Delinquency notices have been sent to owners of 136,104 homes and other property who still owe a total of $449,579,199 in unpaid taxes on bills issued this year, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said today.

If the bills remain unpaid, state law requires that they be offered at the Annual Tax Sale in the first week of April of 2017 – with 1.5 percent interest added for each month of delinquency, Pappas said.

In the event their unpaid taxes are sold, taxpayers must repay the entire delinquent balance in full, plus additional fees and interest, or possibly lose title to their property, the Treasurer warned.

Twice yearly, the Treasurer’s Office mails about 1.8 million bills for an annual total of about $13 billion, then distributes the collected property taxes to local taxing districts. These notices are for Tax Year 2015, which originally was billed in two installments, due March 1 and August 1 of 2016, respectively.

Pappas said delinquent property owners can use credit cards or debits from their bank accounts to cover unpaid bills by visiting cookcountytreasurer.com and clicking on “Make an Online Payment.”

Payment also can be made at any Chase Bank location; at some community banks; by mail; or at the Treasurer’s Office at 118 N. Clark St., Chicago, Room #112.