$47M In Property Tax Refunds Available To Cook County Homeowners

COOK COUNTY, IL — If you own a home in Cook County, money may be on the way. The Cook County Treasurer's Office announced Wednesday that more than 53,000 property owners who overpaid their first installment taxes last year will automatically be refunded more than $47 million in refunds. Payments started going out this week.

"If you have a refund coming, we’ll find you and return your money," Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said. "By putting refunds on automatic pilot, we’re eliminating a lot of unnecessary paperwork and applications."

Pappas, who started the automatic refund program in July 2018, said more than 174,000 property owners have received about $129 million in refunds without having to fill out an application since the launch.

For the current refunds, more than 58 percent will be deposited directly into property owners’ accounts over the next three months.

Homeowners looking to see if they're due an automatic refund can visit here. Select the purple box labeled "Your Property Tax Overview" and enter your address or 14-digit Property Index Number (PIN).

Here’s a breakdown of some refunds, according to the treasurer's office:

• 16,629 homeowners who paid their property taxes online will see a total of $14.8 million electronically deposited to their bank or credit card accounts
• 22,241 homeowners who paid their taxes through a bank/mortgage escrow account will be mailed refund checks totaling $14.8 million
• 14,137 homeowners who paid taxes totaling $17.4 million in cash or by check will receive an electronic refund or will be mailed a refund application to ensure the proper party receives the refund

Most refunds will go to homeowners receiving property tax exemptions, which are applied to the second installment tax bill and reduce the total taxes due, according to Pappas. The exemptions include: homeowner, senior citizen, senior freeze and disabled persons. The second installment 2021 property tax bills were due on Dec. 30, 2022.