Ultimate Union County Real Property Tax Guide for 2024

Guide Overview

Learn how Union County levies its real estate taxes with this in-depth guide. If you are already living here, thinking about it, or perhaps planning to invest in Union County, read on to acquire a sense of what to envision.

Average Property Tax Rate in Union County

Based on latest data from the US Census Bureau

Union County Property Taxes Range

Union County Property Taxes Range

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Based on latest data from the US Census Bureau

You May Be Charged an Unfair Property Tax Amount

You may be unaware that your real estate levy is an overassessment compared to your house’s actual market value. This might happen when appraisal market values are set collectively in groups, i.e. similar properties are combined and given the same market value sight-unseen. Besides that, appraisers sometimes make errors. With any possible excessiveassessment, it’s necessary to quickly assemble the facts and consider filing a formal protest.

If you’ve newly remortgaged, be alert for mistaken double billings. With vigilance examine your tax levy for all other possible disparities. Every taxpayer’s bill is available to the public on the internet. Compare the estimated value with comparable community real estate, in particular lately sold. Also factor in any real estate market price changes whether rising or falling.

Should you turn up what seems to be an overstatement of tax due, you need to counter swiftly. If you are uncertain whether an appeal is a waste of time or not, hand it to experts to determine whether to protest. There are protest firms poised to take on your challenge that only collect on a percentage of any tax cuts. More information to follow.

What Is a Tax Protest Procedure?

You can question your county’s appraisal of your real estate tax value if you think it is greater than it ought to be. The county is the entity that evaluated the property and it will hear your protest.

The forms you require and the procedures you’ll follow are available at the county tax office or online. Prior to starting, make sure you comprehend the requirements for filling out the forms and preparing your protest. Your appeal submission might not be acknowledged if you do not precisely fill out the documents on time.

You will have a limited amount of time after you receive your tax notice to appeal. Be sure that you commence preparation of your submission immediately so that you don’t miss the deadline.

You will be more successful if you get a complete copy of the valuation file from the county. Your case may rely on this. If the assessor made errors, like comparing your property to the wrong properties, you’ll have good reasons to protest.

If you file a complete presentation with corroborating documentation, the county may decide without making you proceed with a formal protest. In any case, you need to be ready to present your case in person to the county’s board of review. They will only be interested in seeing evidence that the assessment is inaccurate and nothing else. Excessive tax rates and rapid real property value growth in your neighborhood are not valid reasons to contest.

If you are dissatisfied with the county’s decision, you may appeal to a state board or panel. If you have to go to court, you may need service of one of the best property tax attorneys in Union County IL.

It is your right to question your real estate tax valuation. But, the time it takes to pursue a protest may not be called for if the assessment growth does not increase your payment very much. Find your real property tax bill, incorporating any tax exemptions that apply to your property. What seems a big increase in value may only give an insignificant hike in your property tax bill.

How to Get Your Taxes Reduced for Free?

Sometimes advisors doing these appeals charge a fee on a ”depending upon” basis. Service charges are tied to a percent of any taxes saved by your specialist. No savings in taxes means they don’t get paid.

Protest companies are motivated to fully investigate your assessment, prep for and take part in hearings, ferret out miscalculation, locate forgotten exemptions, and prepare for any litigation. Appeals firms are frequently engaged to specifically address dozens of existing exemptions known to be especially intricate and litigious.

Two conventional methods for appraisal re-evaluations are mostly used to buttress appeals. A re-examination often incorporates one of these methods, i.e. a “sales comparison” or an “unequal appraisal” analysis. While both accomplished in the same district, sales comparisons rely on current sale prices while unequal appraisals demonstrate similar properties’ estimated values differences.

Often a sales comparison methodology is the pick of smaller firms. Often it’s an in-person evaluation of the subject real property. Performed by a State Licensed appraiser, its results are of unassailable significance. Modifications can only result from, once again, a whole re-evaluation. As an example, four community alike houses sold for $1,000,000 recently, but the subject property with $100K in wind damage now has a $900K adjusted valuation.

Big firms in particular use an unequal appraisal method for tax savings even when appraised values aren’t as high as current market values. By locale, a listing of properties that are nearly equal in appraised market worth is generated via an automated procedure. Next, a match of those properties’ tax billing amounts is completed. Significant inconsistencies, (like if properties’ bills exceed by at least 10 percent of the sample median level) are identified for more study. Be aware that rather than a flat service fee, clients typically pay on a contingency basis — only when there’s a tax reduction.

Find a tax professional that works best for you in the list of the best property tax protest companies in Union County IL.

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How Does Union County Real Estate Tax Work?

Given power by the state, district governmental entities oversee real estate taxation. Still taxpayers generally receive a single consolidated tax bill from the county. Collections are then dispensed to associated entities via formula. Overall, there are three phases to real estate taxation, namely: creating tax levies, evaluating market value, and then collecting the tax.

Counties and cities plus thousands of special purpose districts possess taxing authority granted by Illinois law. They are legal governmental districts regulated by officers either appointed or voted in. These districts, e.g. public schools and hospitals, serve a specific region, i.e. a county, township, school district, etc.

