Cook County Treasurer's Office - 8/25/2011
On August 23, 2011, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 1386 into law as Public Act 097-0521 (PA 97-0521), amending the Property Tax Code’s provision concerning property tax refunds for erroneous assessments and overpayments. Prior to said amendment, claims for property tax refunds were limited to those filed within 5 years of the date the right to a refund arose. PA 97-0521 provides that, from September 1, 2011 through September 1, 2012, claims may be filed for refunds the right to which arose more than 5 years prior to the date the claim is filed but not earlier than January 1, 2000. PA 97-0521 further provides that the Cook County Treasurer shall not accept any such newly-permitted refund claims before September 1, 2011; shall accept such claims by mail or in person; shall pay any refunds issued pursuant to Public Act 097-0521 in the order in which such claims are received; and shall issue no refund pursuant to Public Act 097-0521 if such refund would cause the aggregate total of taxes and interest refunded pursuant to Public Act 097-0521 to exceed $350,000.
The Cook County Treasurer’s Office will implement the following procedures with respect to property tax refund claims filed pursuant to PA 97-0521:
| 1) |
Beginning at 9:00 am on September 1, 2011, this Office will accept claims delivered in person to the Customer Service counter located at 118 North Clark Street, Room 112. All claims delivered in person will be stamped as received on the date they are delivered. |
| 2) |
Claims delivered by mail will be deemed to be received on the date the mailing is postmarked. Please note that claims postmarked prior to September 1, 2011 will not be accepted. |
| 3) |
Claims will be identified by applicant name, Property Index Number, tax year, and tax installment. Duplicative claims submitted by or on behalf of the same taxpayer will be treated as a single claim. |
| 4) |
This Office will conduct a random lottery amongst all claims that are received in person on September 1, 2011 or postmarked on September 1, 2011. Claims will be evaluated in the randomized order determined by the lottery. Refunds will be paid on claims for which the applicant is determined to be the proper claimant until the aggregate total of taxes and interest refunded pursuant to PA 97-0521 equals $350,000. |
| 5) |
In the event that the aggregate total of taxes and interest refunded with respect to claims received on September 1, 2011 is less than $350,000, a separate such lottery will be conducted for all claims received on each subsequent calendar day until the aggregate total of taxes and interest refunded pursuant to PA 97-0521 equals $350,000 or the September 1, 2012 statutory deadline passes, whichever occurs first. |
Public Act 097-0521 can be read
here. Instructions on submitting a refund claim can be read
here.