Tax Process Overview
Understanding how your real estate taxes are calculated can seem daunting, but it’s essentially a two-step process: the Tax Levy and the Assessment Process. Here’s a straightforward breakdown to help you navigate these waters.
The Tax Levy: Funding Local Services
Each year, local services like schools, police, and fire departments determine how much money they need to operate. This amount is called the tax levy. It’s the total sum of taxes that your county needs to collect to keep these services running. The county clerk calculates what percentage of this total each property in the area should contribute, which is then reflected on your tax bill as the local tax rate.
The Assessment Process: Determining Your Share
Parallel to the tax levy, your property undergoes an assessment to estimate its market value. This doesn’t involve the county clerk but rather the local assessor’s office, which works independently to figure out how much each property is worth. In Cook County, for example, properties are reassessed every three years. The assessor uses various data, including recent sales of comparable properties, to set your property’s market value. This value is then adjusted by a specific percentage to determine your property’s assessed valuation, which contributes to calculating your share of the total tax levy.
After the county finalizes the assessments, the Illinois Department of Revenue might apply a multiplier to ensure the assessment-to-market value ratio aligns with state guidelines. This adjusted value is used to calculate your property tax bill.
Appealing Your Assessment
Feel your property’s assessed too high? You have options:
- Cook County Assessor’s Office: You can file a formal complaint based on their annual schedule.
- County Board of Review: This body can revise the assessor’s valuations. You’ll need to file a complaint within their yearly timeline.
- Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB): For broader appeals, PTAB reviews county board decisions, requiring a prior complaint with the county board.
- Circuit Court Tax Objection: Post-board review, you might file a legal objection, contingent on having paid your tax in full.
How Your Tax Is Calculated
Your real estate tax bill combines three main elements: your property’s assessed valuation, a state equalization factor (to ensure fair statewide property valuations), and the local tax rate (determined by local service budgets). The formula looks like this:
Total Assessed Valuation x State Equalization Factor x Local Tax Rate = Your Tax
This process ensures that each property owner pays a fair share towards supporting local services based on their property’s value.
Need Help?
Navigating property taxes can be complex, but you’re not alone. Our team is here to help you understand your bill, explore savings opportunities, and guide you through the appeal process if you believe your assessment is too high. Contact us to learn how we can assist you in managing your property taxes more effectively.
