(Cook County Property) TAX MAN COMETH

The Cook County Clerk's Office has released the 2008 annual property tax rates. The state has set out the equalization factors. Look forward to the County treasurer's letter soon folks. Property tax bills will be due December 1st.

The Sun Times reports that, on average, Chicago landowners can expect to see a collective 6.04 %increase from last year. Across Cook County, property owners will pay 4.2% percent more.

Property taxes are computed using four factors:

A property's assessed value (look it up here.);
The property tax rate (check it out here.);
The state equalization factor of 2.9786 (aka the "multiplier") up 4.74 % from last year; and
Applicable exemptions (described here)

Homeowners exemptions (available to anyone who lived in the property as their principal residence as of 1/1/08) can vary based on the property's location and any increase in assessed valuation over the three year assessment cycle, but the minimum homeowners exemption increased for the 2008 tax year, from $5,000 to $5,500, for all Cook County homeowners, Next year this minimum is scheduled to increase to $6,000.

The Senior Citizen Exemption entitles qualifying residents to an additional $4,000 exemption, up from $3,500 last year.

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