Merry Christmas! Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas sending out $30.5 million in automatic refunds

CHICAGO, Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas is sending more than $30.5 million in automatic refunds beginning this week to about 9,000 property owners who overpaid their First Installment taxes last year.

"This service is a huge convenience for homeowners who have overpaid their property taxes," Pappas said today. "Most will not have to file an application, fill out any forms or deal with any paperwork. They will get their money automatically."

About 48% of the refunds will be deposited directly into property owners' accounts over the next three months. Visit cookcountytreasurer.com to see if you have an automatic refund coming. Select the purple box labeled "Your Property Tax Overview" and enter your address or 14-digit Property Index Number (PIN).

A breakdown of automatic refunds shows:

• About 1,900 homeowners who paid their property taxes online will see a total of $13.1 million electronically deposited to their bank accounts
• About 4,000 homeowners who paid their taxes through a bank/mortgage escrow account will be mailed refund checks totaling $8 million
• About 2,900 homeowners who paid taxes totaling $9.3 million in cash or by check will receive an electronic refund or will be mailed a refund application to ensure the proper party receives the refund.

Most of the refunds will go to homeowners receiving property tax exemptions, which are applied to the Second Installment tax bill and reduce the total taxes due. The exemptions include: Homeowner, Senior Citizen, Senior Freeze and Disabled Persons. Second Installment 2022 property tax bills were due on Dec. 1, 2023.

Since launching the automatic refund program in 2018, Pappas has refunded about $121.2 million to more than 155,015 property owners without the need for applications.

Property taxes are due in two annual installments. Taxpayers receiving automatic refunds paid First Installment amounts that exceeded the total due for the year.

SOURCE Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas