Tax Information for Property Owners

Contact the Treasurer's Office, phone (309) 888-5180, for information on the following:

Current Taxes
Taxes you paid on time in the past
Due date for the next installment of current taxes
Duplicate bill
Registering as a tax buyer

Contact the Assessor's Office, phone (309) 888-5130, for information on the following

Tax billing address corrections for Real Estate
Who owns a particular property?
Parcel/index/PIN number of a property
Senior Freeze or other Exemption

Sold Taxes (delinquent/back taxes) - County Clerk's Office

My taxes were sold. What does that mean?

You did not pay your taxes on time, so a registered tax buyer paid for them at the annual tax sale. Call the County Clerk for the redemption amount, which includes a Clerk's fee and interest owed to the tax buyer on top of the regular tax amount. Additional fees and interest may accrue if your taxes go unpaid.

By state statute, any unpaid taxes plus interest and penalties go to a tax sale (see dates on Treasurer's website). A registered tax buyer bids their fee for paying those taxes. The tax buyer's fee is a bid of a percentage of the amount owing, applied every six months. Bidding starts at 18% and goes down from there, in some cases to 0%; the County Treasurer must accept the lowest bid.

The tax buyer pays the County Treasurer, and fees are added by the Clerk's office. Additional fees can accrue until the property owner or a financial institution redeems them. Upon redemption, the Clerk's office notifies the tax buyer that they no longer have a personal stake in the property. However, if no redemption is made within the time allowed (2-3 years, depending on the type of property and the tax buyer's decision), the tax buyer can petition the Circuit Court for the deed to the property.

The phrase, "your property has been sold for delinquent taxes," is required by state statute, but can be a bit misleading. During the redemption period, you are still the owner of the property. Only your unpaid taxes were sold. It is only after the redemption period expires that the property can change owners.

Redeem your sold taxes at the County Clerk's Office

1) Call (309) 888-5190 for a redemption estimate.

2) Bring cash or certified funds* (cashier's check or money order) in the exact amount to the County Clerk's office. Make cashier's checks or money orders out to "McLean County Clerk." Cash payments: Expect a delay if you do not have exact change. You will receive a certified receipt of your paid taxes.

*Forms of payment: According to state law (35 ILCS 200/21-355) all redemptions must be made in legal money of the United States (cash), by cashier's check, certified check, Post Office money order, or money order issued by a financial institution insured by an Agency or instrumentality of the United States, made payable to the County Clerk. No personal, business, mortgage company or title company checks are allowed.

Redeeming sold taxes by mail: If you send a cashier's check or money order to the McLean County Clerk, please include the parcel (PIN) number of the property and your name, mailing address and contact phone number. We will return your receipt by mail.

I don't have enough money to redeem the entire amount of my sold taxes.

State statute does not allow us to receive partial payment or set up payment plans. Payment must be made in full. You may contact the tax buyer directly. They are under no obligation, but you may ask if they are willing to work out a payment plan. Call (309) 888-5190 or click here for tax buyer contact information.

If I don't redeem my sold taxes, what happens?

The County Clerk's office cannot offer legal advice. If a tax buyer has purchased your sold property taxes, that tax buyer has the option of buying your current year's taxes when and if the second installment becomes delinquent in September. This is called "sub-taxing."

Sub-taxing is where the tax buyer has a chance within six months before the last date to redeem previously sold taxes, to purchase the current year's taxes before September, even on the day the bills are mailed out in May. Subsequent years' taxes are added to the redemption total at 12% annual penalty.

If you redeem the previously sold taxes before the next installment comes due, the tax buyer cannot sub-tax the current taxes.

Keep in mind that if the first installment of your taxes has been sold, a tax buyer may buy your next installment the day after the payment deadline if you miss paying them on time. If the same buyer acquires multiple years of your taxes, not only does the percentage of interest increase, but after 2 or 3 years, the tax buyer could petition for the deed to your property and court fees would be added to your total. You could lose your property.

Resources

Illinois Compiled Statutes relating to Property Tax: