Cook County property tax bills available online, with payments due April 1

The first installment of Cook County property tax bills for 2025 are due April 1, though property owners can now pay online, county officials announced Friday.

The county said it will mail nearly 1.8 million bills by March 2.

The payment deadline is about a month later than usual. County officials had asked lawmakers for an extension, following a several-month delay of second installment bills for 2024, to give property owners “some breathing room,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said in a joint news release Wednesday.

The Sun-Times reported in November that the delay was caused by a “critical overhaul” of the county’s property tax computer system.

Preckwinkle and Pappas — who are both up for reelection this year — said in the news release that their offices “remain in close coordination to continue improving the system, with staff in regular communication throughout the day to keep the process moving forward.”

Payments can be made online at cookcountytreasurer.com. The first installment is 55% of a property owner’s total tax bill from the previous year, with exemptions applied to second installments due later this year.

While the treasurer’s office accepts partial payments, failing to pay in full on time will result in a 0.75% late charge per month.

The county will distribute money collected through the first property tax bill cycle to local government agencies within 30 days of receipt of the funds, county officials said.

Cook County properties are reassessed on a triennial basis, meaning that one-third of the county is reassessed each year. New property values are not reflected until the second installment of annual property tax bills the year after the reassessment.