Property owners urged to pay late taxes to avoid Annual Tax Sale that begins Tuesday as 20,888 owe less than $1,000

CHICAGO, Jan. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Delinquent Cook County property owners are running out of time to pay taxes that were due in 2022 and avoid the Annual Tax Sale that begins Tuesday, Jan. 9.

To find out if your property is on the Annual Tax Sale list:

• Go to cookcountytreasurer.com
• Use the purple box on the home page labeled "Your Property Tax Overview" and search using an address or Property Index Number (PIN)
• A banner with an urgent warning will appear if your property is on the Annual Tax Sale list.

You may also use the website to correct your mailing address. Each year the U.S. Postal Service returns thousands of certified notices sent to owners of properties on the Annual Tax Sale list because property owners have not kept their mailing addresses up to date.

The Annual Tax Sale will occur Jan. 9-12 for properties with unpaid 2021 property taxes due in 2022. Delinquent tax bills will be re-offered for sale on Jan. 16. The Annual Tax Sale occurs 13 months after the due date.

Owners of 47,216 properties owe more than $211 million in taxes that were due in 2022. More than 26,000 owe more than $1,000 while 20,888 owe less than $1,000, including owners of 14,738 properties in Chicago and 6,150 parcels in suburban Cook County.

The Treasurer's Office mailed certified notices alerting property owners their unpaid taxes are to be offered for sale, which would put a lien against their properties. It is the first step in a process that can end with a property owner losing their home, business or land. Besides the mailings, the Treasurer's Office published lists of properties with delinquencies tax lists in local newspapers.

Payment can be made in five ways:

• Online for free at cookcountytreasurer.com
• In person at any Chase Bank location in Illinois.
• In person at any of more than 100 community banks where you have an account
• By mail
• In person at the Treasurer's Office

Homeowners also can use the website to make sure they are receiving exemptions for which they qualify. Examples include the Homeowner, Senior Citizen and Senior Freeze exemptions.

Investors buy delinquent tax debt during the Annual Tax Sale. The Annual Tax Sale does not involve the sale of actual properties.

By law, the Treasurer's Office cannot and does not give legal advice related to tax sales. You are strongly advised to seek an attorney's advice relating to any sale of your taxes. If your taxes are sold your options include redeeming your taxes, seeking a Sale-in-Error Declaration or filing a statutory "Redemption Under Protest."

Visit cookcountytreasurer.com for more information about property taxes sold at the Annual Tax Sale.

SOURCE Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas