Cook County officials have shared that some property owners may not have received all the exemptions they are entitled to in the tax bills they received last month – primarily the homestead exemption, senior citizen exemption, long-term homeowner’s exemption, or the senior freeze exemption. REALTOR and Evanston Township Assessor Bonnie Wilson suggests property owners double-check that they are receiving all their eligible exemptions and take action to correct any errors.
For a description of available exemptions, please visit:
http://www.cookcountyassessor.com/exemptions.aspx
Please note, that the Long-time Occupant Exemption, generally applicable to seniors that earn less than $100,000 per year and have lived in their home for ten years or more, is not described on the Cook County Assessor’s website. If you think you or someone you know may qualify, please check with the Cook County Assessor of your local Township Assessor – links to their contact information can be found below.
To determine which exemptions have been applied to your property, please review your second installment tax bill or visit:
http://www.cookcountyassessor.com/Index_Exempt/Index.aspx
If an error has occurred, property owners can have their tax bill corrected, generally going back up to three years. For further questions or concerns, or to correct an error, please contact the Cook County Assessor’s office or the office of your local Township Assessor. The Cook County Assessor’s office contact information can be found here:
http://www.cookcountyassessor.com/Index_Exempt/Index.aspx
The contact information for your local Township Assessor can be found here:
http://www.cookcountyassessor.com/townshipassessors.aspx
As a reminder, Cook County taxes are paid in arrears, therefore this information is applicable to your 2011 tax bill.
County Commissioner Larry Suffredin issued a news release encouraging taxpayers who didn’t see the homeowners exemption, senior citizen exemption, long-term homeowner’s exemption or senior freeze exemption they were expecting to call one of the county assessor’s offices or his office for help.
The county assessor’s downtown Chicago office can be reached at 312-443-7550, the assessor’s Skokie office can be reached at 847-470-7237 and Suffredin’s office in Evanston can be reached at 847-864-1209.
And County Assessor Joseph Berrios is saying, „It’s critical that all eligible homeowners review their tax bills to ensure their exemptions appear on their bills.“
nsbar.org, suffredin.org
