each county by dollars and by percent of home price:

http://money.cnn.com/interactive/real-e ... perty-tax/
I was going to post this website, too. This is a great source of information county by county. My Illinois county is high for total assessed and percent assessed.

Part of the expense of buying a house are the property taxes. I bought a small house to minimize my payments. I love going onto Zillow and seeing the more expensive homes in my area. They don't often get over $1 Million for the mansions. What turns me off from them is the >$30,000/year property tax bill. Even as a high earner I would feel house poor with that bill due every year. The easiest way to not pay that bill is to own a small house.
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Re: How much do you pay in Property Taxes?

Post by curmudgeon »

SF Bay Area CA
3200sf, 1/2 acre
In the past 10 years, market value has ranged from about $800k to $1.4m. Prop 13 assessed value about $975k
$11k/year prop tax (incl sewer). 1% base rate plus about .2% of various add-ons.
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