Do Amish Pay Property Taxes?

Everyone knows the great communities that make up the Amish; entering one of them is like entering a new country. However, they are American citizens and must conform to the country’s regulations. That is, they must pay taxes.

For the Amish, it is an obligation to comply with property, income, and sales taxes. However, most people do not take advantage of government-funded programs because of their religious beliefs.

Mandatory Amish Taxes

As is common knowledge, the Amish are devout Christians, and their rules include the obligation to respect the government and pay taxes. They also believe it is not the government’s responsibility to care for the elderly or disabled.

For these reasons, they are responsible for paying different types of taxes even if they do not take advantage of the benefits they offer. But they do not benefit from some tax-paid programs such as public schools.

Property Taxes

Among their obligations is the payment of property taxes. Most live on farms of about 50 acres, which indicates that the taxes they pay are very high. Although this money is used to pay for public libraries, public schools, and other community services, they do not use it.

The children of this community go to private schools within their communities, and their lives remain within their communities, away from public parks and libraries. Occasionally they use emergency services, but this is not common.

Sales and income taxes

They also pay sales taxes when they make purchases of goods or services that conform to them. Sometimes they make purchases of goods outside their communities and therefore must pay taxes on these services.

Income taxes are an obligation for all citizens from which the Amish are not exempt and are not usually inconvenienced by compliance.

Taxes the Amish do not pay

The Amish only pay the two taxes mentioned above, but because of the religious exemption they qualify for, they can stay away from certain additional taxes. They do not pay some “sin” taxes in accordance with their lifestyle.

Among the taxes they do not pay is Social Security, even if they are company employees. One of the situations that cause pride to these inhabitants is that they are self-sufficient. They take responsibility for the disabled and elderly within their communities without government assistance.

Their justification for not paying Social Security is the biblical verse 1 Timothy 5:8, which states, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.”

On the other hand, they do not pay taxes on gasoline because they use horse-drawn carriages to move around. They do not need gasoline to move from one place to another. However, they benefit from the carriages whose maintenance is possible thanks to these taxes.

There is also the sin tax where products that Christians do not consume and consider sinful such as tobacco, alcohol, and games, are added. The Amish diet does not include cigarettes, sugary soft drinks, sweets, or alcohol, and they do not gamble.

Do they receive government benefits despite not paying taxes?

As mentioned above, the Amish do not receive most government benefits because they do not agree with them. They all rely on services provided by their community rather than receiving government assistance.

Within Amish communities, they do not benefit from social security and other social welfare programs; this is one of the common concerns of neighbors who do not share the same ideas. The government services they use are roads and some emergency services when needed.

Benefiting from tax credits

The Amish benefit from tax credits because they tend to be larger families than usual; it is not uncommon to see 8 to 10 children in a household, generating large tax credits that can be at least $8,000.

As expected, these large credits significantly reduce the average Amish family’s final tax payment. In conclusion, they are citizens responsible for most of the country’s major taxes.