Thank you to those owners who joined us for our meeting on August 26th with the Association’s Tax Attorney. Besides paying your tax bill, reading and understanding your bill can be a real challenge too. Here are some definitions of terms on the bill to help you better understand it.

PIN (Property Identification Number) – This 14-digit number represents the property legal description. Verify it on your deed. Pay only on your PIN. Include the PIN on payments and letters.

Code – This number represents the taxing districts that collect property taxes on your PIN.

Classification – This represents the type of property. Residential classifications start with “2”.

Property Location – This is where the property under that PIN is located.

Mailing Address – This is where the bill is being sent. If your name or address is incorrect, visit:

www.cookcountytreasurer.com/updatingyournameoraddress.aspx

Assessed Value – This is the value assigned to a property for purposes of calculating the applicable taxes. In general, this value will be lower than fair market value of a property.

Property Value – This is what the Tax Assessor determined the property value to be.

Assessment Level – This is the rate at which a property is assessed – residential properties are assessed at 10% of their market value.

2013 Assessed Value – This is the current taxable portion of your market value.

State Equalization Factor – This is a number set by the Illinois Department of Revenue to even out or “equalize” differences in assessments from county to county across the state.

Equalized Assessed Value – This is the County’s assessed value after it has been “equalized” by the state.

2013 Local Tax Rate – This is the total tax rate for all the local governments that collect property taxes on your PIN.

Exemptions – Any tax reductions reflecting for the PIN. Visit www.cookcountyassessor.com to review the available exemptions and make sure your bill is reflecting any that are applicable to you.

Installments – These figures represent how the bill was divided between the 1st and 2nd installments.

For more information, visit www.cookcountytreasurer.com and www.cookcountyassessor.com.