When an Illinois transfer agreement is made, the seller must disclose in writing to the buyer and to the lender every insurance claim paid to that seller for mine subsidence on the property. If the contract is in writing, 765 ILCS 95/3 says the disclosure is part of the agreement.

The Illinois Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund will not give you the prior owner's claim file. Privacy rules block that. The residential property disclosure report is a second statute, 765 ILCS 77. A paid-claim list under the Mine Subsidence Disclosure Act is not the same sheet, and a missing claim list is not cured by a "no" on an unrelated line.

What counts as mine subsidence?

Section 2 of the Act defines mine subsidence as lateral or vertical ground movement that directly damages a structure because a man-made underground mine collapsed. The mines include coal, clay, limestone, and fluorspar. Movement from an earthquake, a landslide, a volcanic eruption, soil conditions, erosion, freezing and thawing, poorly compacted fill, construction defects, tree roots, or a collapsed storm sewer, sanitary sewer, or rapid-transit tunnel is not mine subsidence under this Act. A crack from a bad footer is a disclosure question under the residential report if the seller knows about it. It is not automatically a mine-subsidence claim.

A transfer, for this Act, is a conveyance of an interest in the real property. The disclosure duty hits at the time the agreement to transfer is made, and it runs to the transferee and the lender. A cash sale with no lender still has a buyer who must receive it.

Why the old claim does not refill after closing?

The Fund explains the insurance limit in plain numbers. The amount that can be paid for one mine-subsidence event, or for several events that are continuous, is the coverage that was in force when the damage first became reasonably observable. Payments already made to the original owner, or to any later owner, are subtracted. If you buy a house with unrepaired mine-subsidence damage and the seller has already been paid, the cost of those repairs is yours. The honest version of that deal is a lower price, with the difference kept for the work.

A seller who says you can "get more insurance money after you buy" is describing whatever is left under the old limit, not a new policy limit that starts at closing. Insurers may refuse mine-subsidence coverage on a house that is still unrepaired. After movement stops, the Fund says to finish the repairs and put the coverage back. See how the endorsement and the reinsurance limit work.

How do you look up the ground?

The Illinois State Geological Survey keeps the state's large set of mine maps. Its coal-mine locator is the public tool for whether a house sits near an underground coal mine or an underground industrial mine. The Fund points questions about reading those maps to the Survey at 217-333-3222. Some county clerks or assessors have records of mine-subsidence damage on a parcel. The Fund will not. On a foreclosure sold as-is, with no disclosures, the Fund says the lender may have the name of the prior insurer, and that insurer may talk to the lender. The Fund still will not open the file for the public.

The residential disclosure report is still due before the contract when section 15 of that Act does not exempt the seller. A late report that discloses a material defect starts five business days. See those five business days. Ask for the mine-subsidence claim disclosure in the same packet.

What else should a buyer read?

The assessment and the homestead exemption do not tell you whether a mine is under the house. See the general homestead exemption if you are comparing the tax bill with the price. An appeal of the assessed value goes to the board of review and then, within 30 days, to the Property Tax Appeal Board. See that 30-day petition. None of those offices maps the mine.

What do I ask for in the offer?

Ask the seller to attach the 765 ILCS 95 disclosure to the contract, listing each paid claim and the amount, or to write that no claim was paid to them. Ask whether any damage is still unrepaired. The Fund's point is that unrepaired damage from an event already paid does not create a new full limit for the buyer. If the seller cannot find the amount, the lender on a foreclosure may be the one who can ask the prior insurer. Build a repair number into the price instead of a promise of future insurance money. Look at the Survey mine locator for the address even when the seller reports no claim. A map that shows a mine and a disclosure that shows no paid claim can both be true.

FAQ

Who must receive the claim disclosure? The buyer and the lender, in writing, at the time of the transfer agreement. If the contract is written, the disclosure is part of it.

Can I get the Fund's file on the house? No. The Fund says privacy rules prohibit disclosing claim information to the public.

Does a paid claim mean the next owner gets a fresh $750,000? No. Payments already made on that event come off the coverage that was in force when the damage was first reasonably observable.

Is a sewer collapse mine subsidence? Not under 765 ILCS 95/2. The Act excludes collapsed storm and sanitary sewers, along with soil problems, frost, and tree roots.

Where are the mine maps? The Illinois State Geological Survey. Map-reading questions go to 217-333-3222.

Next step

Before you waive inspection, ask the seller for the written list of paid mine-subsidence claims and look up the address on the Survey's mine locator. Price unrepaired damage into the offer. The Fund will not email you the prior claim.

Sources: 765 ILCS 95, Mine Subsidence Disclosure Act, Illinois Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund: consumer FAQ.

The Illinois low-income senior citizens assessment freeze holds the equalized assessed value of a qualifying home. It does not freeze the tax rate or the tax bill. The Department of Revenue says the bill can still rise if rates rise or if you add an improvement that increases value.

For taxable year 2026, taxes payable in 2027, household income must be $75,000 or less. You file Form PTAX-340 every year with the chief county assessment officer. You also have to be at least 65 during the taxable year and occupy the home. The general homestead exemption is a different reduction and does not require this form.

