Will County delays due dates for 2021 property taxes

The Will County Board approved a delay of due dates for property taxes in hopes of helping out residents during economically difficult times.

The board took similar action last year as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down large parts of the economy and many lost jobs.

Essentially the change means property tax payers will be able to split up their payments over four installments as opposed to just two. Typically payments are due in two installments and a taxpayer is penalized if they pay late.

Will County Treasurer Tim Brophy suggested the board establish June 3, Aug. 3, Sept. 3 and Nov. 3 as the due dates for 2021.

Brophy said he wanted the board to make the change early this year because his office needs to send out about 275,000 different bills in the county. The county also couldn’t take action to lower the bill amounts because the county is merely the collector of money for dozens of other taxing bodies.

He said even with the economic downturn, his office received more than 98% of the money due by the first installment last year, which he called “remarkable.”

This year, Brophy expects more taxpayers to take advantage of the delayed deadlines, which means taxing bodies in Will County will receive their money on a somewhat different timeline than previous years.

The early start this year could also benefit the county, which saw a few hundred delinquent notices not be mailed to taxpayers in time late last year. Brophy said he hopes that issue was just a “fluke” with the U.S. Post Office.