CHICAGO, July 29,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cook
County property owners have a free financial planning tool
that can help them pay off their past-due property tax bills and
avoid the "merciless" Annual Tax Sale, Treasurer Maria Pappas said today.
A Payment Plan Calculator at cookcountytreasurer.com is
available at no cost to help property owners who are late paying
their taxes. The calculator assists taxpayers who want to budget
their property tax expenses over payments made monthly or every two
weeks.
"There is no need for homeowners to be at the mercy of the
merciless Annual Tax Sale," Pappas said. "This Payment Plan
Calculator can help them keep control when they may think all is
lost."
While the Treasurer's Office has previously accepted partial tax
bill payments, the calculator is designed to provide an actual
system for those at risk of having their past-due taxes sold at the
county's Annual Tax Sale, an auction of unpaid property taxes.
"We want to do everything possible to help people pay off their
tax debt," Pappas said. "We routinely find that thousands of
properties offered at our Annual Tax Sale are owned by people who
owe less than $1,000 in taxes."
Many homeowners were shocked by property tax increases this
year, particularly in the south and southwest suburbs. They worry
what will happen if they are unable to pay their bills in full by
the Thursday, Aug. 1 due date.
"I will work with ministers to help get the word out to
congregations and community leaders that the Payment Plan
Calculator can help people pay their taxes over an extended
period of time," said the Rev. John
Harrell, president and founder of Black Men United, a
national community service organization.
Taxpayers may sign up to receive email or text message
notifications reminding them to make the monthly or biweekly
payments recommended by the Payment Plan Calculator.
State law requires that property owners who do not pay their
taxes in full by the due date face additional interest charges of
0.75% per month, effective with 2023 taxes due in 2024. Late taxes
that were due in 2023 and earlier years are charged interest of
1.5% per month.
The Annual Tax Sale occurs approximately 13 months after the
Second Installment due date. Once unpaid taxes are offered at the
Annual Tax Sale, the property owner must pay the overdue taxes and
interest in one lump-sum payment.
"The Annual Tax Sale knows no mercy," Pappas said. "We have to
make it do so by enabling people to pay as they can in time to
avoid it."
Pappas said the Payment Plan Calculator grew out of
deliberations by the Illinois Property Tax Payment Plan Task
Force. The Illinois General Assembly in 2023 passed legislation
that created the task force to recommend payment options designed
to prevent tax-delinquent owner-occupied homes in Cook County from being sold at the Annual Tax
Sale.
A video tutorial is available at cookcountytreasurer.com to
walk taxpayers through the steps of using the Payment Plan
Calculator.
"Watch it," Pappas told property owners. "It has lessons that
can help you save your home."
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pappas-new-payment-plan-calculator-helps-homeowners-pay-late-taxes-in-smaller-increments-to-avoid-merciless-annual-tax-sale-302208126.html
SOURCE Cook County Treasurer Maria
Pappas