What income limit applies?

The Department of Revenue lists the maximum household income as $75,000 for taxable year 2026, payable in 2027; $77,000 for taxable year 2027, payable in 2028; and $79,000 for taxable year 2028, payable in 2029, and after. Household income is the combined income of the household for the calendar year before the taxable year. The statute's household is the applicant, the applicant's spouse, and everyone who uses the home as a principal residence. Beginning with assessment year 2001, income for this section does not include veterans' benefits.

Some needs-based programs can stand in for the income proof. The statute says a homeowner enrolled in Aid to the Aged, Blind or Persons with Disabilities, SNAP, LIHEAP, the Benefit Access program, or the Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program may be presumed to meet the income limit. The assessment officer can note that eligibility was verified and is not supposed to report which program. That information is treated as private under the Freedom of Information Act.

What gets frozen?

The Department of Revenue says the exemption freezes the equalized assessed value in the year you first qualify, and that value does not increase while you keep qualifying. The benefit each year is built from the current equalized assessed value minus that base-year value, and from the income limit. Inflationary growth in the assessment is what the freeze is aimed at. A new room, a new garage, or a higher tax rate is outside that sentence. The department says the bill may still increase for those reasons.

The base year is not something you pick off a list of low years except as the statute itself directs the assessment officer. Read the county's instructions for Form PTAX-340. Do not subtract $75,000 from the tax bill. That figure is income, not a credit.

How do you apply?

File Form PTAX-340, the Low-income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption Application and Affidavit, with the chief county assessment officer. The department says applicants file each year. Age, ownership, and residency are part of the qualifications the department summarizes as "certain other qualifications" on top of the income test. Counties tell applicants to establish age, ownership, and occupancy, including living there on January 1, and to be the person liable for the taxes. Use your county's form instructions. A statewide webpage does not know your township's deadline.

The general homestead exemption under 35 ILCS 200/15-175 can apply to the same house. Its caps are $10,000, $8,000, or $6,000 of equalized assessed value depending on the county, and in smaller counties it is automatic. See the general homestead exemption. The freeze is the extra step that stops the base from climbing.

What if the assessment itself is wrong?

A freeze of a value you think is too high still starts from the assessment on the books. The appeal path is the county board of review, then 30 days to the Property Tax Appeal Board. PTAB will not grant an exemption. See how the 30-day PTAB petition works. The seller disclosure report does not file PTAX-340 for you. See the disclosure deadline.

What income year do I use?

The statute defines household income as the combined income of the household for the calendar year before the taxable year. For taxable year 2026, payable in 2027, that means 2025 income, and the Department of Revenue's cap for that year is $75,000. A spouse counts even under the household definition the statute uses, and so does anyone who uses the home as a principal residence. Veterans' benefits are left out of income for this section beginning with assessment year 2001. If you are documenting income with a program enrollment instead of a tax return, the assessment officer verifies eligibility and is not supposed to record which program. Bring what the county's PTAX-340 instructions ask for, not a stack of medical records.

FAQ

Does the freeze lock my tax bill? No. The Department of Revenue says it freezes equalized assessed value. Rates and new improvements can still raise the bill.

What is the income cap for the 2026 tax year? $75,000 in household income, for taxes payable in 2027. The cap rises to $77,000 and then $79,000 in the following two taxable years.

Do I file once and forget it? No. The department says you file Form PTAX-340 each year with the chief county assessment officer.

How old do I have to be? At least 65 during the taxable year, and you must meet the occupancy and ownership rules the county applies with that age test.

Is veterans' benefit money counted as income? The statute says that beginning in assessment year 2001, income for this exemption does not include veterans' benefits.

Next step

Ask the chief county assessment officer for Form PTAX-340 and the date your county wants it. Add up household income for the prior calendar year before you sign the affidavit. If the value on the notice looks wrong even after a freeze, file with the board of review on that office's calendar, not on the exemption form.

Sources: Illinois Department of Revenue: property tax exemptions, 35 ILCS 200/15-172.

The Illinois general homestead exemption lowers the equalized assessed value of a home you occupy as your principal dwelling. For taxable years 2023 and after, 35 ILCS 200/15-175 caps that reduction at $10,000 in a county of 3,000,000 or more people, which is Cook County, $8,000 in a county that touches Cook County, and $6,000 in every other county.

The reduction is the increase in this year's equalized assessed value over the 1977 equalized assessed value, up to that cap. It is not a check for $10,000 off the tax bill. In counties under 3,000,000 people, the statute says the owner receives the exemption automatically when this year's value is above the 1977 value.

Who qualifies?

The Department of Revenue describes the exemption for residential property occupied by the owner as the principal dwelling, and for a leasehold with a single-family residence where the person has an ownership interest and is the one liable for the taxes. The statute is 35 ILCS 200/15-175. A second house you do not live in does not fit that sentence. The amount is an annual reduction in equalized assessed value, limited as the statute sets out, with separate rules for cooperatives and life-care facilities.

