Property owners urged to pay late taxes to avoid Annual Tax Sale that begins Tuesday as 20,888 owe less than $1,000

Cook County property owners are running out of time to pay taxes that were due in 2022 and avoid the Annual Tax Sale that begins Tuesday, Jan. 9.

To find out if your property is on the Annual Tax Sale list:

• Go to cookcountytreasurer. com

• Use the purple box on the home page labeled “Your Property Tax Overview” and search using an address or Property Index Number (PIN)

• A banner with an urgent warning will appear if your property is on the Annual Tax Sale list.

You may also use the website to correct your mailing address. Each year the U.S. Postal Service returns thousands of certified notices sent to owners of properties on the Annual Tax Sale list because property owners have not kept their mailing addresses up to date.

The Annual Tax Sale will occur Jan. 9-12 for properties with unpaid 2021 property taxes due in 2022. Delinquent tax bills will be re-offered for sale on Jan. 16. The Annual Tax Sale occurs 13 months after the due date.

Owners of 47,216 properties owe more than $211 million in taxes that were due in 2022. More histhan 26,000 owe more than $1,000 while 20,888 owe less than $1,000, including owners of 14,738 properties in Chicago and 6,150 parcels in suburban Cook County.

The Treasurer’s Office mailed certified notices alerting property owners their unpaid taxes are to be offered for sale, which would put a lien against their properties. It is the first step in a process that can end with a property owner losing their home, business or land. Besides the mailings, the Treasurer’s Office published lists of properties with delinquencies tax lists in local newspapers.