Thousands of Cook County Homeowners to Receive $30.5M in Automatic Refunds – Check Your Eligibility

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas has announced that over 9,000 property owners will get an automatic return of $30.5 million, providing a financial respite for thousands of them. Property owners will receive the refunds—which are tied to overpayments on the First Installment of property taxes from the previous year—without having to complete any further paperwork or applications.

(Photo: CNET)

Cook County Treasurer Issues $30.5M

Cook County Treasurer’s office information states that during the next three months, around 48% of the refunds, or $30.5 million, will be directly deposited into the bank accounts of property owners. Due to exemptions from property taxes, property owners frequently make First Installment payments in excess of the annual total payable, which results in refunds.

Usually, property taxes for Cook County are paid in two payments per year; however, in certain instances, taxpayers may receive automatic refunds in the event that their payment exceeds the whole amount due.

The automatic reimbursements will specifically help homeowners who may have been eligible for property tax exemptions, such as Senior Citizen, Senior Freeze, or Disabled Persons, after the First Installment was due.

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Automatic Refunds

Approximately 1,900 homeowners who paid property taxes online will have $13.1 million electronically put into their bank accounts, according to the treasurer’s office, which outlines the distribution procedure.

Additionally, $8 million in refund cheques will be delivered to almost 4,000 homeowners who paid their taxes using a bank or mortgage escrow account. To guarantee correct reimbursement, electronic refunds or mailed refund applications will be used for the 2,900 homeowners that paid taxes in cash or check.

It is stressed that homeowners who are eligible for property tax exemptions will get the majority of the automatic refunds. The program aims to correct overpayments made during the First Installment by taking into account exemptions applied to the Second Installment tax bill.

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