• Editor’s Note: This is the sixth of a series of articles sharing information from the Frequently Asked Questions about the 2014 (payable 2015) Kane County Property Tax Bills document published online through the coordinated efforts of Kane County Supervisor of Assessments Mark Armstrong, Kane County Clerk John A. Cunningham and Kane County Treasurer David Rickert.

This property tax FAQ series has been well-read, to say the least. Basically, all we’ve done is to copy and paste various parts of the annual Frequently Asked Questions about the 2014 (payable 2015) Kane County Property Tax Bills document into separate articles, which have turned out to be the top most-read articles of the past two weeks.

You can find more useful information in the Property Tax Quick Guide on the supervisor of assessments web pages, and a lot of valuable information on the Kane County Treasurer’s Office and the Kane County Clerk’s Office web pages.

Q: How is my property’s assessment determined?

A: For most non-farm property, the Township Assessor estimates the fair cash value and then develops an assessed value based on 33.33 percent of that fair cash value of the property as of Jan. 1 of the assessment year, based on the three prior years of sales.

The Supervisor of Assessments then equalizes all assessments to provide for uniform valuations in the county.

Information about farm assessments can be obtained from the County Assessment Office.

Q: Does Kane County decide how much in property tax that the local governments (such as schools and municipalities) in my area can levy?

A: No; each local government makes this decision independently. Kane County has no authority to issue any property tax levy but its own.

Q: Did Kane County hold its property tax levy flat as compared to last year?

A: Yes. The 2013 extended levy for Kane County government was $53,890,709.29; in 2014, it was $53,891,091.84

Q: How does the Tax Cap law apply to Kane County?

A: Kane County is under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law which places a limitation on the total amount of property tax that can be levied by most local governments.

Generally, the law limits the increase of a local government’s tax levy by 5 percent or the rate or inflation (whichever is less) over the highest levy of the prior three years. This law provides that a local government’s property tax levy is independent of property values, and property taxes can rise or fall regardless of what happens to property values.

Also, it does not apply to:

• Increases due to newly constructed property;
• Bonded indebtedness of a local government;
• The Home Rule Communities of Aurora, Algonquin, Barrington Hills, Bartlett, Batavia, Carpentersville, East Dundee, Elgin, Hoffman Estates, St. Charles, and West Dundee; and
• Increases approved by the voters through referenda.

SOURCE: Frequently Asked Questions about the 2014 (payable 2015) Kane County Property Tax Bills

For More Information

• For questions about exemptions or appeals, call the County Assessment Office at 630-208-3818 or visit KaneCountyAssessments.org.
• For questions about how tax rates are developed, call the Kane County Clerk at (630) 232-5964 or visit KaneCountyClerk.org.
• For questions about tax bills or payments, call the Kane County Treasurer at (630) 232-3565 or visit KaneCountyTreasurer.org.
• FAQ page on the Kane County Clerk’s Office website

Related Stories

• Your Tax Bills Are Coming!
• Relevant Tax Statistics
• Top 10 Kane County Taxpayers
• Estimate of Average Property Tax Bill by Township
• Where Your Property Tax Money Goes, Where It Comes From

Tax Bill FAQ Series

• First in Series: Did My School District Hold Its Levy Flat?
• Second in Series: My Assessed Value Declined; Why Did My Tax Bill Go Up?
• Third in Series: What Will Happen If I Don’t Pay My Property Taxes?
• Fouth in Series: Which Cities/Villages Held Levies Flat? Which Didn’t?
• Fifth in Series: Is It Too Late to File an Assessment Complaint?
• Today: ‘How Is My Property’s Assessment Determined?’ Plus 3 Final FAQs

 SOURCE: Frequently Asked Questions about the 2014 (payable 2015) Kane County Property Tax Bills