Chambana Sun

Vermilion County has retained a final property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000, as announced by David Harris, director of the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR). The property assessment equalization factor, commonly referred to as the "multiplier," is employed to standardize property assessments across counties, a requirement mandated by law. This harmonization is crucial, especially considering that Illinois has around 6,600 local taxing districts, some of which extend into multiple counties, including school districts, junior college districts, and fire protection districts. Without such equalization, there could be significant tax inequities among taxpayers with comparable properties.

Legislation passed in 1975 mandates that property in Illinois be assessed at one-third of its market value. However, farm properties are assessed differently. Farm homesites and dwellings abide by the regular assessing and equalization methods, while farmland is valued at one-third of its agricultural economic value, excluding it from the state equalization factor.

In Vermilion County, current assessments are at 33.37% of market value, considering property sales from 2021, 2022, and 2023. The equalization factor assigned is applicable for 2024 taxes, due in 2025. The equalization factor for the previous year was also 1.0000.

This final assessment equalization factor follows a public hearing concerning the tentative factor, which, as of October 31, 2024, was also set at 1.0000. IDOR determines the equalization factor annually for each county by comparing the sales prices of individual properties over the last three years to the assessed values from the county supervisor of assessments or county assessor.

According to the established criteria, if the three-year average assessment level equals one-third of market value, the equalization factor is set at one (1). Should the average assessment level exceed one-third of market value, the factor drops below one (1). Conversely, if the average assessment is below one-third of market value, the factor will exceed one (1).

Changes in the equalization factor don't imply a rise or reduction in total property tax bills. Local taxing bodies determine tax bills based on their annual monetary requirements to provide services. As long as the requested funds from local districts do not surpass previous amounts, overall property taxes shouldn't increase, even if assessments do.

The assessed value of a property determines its share in the total tax liability, with individual taxpayer responsibility remaining unaffected by the multiplier.