Despite Pandemic, County Tax Cycle Continues

Payment dates for Federal and State Income Tax Deadlines have been pushed back to July 15 by the coronavirus pandemic. Effingham County is monitoring its property tax process as needed.

Effingham County Supervisor of Assessments Pam Braun said property owners can file their Homestead Exemptions by mail to adhere to the Illinois stay at home order. The Assessor’s Office is open in the Effingham County Building like other government offices, but there is no reason for taxpayers or her staff to face the risk of infection during the COVID-19 crisis.

“Those exemptions should be mailed to us or people can wait until the shelter in place order is lifted which includes the Senior Homestead Filings. Our suggested deadline is June 1 for applications and renewals, but we will accept them all year because of these circumstances. We want all to stay healthy” Braun also stated, “The taxing process is on schedule with the deadline now expired for Board of Review appeals on property tax bills payable later this year.”

“We are still in the Board of Review stage and we have struggled some with social distancing, but the cycle is still on track,” Braun said. “Right now, we are about on the same timeframe as we were last year.”

When the Board of Review is finished the tax assessment data will be forwarded to the Illinois Department of Revenue to calculate the tax multiplier for Effingham County. The multiplier has been a 1.0000 for Effingham County for many years, meaning the property assessments adhere to the state standards on equalized property assessment.

The Supervisor of Assessments Office can be reached at (217) 342-6711.

County Treasurer Paula Miller and her staff will get very busy with property taxes in the coming months as they prepare the tax billings for all categories of properties in the county. There are property owners that get a jump on paying their property taxes through monthly installments. This year, 400 properties signed up for the prepayment option paying either through automatic bank withdrawal or payment coupons each month.

“Under the circumstances, I understand the uncertainty to pay future bills, therefore if you are not currently signed up for the prepayment program, but wish to make a partial payment(s) in advance of future due dates, we will work with you,” Miller said. The Treasurer’s Office can be reached at (217) 342-6844.

(This article was written by Effingham County Public Information Officer Herb Meeker. Contact him at hmeeker@co.effingham.il.us or (217)273-2461.)