Will County final 2024 property assessment multiplier set

Will County has been issued a final property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.

The property assessment equalization factor, commonly called the “multiplier,” is the method used to achieve uniform property assessments among counties, as required by law.

“This equalization is important because some of the state’s 6,600 local taxing districts overlap into two or more counties (e.g., school districts, junior college districts, fire protection districts),” the Department of Revenue said in a news release. “If there was no equalization among counties, substantial inequities among taxpayers with comparable properties would result.”

How property value is assessed

Under a law passed in 1975, property in Illinois should be assessed at one-third of its market value.

Farm property is assessed differently, with farm homesites and dwellings subject to regular assessing and equalization procedures, according to the IDOR.

Farmland is assessed at one-third of its agriculture economic value and not subject to the state equalization factor. Assessments in Will County are at 33.47% of market value, based on sales of properties in 2021, 2022 and 2023, according to the IDOR.

The equalization factor currently being assigned is for 2024 taxes, payable in 2025. Last year’s equalization factor for the county was 1.0000.

The final assessment equalization factor is issued after a public hearing, and the tentative factor issued Nov. 21, 2024, was 1.0000, according to the IDOR.

The equalization factor is determined annually for each county by comparing the price of individual properties sold over the past three years with the assessed value placed on those properties by the county supervisor of assessments/county assessor, according to the IDOR.

The equalization factor is determined by the following, according to the IDOR:

• If the three-year average level of assessment is one-third of the market value, the equalization factor will be one (1).

• If the average level of assessment is greater than one-third of market value, the equalization factor will be less than one (1).

• If the average level of assessment is less than one-third of market value, the equalization factor will be greater than one (1).

Assessed value in relation to taxes

A change in the equalization factor does not mean total property tax bills will increase or decrease.

Tax bills are determined by local taxing bodies when they request money each year to provide services to local residents.

The assessed value of an individual property determines what portion of the tax burden a specific taxpayer will assume. That individual’s portion of tax responsibility is not changed by the multiplier, according to the IDOR.