Taxing Times
Tax Spending for the 2021 Tax Bills
Lake County Property Tax bills are being mailed May 3rd and should be received by the end of the week.
Good News / Bad News
There is good news and bad news when reviewing spending by the taxing bodies. Spending, also known as the extension/levy process, is the money requested from the property taxes. The more money is spent the more the tax bills increase.
First the good news. There are 4 taxing bodies that maintained or decreased spending; Lake County -0.7%, Forest Preserve -.04%, Lake Villa Library -3.5%, Grayslake High School -11%.
Now the bad news. Not everyone will see a tax decrease. Other schools in our area increased spending ranging from 2 to 4%. Since school comprise the majority of the real estate tax, most tax bills are increasing by 2–3%. For people living in the Village of Round Lake Beach, Round lake Park District and Round Lake Schools their spending increased.
Comparisons and Tax Graphs
The Lake Villa Township Assessor Office website hosts the comparisons and tax graphs (link below). There are comparisons for spending, assessed values and tax rates for each taxing body in the Township. Also, tax graphs depict where your tax dollars are being spent. There are 5 graphs for the areas within the Township.
Exemptions Reduce Taxes
Be sure to check for exemptions on your tax bill. The most common exemptions are General Homestead, Senior Homestead, Senior Assessment Freeze, Disabled Person / Veteran and Home Improvement. On the bottom right side of the tax bill, the computation ladder lists the deductions in assessed value for each exemption. Also, the Property Search feature on the County website has a tab notating all exemptions. If you find you are missing an exemption, please contact my office.
Links
Lake Villa Township Assessor’s page
• Assessment and Spending Comparisons, informative articles
Lake County Website for Property Information
• Assessment, Real Estate Taxes, and Property Tax Extension data
http://www.tax.lakecountyil.gov
Jeffrey A. Lee
Lake Villa Township Assessor
Phone: 1-847-356-2383
Email: Assessor@LakeVillaAssessor.org
Clerk’s Office for more data
The Lake County Clerk Robin O’Connor’s office is responsible for computing the tax rates from the levy requests and district assessments. Their web site has a wealth of information; detail for each taxing jurisdiction; County-wide summaries; as well as historical data dating back to 2006
Their website is https://www.lakecountyil.gov/263/Tax-Extension
Treasurer’s’s Office for more data
The Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim’s office is responsible for printing the tax bills, collecting tax payments and dispersing taxes to the taxing bodies. For payment information, please visit the website is https://www.lakecountyil.gov/198/Treasurers-Office
Real Estate Taxes are due in two equal installment generally payable in the first week of June and September
Please mail your payment to:
Lake County Treasurer’s Office
18 N. County Street
Waukegan IL 60085
847-377-2323