Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said today her office will return $7.3 million to 8,015 taxpayers who overpaid their property-tax bills this year.

"These refunds may help those who receive them shortly after this holiday season," Pappas said, adding that the refund checks will be mailed in three weeks.

For the second installment, the due date of which was November 1, almost $6.9 million was overpaid on 6,086 Property Index Numbers. For the first installment, whose due date was March 1, almost $533,000 was overpaid on 1,930 PINs.

Historically, the Cook County Treasurer's Office has received about 20,000 overpayments totaling more than $1 million a year. Pappas' Office has worked to lessen that number.

During the recent second-installment collection period, the Treasurer's Office lowered 3,771 checks made out for almost $530,000 in overpayments and notified the taxpayers about the change.

"That program saved those taxpayers not only the overpayment money for the holidays, but the need to apply for a refund," Pappas noted.