Property tax pinch: Average North Sider’s bill to rise by $536, South Sider’s by $23

Property tax bills are set to go out July 1 and homeowners in central Chicago and on the city’s North Side could shell out over $530 more on average, according to a report from the Cook County Clerk’s Office.

Across the county, bills increased by 3.7 percent from 2017 to 2018. The county divides property tax bills into northern, central and southern areas; the northern area had the highest average increase of the three.

A 2018 tax bill for a North Side single-family home will likely be $536.17 higher, on average, than in 2017 — an increase of about 11.5%. The central area, including the Loop, will likely also see an increase of $595.60 from the 2017 bill, a change of roughly 11.3%.

The average South Side homeowner, however, will likely see a property tax hike of just $23.37 — about 1%.

Commercial properties will also see higher tax bills. North Side businesses could pay $834.59 more on their 2018 tax bill compared to 2017, a change of roughly 3%. In the central area, the average 2018 tax bill could be $11,616.08 more than the one they saw in 2017, a 9.7% change.

On the South Side, the average commercial tax bill will go down by about $10.68, or 0.08%, according to the report.

Cook County collected a record $14.9 billion in property taxes in 2018, according to a report from the Cook County Clerk’s office. Last year, the county drew $14.4 billion from property taxes billed in the county’s taxing districts.

Sun-Times