Assessor Department FAQ

You can view taxing districts at tax.lakecountyil.gov Select Basic Search, enter the PIN or address, select property from the list, and then scroll down to Tax District Information to see if a municipality is listed.

You can view taxing districts at tax.lakecountyil.gov Select Basic Search, enter the PIN or address, select property from the list, and then scroll down to Tax District Information.

You receive your assessment notice from Lake County, typically in the late summer to early fall. From the day that it is mailed, you have thirty days to file an appeal based on the assessed value of your property. When you receive your notice, please look it over carefully for exemptions you are entitled to and verify that the features and square footage of your property are accurate.

Our How to Appeal page has information on how to review and appeal your assessment.  Staff is available to assist with scanning documents. Ela Township will review all appeals and reach out with an offer to reduce the assessment if warranted. Note: AN ASSESSMENT APPEAL DOES NOT ADDRESS THE AMOUNT OF THE PROPERTY TAX BILL.

As prescribed by the state, assessors use three years of sales preceding the assessment date to estimate market value. The assessment date is January 1 of that year. In the assessment process, we do not predict the value in the future; rather we use factual evidence from the past. It is impossible to appraise all the property in the township using the current year sale data because it would delay the entire tax cycle.

You can check your property characteristics at any time during the year at IMSLake.org. If you notice that there is incorrect information, please call our office and let us know. We can then set up an appointment for a field person to come out and verify the changes.

Contrary to popular belief, your assessment does not determine your taxes. The main purpose of assessing property is to fairly distribute the tax burden according to your property’s value. Generally tax bills are going up as a result of increased spending by taxing bodies. So, if government spending and the “levy” requests do not decrease, most of us will see no relief in our tax bills.

You can pay online, at select local banks, by mail, or at the Treasurer’s office in Waukegan https://www.lakecountyil.gov/534/Online-Payments

Governments are all trying to cut spending and find additional sources of revenue to provide their service. Most local taxing bodies rely heavily on the revenue from property taxes to fund their services. However, the cost of these services keeps increasing requiring more money from property taxes. When a taxing body asks for more money it means spending, the tax burden is increasing, and property taxes will increase. The following link will show the tax break down for a $9,991.71 tax bill in Lake Zurich.

2021 Tax Bill Breakdown And Tax Rate Tax Graph DESKTOP K293VA7

You can view your property record card, search for comparable properties and create grid sheets for comparison at www.IMSLake.org

You can apply online with the SmartFile E-Filing Portal at https://lakecountyilpaefile.tylertech.com/lake_il_sf or Contact the Assessor’s Office at 847-438-8370

You can find detailed information on how to appeal at elatownship.org/how-to-appeal

You can search for current or previous tax bills at https://tax.lakecountyil.gov/forms/htmlframe.aspx?mode=content/home.htm