House & Apartment

You can lose your home or property if you don’t pay your residential property taxes.

Failing to pay property taxes when due can mean:

• The amount you owe may increase from interest, penalties, and costs,
• The county has a lien on your property,
• Your unpaid taxes can be sold at a public auction,
• A tax buyer may become the new owner of your property and evict you, and
• If your mortgage contract requires you to pay your property taxes on time, your lender may file for foreclosure.

Property tax notices are usually sent by mail.

Not receiving property tax notices doesn’t protect you from the legal consequences of not paying your property taxes. Check whether the county has your correct mailing address and read your mail carefully.

You have limited time to request exemptions or dispute the amount due. Talk to your county right away if you:

• Are asked to pay the wrong amount of taxes (or aren’t sure if the bill is correct),
• Fall behind on payments, or
• Haven’t received notices.

Property tax problems can be complicated. If you need a lawyer, visit Get Legal Help.

Who collects residential property taxes?

Residential property owners pay property taxes to the county where the property is located.

Ask your county which local agencies or departments assess and collect your property taxes.

In some counties, the Assessor determines how much you owe, and the Treasurer collects the money.

Which property taxes do I have to pay?

When you own property in Illinois, you must pay the property taxes for the entire property.

Counties don’t keep track of property taxes by street address. Taxes are assigned by PIN, also called “Property Index Number,” “Permanent Index Number,” or sometimes “Parcel Number.”

Sometimes what looks like a single residential property with one street address has more than one PIN. For example, a house, parking space, side yard, garage, or outbuilding could have a separate PIN. Check with your county for this information.

Paying the taxes for one PIN doesn’t change what’s owed for another PIN. If your property taxes are paid through a mortgage, be sure each PIN is included.

What happens if I miss the due date?

You owe the county money when you don’t pay your residential property taxes on time.

Taxes not paid by the due date are called “delinquent.” The county will mail you a notice saying your taxes are past due or delinquent.

Information about unpaid taxes is public. If you don’t pay, the county will publish a notice in a local newspaper that includes your property in a list of properties with delinquent taxes.

The county also has a lien against your property for the taxes you owe. Property tax liens take priority over other liens even if the other debts were recorded first. This means that if your property is sold, the county will be paid the amount you owe for property taxes before any other banks or people are paid.

If you have a mortgage that doesn’t include property tax payments, the lender may pay the delinquent taxes to protect their interest in your property. If you don’t have the money to pay the taxes on time, you can ask the lender to pay for you.

After the lender has stepped in to pay delinquent taxes, you must repay the lender. You may be required to put money into an escrow account for future tax payments. If you don’t follow the lender’s requirements, the lender may foreclose.

Tax sales and tax certificates

The county doesn’t have to wait to get paid until the tax debt is paid off at the sale of your property. The county can sell your unpaid debt to a tax buyer at a public auction called a “tax sale.”

There are two main types of county property tax sales:

• Annual tax sale, which is the yearly sale of the prior year's delinquent taxes, and
• Scavenger tax sale, which is an optional sale of delinquent taxes that weren’t sold at the annual sale.

You must pay the taxes or apply for certificates of error before the tax sale if you don’t want your tax lien sold. Once your unpaid taxes have been sold at auction, the county will issue the buyer a “tax certificate” confirming the sale.

Redemption period for sold taxes

After your taxes have been sold, you have limited time to pay the delinquent taxes, interest, penalties, and costs to the county. This time is called the “redemption period.”

During the redemption period, you can:

• “Redeem” your taxes by paying the county the total amount you owe,
• Seek a sale-in-error declaration, or
• Do nothing and wait for the tax buyer to request a tax deed from the court.

Once the tax buyer files a court case requesting the tax deed, you can:

• File a statutory “redemption under protest,” or
• Do nothing and let the tax buyer become the new owner of the property.

How long is the redemption period?

The redemption period may range from 6 to 36 months, depending on when the tax certificate was issued, the property type, and whether there is an extension.

