Tax Guide
Village of Skokie 2020 Property Tax Levy (Payable in 2021) - Key Points
- The Village’s tax levy of $15.4 million is the same as it was in 1990 due to the self-imposed property tax freeze.
- Based on an average, the Village accounted for less than 6.24% of an average property tax bill for 2020.
- Over the thirty years of the self-imposed property tax freeze, Skokie’s percent of an average taxpayer’s property tax bill has decreased from 16% in 1990 to 6.24% in 2020.
- Based on an average Skokie taxpayer’s property tax bill, school districts account for an average of 70.8% of the tax bill for 2020.
- Elementary schools averaged 42.4% and high schools averaged 28.3% for 2020.
- Resident’s individual taxes paid to the Village vary, however, on their individual level of assessment and the school districts in which they reside. The term "assessment" reflects the valuation of the property by the Cook County Assessor’s Office. Cook County reassesses properties every three years. The current tax bills are the third bills to be issued in the three-year assessment cycle.
- Depending on the level of the assessment for each property, any given resident’s Village of Skokie property tax line may show an increase/decrease or even remain somewhat constant. This is all a byproduct of the tax extension process over which Skokie does not have control.
A Note About Business vs. Residential Property Taxes
In Cook County, the amount of property taxes paid by each property owner depend on two factors: the final tax rate and the assessed value as determined by the County Assessor and equalized by the State of Illinois.
While residential properties are typically assessed at 10% of market value, commercial properties like offices and retail buildings are assessed at 25% of their market values. Practically, this means that even though commercial and industrial properties make up 48% of the total assessed value of all Cook County property, they contribute 50% of the total tax levied. While the 2% difference may not seem significant, it equated to $2.8 million for the 2020 tax levy collected in 2021. The average total annual tax bill for a commercial property is $31,090 while the average for a residential property is $5,969 (based on 2020 tax year).