Guide to Property Assessors Offices - Illinois

Property Assessors Offices - Illinois can be an investors best friend on tax information
By Kelly Shetsky

Illinois property assessors are not employed by the state but, rather, by local municipalities like counties and townships. Property taxes are handled on a 2-year cycle. Illinois property value is determined in the first year and billed in the following year. So, residents are always paying taxes from the previous year.

Illinois property tax assessments are based on 33.33% of the property's market value, except for farmland. The assessments can cause your taxes to go up or down depending on the condition and value of your property.

Illinois property assessors also provide a variety of other information to the potential investor besides just property tax records. Ownership changes, up-to-date maps of property lines and property descriptions are just a few other things they handle. In addition, they analyze trends in property sales prices, the costs of constructing a new property and the average expense for renting property.

Property assessors' tax records in Illinois can help you:

1. Track property market trends by following Illinois property history.

2. Use Illinois property assessment information to research potential investment properties.

3. Compare Illinois property taxes across the board to see if the assessment is fair.

Action Steps

The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Know the ins and outs of how Illinois property assessors operate Knowledge is power. If you don't understand Illinois property assessment, you won't know if the assessment on your land or building is fair.

I recommend: Bankrate.com explains how property assessments are completed; just click on the "Property" tab for more information. The Illinois Revenue website helps you understand the property tax system, provides a tax finder tool and gives an explanation on how to read your property tax bill.

Use online tools to obtain Illinois property tax assessments Illinois property assessors make it easy to search through records because most post them in online databases and provide a variety of tools to help you search. Illinois property values are public record and there are a number of free county databases, along with those you can subscribe to.

I recommend: Searchsystems.net’s online database, DirectPass is a complete Illinois property database. For around $5 a month you can browse property tax records by municipality. Intelius' tracking tool provides Illinois property information for a small fee. Skipease is a free Illinois property owner search which provides specific links to property assessors offices - Illinois.

Estimate your taxes based on similar Illinois property value If you're buying an investment property that's similar to several others in the area, it's safe to assume that Illinois property assessors will assess your property at an amount close to what the neighbors will pay. Unless there are vast discrepancies in the condition, age or size of the building or lot, your taxes will be comparable.

I recommend: Get property tax information by simply typing in your neighbor's address or the address of an investment property into Assessor Links USA’s search tool, a free Illinois property database. Several municipalities, including Cook County Assessor's Office, Lake County Chief County Assessment Office and the City of Bloomington Township Assessors Office all have online search capabilities with a variety of tools like interactive maps, property comparison, classification descriptions and more.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

Appeal an assessment to the Illinois property assessor if you think it's way out of proportion. If they don't allow an informal hearing, file a grievance form.