On February 7, 2019, HB2217 was introduced to the Illinois House of Representatives. If passed, it would amend the Property Tax Code and require all Cook County taxpayers who own income producing properties with an assessed value over $100,000 to submit income and expense statements to the Cook County Assessor’s Office on an annual basis.
The proposed bill defines income producing property as “real property that generates income or is owned for the purpose of generating income, whether or not that property actually generates income in a particular year.” Said another way, all owners of income producing property must submit the income and expense statements to the Cook County Assessor – regardless of whether they have filed an appeal at the Assessor’s Office challenging the assessed value of the property and regardless if the property generated any income during a given year. Residential properties with 6 or less units and property assessed as a farm are excluded from the proposed change.
If the taxpayer fails to provide the income and expense data before the deadline as set by the Assessor, the Assessor would send notice requesting compliance. If the data is not provided within 60 days of notice being given, the taxpayer will have to pay the Assessor’s Office a fine in the amount of 2% of the prior year’s assessed value. This fine increases to 2.5% of the prior year’s assessed value if the data is not provided within 120 days after notice is given. If compliance is not met, the taxpayer will not be allowed to file an appeal at the Assessor’s Office for the tax year in which no data was provided.
Rock Fusco & Connelly has ample experience and success dealing with Illinois Real Estate assessments as shown in the article highlighting these accomplishments below. Should you have any questions regarding the proposed legislation, or anything else related to your property or business, please do not hesitate to contact us. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to assist you.