If you’re a Cook County homeowner who spends winters in Florida, Arizona or other climate warmer than Chicago, you don’t have to worry about rushing back to town to pay your taxes by the traditional early March due date.

My office lets “snowbirds” and anyone else prepay taxes due the following year before the end of the current calendar year. Taxpayers can register and receive a tax bill in the mail in early December. The deadline to prepay taxes every year is Dec. 31.

To obtain a printed copy of a prepayment bill, send a written request by early December that includes your mailing address and 14-digit Property Index Number (PIN). Requests by mail should be sent to:

Cook County Treasurer
Attention: Prepayments
118 N. Clark St., Room 112
Chicago, IL 60602

There are four ways to pay early:

• Online at cookcountytreasurer.com from your bank account or a credit card
• By mail using an original early payment tax bill or a PDF of a tax bill downloaded from cookcountytreasurer.com and mailed to Cook County Treasurer, P.O. Box 805436, Chicago IL 60680-4155
• At any Chase Bank location in Illinois
• In person at the Treasurer’s Office in Room 112 of the County Building, 118 N. Clark St., Chicago

If you prepay your taxes by check, you must write your Property Index Number (PIN) near the amount due. You can find your PIN at the top of your most recent tax bill or look it up using your address at cookcountytreasurer.com.

The First Installment is an estimated bill equal to 55% of the prior year’s total tax. The due date is usually the first business day in March.

Second Installment tax bills vary. It’s impossible to estimate what the Second Installment bill will be, which is why you can only prepay First Installment bills. My office can accept prepayments for First Installment taxes only if the prior year’s taxes have been paid in full.

If you have a mortgage and your property taxes are paid from an escrow account, contact your lender prior to attempting to pay early to avoid making a double payment. If your early payment is received by Dec. 31, the First Installment tax bill that will be mailed in late January will reflect that payment.