Where do property taxes come from, and where do they go?

That’s the $1.28 billion question.

Where Property Tax Money Comes From

As you can see by the chart above, most of the $1.28 billion collected in property taxes this year will come from homeowners.

The trend, at least in the past three years, is that the residential slice of the property-tax pie is going up. It was about 74.6 percent of 2014 taxes paid in 2015, 74.7 percent of 2015 property taxes paid in 2016 and climbed to 75 percent this year — the 2016 taxes payable in 2017.

As the residential portion of the tax burden has increased during the past three years, the commercial portion is shrinking. The slice of the pie for commercial property shurnk from 14.6 percent in 2014 (payable 2015) to 14.4 percent in 2015 (payable 2016) to 14.2 percent in 2016 (payable 2017.)

Industry is paying about the same this year as last — about 8.8 percent of that $1.28 billion. Two years ago, it was at 8.6 percent.

Farmland’s contribution to the property-tax payment pie is going down slightly, as well. From 2.0 percent in 2014 to 1.9 percent in 2015 to 1.8 percent in 2016.

Bottom line? The taxpayers with the broadest shoulders are the homeowners in Kane County, IL.

Where the Property Tax Money Goes

Again, the chart tells the story.

Schools are the big recipients of property taxes, and the “schools” slice of the pie is a little larger than last year. In 2015 (payable 2016), schools got 68.5 percent. The previous year, they received 69.1 percent of total property taxes paid in Kane County, according to the Treasurer’s Office.

Here are some other comparisons and trends:

• Cities (up): 10.4 percent this year, 10.2 percent last year, 9.8 percent previous year,
• Forest Preserves and Parks (down): 6.2 percent this year, 6.7 percent last year, 6.8 percent previous year.
• County (same): 4.3 percent this year, 4.3 percent last year, 4.3 percent previous year.
• Libraries (up): 3.2 percent this year, 3.1 percent last year, 3.1 percent previous year.
• Townships (same): 2.6 percent this year, 2.6 percent last year, 2.5 percent previous year.
• Tax Increment Financing Districts or Other (same): 1.6 percent this year, 1.6 percent last year, 1.5 percent previous year.

Click here to see last year’s story: Where Does Property Tax Money Go? Where Does It Come From?

Questions? Here’s Where to Look for More Info