Tax Extension

As of January 01, 2022, certification to the county clerk, including any supplemental or supportive documentation, may be submitted electronically (Public Act 102-0625 (SB1667)). Therefore, you may now submit filings to our office via email to: [email protected]. Unless otherwise directed, the County Clerk’s office will return filings digitally stamped along with a filing receipt via email only. Upon request, we can also mail you a hard copy of the filing receipt. If you wish to have paper copies of the documents date-stamped, they must be provided to us in person, or mailed in with a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

PLEASE NOTE: For tax year 2022 (collectable in 2023), taxing districts must submit their levies to the County Clerk’s office on or before Tuesday, December 27, 2022. For your planning purposes, the Lake County Clerk’s office will be closed on Friday, December 23 and Monday, December 26, 2022. We ask that your district be cognizant of this and plan accordingly.

Service Modification

In response to COVID-19, the Lake County Clerk’s Tax Extension and Redemption Department is open on weekdays for walk-in service as follows:

9 AM to 4:30 PM

Staff will be available to answer questions and provide information from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday by calling 847-377-2404 or emailing [email protected]

Based on levies set by each local taxing district and property values established by township assessors and the Chief County Assessor’s Office, property tax rates are calculated and state statutory limits are applied.

Chart explaining the taxing districts and tax levy cycle

   County Offices
(Chief Assessor, Clerk, Treasurer)		  Taxing Districts
(Schools, Villages, etc.)
Year One
(property
assessments
& district
levies)
 January-August
Township Assessors determine the assessed value (1/3 of fair market value) of each property as of January 1st, based on sales data from the prior three years.
  January-December

Each district’s governing board holds public meetings on the district’s annual budget and levy (request for property tax revenues) for the next fiscal year. The budget is filed with the County Clerk’s Office within 30 days of passage. The levy is filed with the County Clerk’s Office by the last Tuesday in December.

Click here to see the public meeting schedule for local districts. 
September-October
The Chief County Assessor’s Office evaluates and equalizes assessments across all townships. Assessment notices (blue sheets) are mailed to taxpayers, who have only 30 days to appeal their assessment to the Board of Review.
October-December
The Board of Review hears appeals of assessments, making changes as necessary. 
Year Two
(property
tax and
collection) 		 January-February
The Board of Review continues its hearings. Revised assessments are submitted to the County Clerk’s Office at the beginning of March.		  
March-April
The County Clerk’s Office calculates preliminary tax rates based on the levy passed by each district, and the property values from the township assessors, as adjusted by the Board of Review and the state multiplier issued by the Illinois Department of Revenue.

The County Clerk’s Office also calculates and applies any limits on property taxes, based on statutes established by the state legislature and governor.

The County Clerk’s Office certifies the final rates to the County Treasurer’s Office for billing.		 March
Taxing districts submit any new bond ordinances by March 1st, and any abatements of current bonds by March 15th
.
April
Taxing districts that are over their statutory property tax limits are notified by the County Clerk’s Office and submit appropriate cuts to their levies.
May-November
The County Treasurer’s Office sends out tax bills at the beginning of May, with two installments due in June and September. Collected taxes are distributed to the taxing districts on a regular basis. Final notices are sent to delinquent taxpayers in October before the taxes are sold.

***IMPORTANT*** By the time you get your tax bill, it is already too late to protest the taxes on the bill! The time to speak up is when you receive your assessment notice (the blue sheet) and when your taxing districts meet to discuss their budget and levy.
  
End of November/Beginning of December
The County Treasurer’s Office holds an annual tax sale, where tax buyers bid to pay the delinquent taxes in exchange for a lien on the property. Tax liens are turned over to the County Clerk’s Office for collection as part of the Tax Redemption Process.