A city’s real estate tax provisions must comply with Illinois statutory rules and regulations. Real property not exempted must be taxed equally and uniformly at present-day values. Taxpayers must also be given a timely notification of levy increases.

The city establishes tax rates all within Illinois regulatory guidelines. However reserved for the county are appraising property, sending out assessments, collecting the levies, carrying out compliance measures, and clearing up discord.

Real estate estimates are performed by the county. Again, the state has set guidelines which county real estate assessors are obliged to honor. This helps to guarantee property appraisals are generally completed evenly. Appraisal methodology and accuracy questions are promising grounds for likely protests.

Customarily, one of three appraisal methods (with many modifications) is utilized to value real property. A Sales Comparison valuation is set by contrasting a property with like properties sold not long ago in the same community. The Income Capitalization methodology estimates current value determined by the property’s estimated income production plus the property’s resale value. One Cost Approach variation postulates a commercial property’s value would equal the present cost for a structure replication while factoring in depreciation and land’s worth.

An assessor from the county’s office sets your property’s market value. It’s multiplied by the established tax levy — the total of all applicable governmental taxing-delegated entities’ levies. Those entities include your city, Union County, districts and special purpose units that produce that total tax rate.

Who and How Determines Union County Property Tax Rates?

State constitutional rules dictate fair real estate market values be established by in-state counties. These estimates must be set without regard for revenue consequences.

Illinois laws require new property appraisals on a recurring basis. Most often, appraisers lump together all similar properties located in the same neighborhood and collectively apply one-fits-all evaluation strategies. Lacking individual home visits and notice of the house’s particularities, e.g. significant fire damage, those tax cutting opportunities might be missed.

Earlier, when new homes and commercial buildings were constructed, assessors compiled descriptive tax rolls. The roll depicts by address all real estate within a specific community. Properties were classified based upon various characteristics, such as size, use, and construction type. Where the real property is located and how it was utilized were also variables used to put together these sets and then assign market estimates collectively to them all. Without an inspection, the sole fresh, substantiated data assessors possess to operate on regular reappraisals are present-day sales stats.

To secure some semblance of fair market worth appraising, Illinois has installed this process statewide. While this en masse method reigns in an otherwise crushing job, it also results in inexact evaluation results. Frequently this is a fertile place to find appeal grounds!

Once market values are set, your city along with other in-county public bodies will set tax levies alone. A composite rate will generate counted on total tax revenues and also reflect your assessment amount. This is mostly a budgetary function with entity managers first predicting annual expenditures expectations. Next, it’s a matter of establishing what tax rate will give rise to the desired tax revenue. In theory, at least total revenue will equal the fund needed for all budgeted operations that year.

Counties, cities, school districts, special purpose districts, such as sewage treatment stations and others, make up hundreds such governmental entities in Illinois. They all calculate their own tax rates depending on budgetary marks. Almost all the sub-county entities have contracts for Union County to assess and collect their tax.

Traditionally this budgetary and tax rate-setting process is augmented by public hearings assembled to debate budget expenditure and tax issues. Be aware that under state law, you can elicit a vote on proposed rate increases that exceed set limits.

Your city has to observe stipulations of the Illinois Constitution in setting tax rates. In short, rates must not be increased unless your city provides notice of its intention to consider an increase. Then a formal meeting concerning any planned tax increase is required to be held.

If Union County property tax rates are too costly for your wallet resulting in delinquent property tax payments, you may want to obtain a quick property tax loan from lenders in Union County IL to save your property from a looming foreclosure.

What Are Union County Real Estate Taxes Used For?

Real estate tax funds are the lifeblood of local neighborhood budgets. They’re a funding mainstay for public services in support of cities, schools, and special districts, such as water treatment stations, public safety services, recreation, and more.

Illinois counties count on the real property tax to sustain governmental services. Again, real estate taxes are the largest way your city pays for them, including over half of all district school financing. All other service categories, including safety, health, parks, buses/rail, and water/sewage treatment plants, enjoy similar fiscal support.

Normally, local school districts are an important drawdown on real estate tax funds. Other big-ticket items are local government worker salaries/benefits and public safety. Public safety with police and fire departments is a big draw on general funds, also. Then you have street construction and various other public transportation demands. Water and sewage cleaning plants lead the way in sanitation problems, similarly to hospitals in healthcare. Parklands, woodlands, sports facilities, and other recreation areas are offered within the locality. With all this, it’s no surprise why tax bills are often so high.

How Are Property Taxes Handled at Closing in Union County?

Customarily full-year property levies are paid upfront at the beginning of the tax year. Then who pays property taxes at closing when it occurs mid-year? Property ownership flips from the seller to the new owner on closing. And so does the obligation for paying real estate taxes. As a result, the buyer will be settling up the seller for the post-closing segment of the tax.

Most often those proportional reimbursements won’t be direct payments made straight to sellers. Rather the lender, closing attorney, or escrow officer will include that reimbursable tax with other purchaser financial responsibilities at closing.