Pappas: Pay Cook County Property Taxes Through Oct. 1 With No Penalty

Maria Pappas
Photo credit Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas (WBBM Newsradio)

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas announced Monday an extension on property taxes payments without a late fee penalty.

Second installment Cook County property tax bills are due Aug. 3, but property owners will have two extra months to pay without a late fee.

“In my nearly 22 years as Treasurer, I’ve never told people not to pay their taxes,” Pappas said. “But the pandemic has changed a lot of things. If you’ve lost your job and don’t have the money, you do not have to pay until October 1, 2020.”

RELATED: Lake County Board Approves Extension Of Property Tax | DuPage County Waives Late Fees For Property Taxpayers

Property owners can pay the second installment without a late fee through Oct. 1.

There are a million property owners who are eligible to do that. The rest pay their taxes in their monthly mortgage payments and those are being paid on time, Pappas said. The treasurer said banks and mortgage companies informed her last week that they would not take advantage of the extension and would pay taxes being held in escrow accounts on the original deadline, Aug. 3.

Meanwhile, Pappas said thousands of people have been paying online.

"I can’t even believe it.  I’ve had more people pay on time this year than last year this time and we’re in the middle of the biggest economic and health crisis than we’ve known in years," she said.

Pappas suspects that’s because people have been spending so much time at home since March that "home" means more to them. To download a copy of your tax bill or to make a payment, visit cookcountytreasurer.com:

  • Select the blue box labeled “Pay Online for Free”
  • Search by property address or enter your Property Index Number (PIN)
  • There is no fee if you pay from your bank account

You may also use cookcountytreasurer.com to:

  • Search $75 million in available refunds going back 20 years
  • See if you are missing out on $34 million in senior exemptions going back four years

Other area counties have later property tax deadlines than Cook County.

In DuPage County, at this moment, the Treasurer's website said property taxes for the first and second installment are due Sept. 1.

In Lake County, 50 percent of the second installment is due Sept. 8 with the rest due by Nov. 9.

In Will County, half the second installment is due Sept. 3 with the other 50 percent due on Nov. 3.

Kane County's next property tax installment is due Sept. 1.