Illinois Property Tax Calculator
Calculate your Illinois property tax, compare rates across 8 major counties, and see how homeowner and senior exemptions can lower your bill.
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Why Illinois Property Taxes Hit So Hard
Illinois has the 2nd highest property taxes in the US — and Cook County's assessment system with its "equalization multiplier" makes it even more confusing. A $300K home in Chicago pays ~$6,300/year. Combined with IL's 4.95% flat income tax, the total tax burden is why Illinois is losing more residents than any other state.
The average effective property tax rate across Illinois is about 2.23%, compared to the national average of roughly 1.1%. That means an Illinois homeowner pays roughly double the national average on the same home value.
Property taxes fund local services — primarily schools (60–70% of your bill), plus police, fire, parks, libraries, and water districts. Illinois has over 8,000 local taxing districts, more than any other state, which stack multiple levies onto each property.
How to Use This Calculator
Annual Tax tab
Enter your home value and select your county to see your estimated annual and monthly property tax. The calculator uses 2026 effective tax rates for 8 major Illinois counties covering about 65% of the state's population.
County Comparison tab
See all 8 counties ranked by effective tax rate, with median home values and median annual tax bills side by side. Use this to compare the property tax impact of living in different parts of the state.
Exemptions & Savings tab
Enter your age, income, county, and home value to see which Illinois property tax exemptions you qualify for and how much they reduce your bill. Includes the General Homestead, Senior Homestead, and Senior Freeze exemptions. Cook County's equalization multiplier is factored in automatically.
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The Formula
Illinois property tax is calculated on the Equalized Assessed Value (EAV), not the full market value:
EAV = Assessed Value × Equalization Factor
(Cook County factor ≈ 2.9; other counties ≈ 1.0)
Taxable EAV = EAV − Exemptions
General Homestead: −$10,000
Senior Homestead (65+): −$8,000
Senior Freeze (65+, income ≤ $65K): EAV frozen
Property Tax = Taxable EAV × Composite Tax Rate
(Composite rate = sum of all local taxing district rates)
The effective tax rate shown in this calculator is the ratio of median tax paid to median home value for each county. The actual composite rate applied to EAV is higher, because EAV is only a fraction of the market value. Both methods produce the same dollar amount.
Example
Maria — Homeowner in Chicago (Cook County)
Maria owns a home in Chicago worth $300,000 on the open market. She is 42 years old and qualifies for the General Homestead Exemption. She wants to know her annual property tax bill.
Tax calculation
If Maria were 67 and earned under $65,000/year, she would also qualify for the Senior Homestead ($8,000 EAV reduction) and potentially the Senior Freeze, saving an additional $400–$500+ per year.