I believe that local churches, synagogues, temples and mosques are the backbone of neighborhoods in Cook County. One way that government has tried to protect religious institutions is by offering them property tax exempt status, thereby saving them thousands of dollars that can be better invested into the community. To help this process, government relies on the assistance of religious and community leaders to communicate important information relative to the property in order to maintain a property’s tax exempt status.

In the past some churches have found themselves on the tax roles because they did not file the annual affidavit for their exempt status. In an effort to help churches and religious institutions to maintain their exempt status, our office established the S.T.E.P. (Streamlining Tax Exempt Process) Task Force, made up of religious leaders, elected officials, and other community leaders. Together, we reviewed the current exempt filing policy and procedures and made recommendations for change.

With the leadership of State Rep. Daniel Burke and State Sen. Emil Jones and the Assessor’s S.T.E.P. Task force a new state law is in affect that eliminates the burden of filing an annual affidavit with the Cook County Assessor’s Office.

Keep in mind that you may still be required to file with other government agencies to obtain various tax exempt status including sales tax (Illinois Department of Revenue) and the Exemption Charter (Secretary of State). This brochure summarizes the Property Tax Exempt process and gives helpful information on where to go to apply for other types of tax exemption.

If after reading this brochure you have any questions regarding this issue, please call our Church Exemption Hotline at 312-603-5499.

Sincerely,

James M. Houlihan

Cook County Assessor