Answering Some Common Questions About Real Estate Taxes

Central Illinois Real Estate Podcast

Today I wanted to review a few of the most common questions I get asked regarding real estate taxes.
How do I look up the assessed value of my home?
Go online to the Macon County Supervisor Assessments website here. From there, click on the Search Property Information Assessment link. That will take you to a new page with a new menu of options. Among them is the Parcel Inquiry link on the top left. Click on that link and it will take you to a new screen where you just have to type in the address of your home. Once you click ‘search,’ it will pull up all that tax information about your house. You can then see things like how much you have paid, how much is due, and other bits of useful information.
How do I know what the assessor’s market value of my home is?
There is a part on the website that will say ‘Total Assessed Value.’ That’s the number that you want to look at. In order to determine what the assessor is thinking that your home’s total market value is, you want to multiply that number by three. That is what the assessor is assuming your current market value is.

“

You can look up the total assessed value of your home online.

”

How is my tax payment calculated?

From the total assessed value number, subtract out any exemptions that are listed on there. For example, if the house is your primary residence, you’ll likely have a homestead exemption that you’ll be able to subtract from the total assessed value. You may also have a senior freeze or senior homestead exemption that can work to decrease your tax bill. Once you have subtracted any exemptions out, click on what your total tax rate is for your district. Your tax rate is shown in the Tax District tab toward the bottom of the page. If you turn that into a percentage and multiply your assessed value times whatever the result is, that’s how you get your tax bill number.
If I don’t agree with my assessment and the amount of taxes that I’m paying, how do I dispute that?
Simply go to the Macon County office building, head up to the Supervisor of Assessments office on the fourth floor, and tell them your dispute in person. They will tell you what paperwork you need to fill out and what you need to do to argue those taxes down. The process is well worth it because if you’re justified in your argument, you could end up saving hundreds of thousands of dollars.
If you have any other questions about real estate taxes, just give us a call or send me an email. We’d love to help you in any way we can!