ALSO – Property Tax Bills For The First Installment Due In 2021, Are Available Now!

BUT FIRST – Several Owners Have Reported Receiving Letters From The Cook County Assessor, Describing A Decrease In The Assessed Valuation For Their Property Taxes.

And it’s true – we can confirm these letters are not any type of scam. adjustments being processed to account for the COVID-19 pandemic, and they lower the “assessed valuations” for all property tax payers in Cook County, including Park Tower.

CAREFUL – THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOUR TAXES OR YOUR ACTUAL PROPERTY VALUE IS BEING LOWERED

First, the letters look like this:

The reference to your “assessed valuation”, is describing just one factor of many which are used to determine what we pay in property taxes. This particular number only indirectly corresponds to your actual property value. It is really just a number they arrive at based on a pretty complicated equation which attempts to equalize property values from county to county throughout Illinois. It is used as a part of the math to determine your actual taxes. And, supposedly it is intend to make what we pay here in Cook County to be more fair compared to what owners pay in other counties.

But, it is just one factor of many that is used in the math to calculate your taxes.

The number you see in the letter is your NEW Covid-19 adjusted assessed valuation. From what we’ve seen, it brings most of the valuations down from what they were set at following the Associations last tax appeal by about 10-15%. For the purposes of calculating your taxes, this particular factor in the equation will act to reduce what your taxes would OTHERWISE be. It definitely does not mean your taxes will go down. In fact, indications are, taxes will have to go up to finance the response to the pandemic. But, all that is unclear at this time.

Also, we can’t assume this means property values have dropped. In theory, by some measure they are saying the pandemic has caused property values to fall. The “assessed valuation” is at least loosely based on property values, but it is a fraction of the actual value.

We asked the Association’s Tax Attorney Joseph Huang, with the Law Office of Terrence Kennedy, to weigh in on this. He said, “As far as the actual affect of the Covid Adjustment on the 2020 taxes payable, the net result  is that it will likely not have much of an effect on actual taxes payable as the tax rate will likely have to increase to make up for the across-the-board COVID adjustment decreases on the residential properties.”

He referenced a recent article in Crain’s, which explains this in greater detail:

Crain’s Article re Kaegi Covid Trick

Recently, the Board of Directors approved to have our attorney appeal the upcoming Triennial Tax Assessments, so we asked him to comment on how that might be impacted by this adjustment, He said, “The Covid Adjustment letter is in reference to the 2020 assessment of the property.  Our appeal will be for the 2021-2023 triennial period, so the “Covid adjustment” should not affect our 2021 appeal.  If there is any future 2021 Covid Adjustment, I would speculate that it should be reflected in the new 2021 reassessment figures that the Assessor’s Office issues next year.”

Bottom line, in any other year such an adjustment might reduce our property taxes. But the reality is, the City and Cook County will have to bill more to make up for shortfalls. They will be keenly aware of these valuations adjustments and it is logical to assume they will be compensating for that. So, don’t expect much in the way of favorable change.

You Can Pay Your Taxes Now If You Like

As in recent years, we are aware that the First Installment tax bills due March of 2021 are now available for viewing and early payment should you want to pay in this calendar year. County Treasurer Maria Papps confirmed in a recent news release, next year’s First Installment Cook County property tax bills are available at cookcountytreasurer.com so that property owners can make payments before the end of this year or plan their finances for 2021.

The First Installment for Tax Year 2020 (payable in 2021) will be 55 percent of the previous year’s total tax, and is due March 2, 2021. However, the Cook County Board last week waived late charges through May 3, 2021.

“People need more time to pay. That’s the bottom line,” Pappas said. “By posting the bills to my website now, property owners can start thinking about how to pay their bills for 2021, which is going to be a hard year for many, many people.”

You can download your tax bill or make a payment by visiting cookcountytreasurer.com and following these steps:

• Select the blue box labeled “Pay Online for Free”
• Enter your address or 14-digit Property Index Number (PIN)
• There is no fee if you pay from your bank account

The Treasurer’s Office accepts partial payments. However, all First Installment Tax Year 2020 taxes must be paid by May 3, 2021, to avoid a late charge of 1.5 percent per month mandated by Illinois law.

You can also use cookcountytreasurer.com to:

• Search $76 million in available refunds
• Check if you are missing out on $46 million in property tax exemptions, which lower your tax bill
• Read the Pappas Study, a 20-year history of Cook County property taxes