Property taxes in Suburbs (assessor, house, schools)

[ToriaT]

Can anyone enlighten me on the basics of how property taxes are assessed? I know its probably some complicated formula but what I really want to know is what is it about a particular house that drives the taxes? I have looked on line and can't really find it. I know it has to do with schools, park districts and local taxing bodies. Is it acreage, or size of lot, price or assessed value of home? Does it have anything to do with what is in the home such as improvements? I am looking for a two or three sentence answer just to set me in the right direction. Thx.

[Lookout Kid]

1. Take a look at this link for DuPage County:

https://www.dupageco.org/PropertyInf...rtyLookup.aspx

2. Once you search your own property, look at the second tab called "Property Tax Distribution". That will tell you all of the taxing authorities that are collecting property taxes from you.

3. Next, look at the third tab called "Assessment Information". This will give you the value that the Assessor assigned to your house. We have a multiplier of 3.0 in DuPage County, so the real value is the assessed value x 3 (look at the "Fair Cash Total" column.

4. Now look at the fourth tab to see the actual calculation of your taxes, including exemptions.


So the mix of taxing authorities in the "Property Tax Distribution" tab and the assessed value of your house are the drivers of your tax rate. If your elementary district has a large shopping mall or a lot of commercial office parks, you might see lower tax rates on residential properties. On the other hand, taxing districts that are 100% residential will only be able to collect taxes from residences, which usually leads to higher rates to meet the budget.

[ToriaT]

Thanks so much.