For tax certificates issued on or after January 1, 2024, most redemption periods are 30 months from the date of the tax sale. However, for the following types of property, it is 12 months from the date of the sale:

• Vacant non-farm property,
• Residential property with 7 or more units, or
• Commercial or industrial property.

The redemption period for tax certificates issued before January 1, 2024, is generally shorter. Property owners have 24 months from the date of the tax sale, except:

• For residential properties with 6 or fewer units that are not abandoned, it is 30 months from the date of the sale, and
• For the below types of property with delinquent taxes of 2 or more years or forfeited to the county, it is 6 months from the date of the sale:
  • Vacant non-farm property,
  • Residential property with 7 or more units, or
  • Commercial or industrial property.

No matter when the tax certificate is issued, the tax buyer may agree to extend the redemption period up to 36 months after the sale to give you more time to pay. The tax buyer doesn’t have to agree to an extension.

The tax buyer must prepare a notice stating that the redemption period is expiring and deliver it to the circuit clerk. The clerk must mail you the notice at least 3 months but not more than 6 months before the redemption period expires.

Redeeming sold taxes during the redemption period

During the redemption period, you can “redeem” your taxes by paying the county the total amount you owe. The amount may include:

• Delinquent and current taxes,
• Interest,
• Penalties,
• Fees or costs, and
• Special assessments.

You must ask the county for an “estimate of redemption” to find out how much you owe. The county can charge you a fee for this information.

If you can’t afford to redeem the taxes and have a mortgage, ask your lender to redeem on your behalf and add the balance to your existing loan. Do this as early as possible.

You may also consider taking out a home equity line of credit (“HELOC”) or reverse mortgage to pay the taxes. To qualify for a reverse mortgage, you must be at least 62 years old. You should talk to a lawyer or banker about the consequences of a reverse mortgage before choosing this route.

Seeking a sale-in-error declaration during the redemption period

Sometimes counties make mistakes when deciding which unpaid taxes to sell.

Contact your county to request a “sale-in-error” right away if you think the county made a mistake. Common reasons for a sale-in-error include:

• The property was not subject to taxation,
• The taxes or special assessments were paid before the property sale,
• There is a double assessment,
• The assessor or other county official made an error material to the tax certificate,
• The property is a homestead property and you paid the full amount you reasonably believed was due on time, but the county failed to apply your payment, or
• A bankruptcy petition has been filed by or against the property owner, and the case is open on the date of the tax sale.

The county may process your request administratively or ask a court to decide whether to grant or deny your request. Administrative processing time is shorter than court orders, which can take a year or longer.

Tax deeds

If you don’t redeem your taxes during the redemption period, the tax buyer can ask the court for a “tax deed.” Once the tax buyer records the tax deed with the county, they become the legal owner of the property.

As the new owner, the tax buyer can evict you by filing a motion in the tax deed case. The buyer doesn’t need to file a new eviction case or serve you with a new summons.

Filing a statutory “redemption under protest”

You may “redeem your taxes under protest” after the tax buyer has petitioned the court for a tax deed on your property.

To redeem under protest, you must submit a deposit for redemption and other required documents to the county clerk.

Redemption under protest preserves your right to claim in the court case that your taxes were improperly sold. If you win that argument in court, you would be liable only for the amount of taxes and late payment statutory interest but not the extra redemption costs.

If you lose that argument in court, you will redeem your taxes. This will prevent the tax buyer from becoming the legal owner of your property.

What if I have already lost my property to a tax buyer?

If you have already lost your property to a tax deed, you may be able to get some money from the county to compensate you for the lost property. You must file a petition for this money, which is called “indemnity,” within 10 years of the date the Court issued the tax deed.

The petition must be filled with the court that issued the deed. You may be able to work with the tax buyer to use indemnity money to buy back the property. You should talk to a lawyer for help in filing an indemnity petition. 

Need help?

Tax sales, tax redemptions, and related issues can be difficult. If you need a lawyer, visit Get Legal Help.