If the 1977 value that taxes were paid on is later found to have been too high, by the local officials, the Property Tax Appeal Board, or a court, the value that should have been used for 1977 is the one in the comparison. The exemption is the growth since that base, not a flat slice of whatever the house is worth today.

Why do the caps differ by county?

Section 15-175(b) walks the cap up by year. From 2017 through 2022 the maximum was $10,000 in a county of 3,000,000 or more and $6,000 elsewhere. For 2023 and after, the collar counties, the ones contiguous to that large county, move to $8,000. Cook stays at $10,000. The rest of Illinois stays at $6,000. The Department of Revenue's exemption page states the same three numbers: $10,000 in Cook, $8,000 in counties contiguous to Cook, and $6,000 in all other counties.

If a county had elected the alternate homestead in section 15-176 and that election ends, the statute adds a one-year extra $5,000 for owners with household income of $30,000 or less who did not get the senior freeze or the long-time occupant exemption. That extra is for the first year after 15-176 stops, not a statewide bonus. Ask the chief county assessment officer whether your county is in that case.

What if you buy during the year?

When a homestead gets a pro-rata value under section 9-180 and the assessed value rises, subsection (d) applies a proportionate exemption for the days the property qualified. The maximum for that partial year is the county's full maximum, divided by 365, times the days it qualified. A closing on July 1 is not a full $8,000 reduction for that assessment year. The bill you see the next year is the one to read.

In Cook County, subsection (d-1) says that if the chief county assessment officer sends a notice of discovery, an owner who is not living there as a principal residence on January 1 must tell the assessment office. Do not ignore that notice. The smaller-county automatic grant does not mean a Cook owner can skip a form the county sent.

What this exemption does not do?

It does not freeze the equalized assessed value. That is the low-income senior citizens assessment freeze, a separate application on Form PTAX-340, with an age and an income test. See the senior assessment freeze. It does not replace an appeal if the underlying value is wrong. See the 30-day appeal to PTAB. The seller disclosure report does not enroll you. See the disclosure report and the five business days.

A reduction in equalized assessed value lowers the base the tax rate hits. If rates rise, or if you add an improvement, the bill can still go up. The Department of Revenue makes that point about the senior freeze. The same math sits under this exemption: a smaller EAV is not a promise that the dollars on the bill never change.

FAQ

Is the exemption $10,000 off my tax bill? No. The caps are reductions in equalized assessed value: $10,000 in Cook, $8,000 in counties next to Cook, and $6,000 elsewhere, and only up to the increase over the 1977 value.

Do I apply every year downstate? In counties with fewer than 3,000,000 people, section 15-175(c) says the owner automatically receives the exemption when the current value is above the 1977 value. Answer a county notice if you get one.

I bought in October. Do I get the full cap? A partial year is prorated by the days the home qualified, using the county maximum divided by 365.

Does this freeze my assessment? No. The freeze is the senior exemption under 35 ILCS 200/15-172, with its own income limit and Form PTAX-340.

Can the Property Tax Appeal Board grant the exemption? PTAB says it has no jurisdiction to exempt property. Exemptions are handled by the county assessment office. PTAB hears the assessment after the board of review.

Next step

Look at the assessment notice for a homestead reduction and compare it with the cap for your county. If the house is your principal home and the reduction is missing, call the chief county assessment officer before you treat the bill as final. A senior who also wants the value frozen files PTAX-340 on top of this exemption.

Sources: Illinois Department of Revenue: property tax exemptions, 35 ILCS 200/15-175.

The Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board decides the assessed value of a property after the county board of review has ruled. You generally have 30 days from the postmark or the personal-service date of the board of review's written decision to file PTAB's form. Miss that window and the Board says it loses jurisdiction.

PTAB will not change your tax rate, your tax bill, or an exemption. The appeal starts at the county. PTAB is the next forum, not the first.

Who can file, and on what form?

PTAB says only a taxpayer or owner who is dissatisfied with the board of review's decision on that owner's assessment, or a taxing body with a revenue interest in the decision, may file. The form depends on the property: residential, commercial, industrial, or farm. Forms come from the Board in Springfield, from boards of review, or from the PTAB website. Each copy needs an original signature of the owner or the attorney. A fax is not accepted.

For assessment years 2016 and after, file one copy of the completed form, one copy of the board of review's final decision (or a favorable earlier PTAB decision), and one copy of all evidence. If the packet is 500 pages or more, file three collated sets. Evidence you intend to use goes with the petition. The Board's practice notes say written evidence is generally not added at the hearing. If you need more time for evidence, the letter asking for an extension has to accompany the petition. The petition itself still has to be inside the 30 days. A granted extension for evidence is 30 days, with longer extensions only for good cause.

An incomplete petition comes back. You have 30 days from that return to fix it. If you do not, the appeal is dismissed. The form has to state the assessor's value, the board of review's value, and the value you say is right.

What arguments does the Board actually hear?

Fair market value has to be proved by a preponderance of the evidence. An appraisal as of the assessment date is the evidence PTAB calls generally the best. A one-page opinion letter is not an appraisal. Recent sales of the property, sales of comparable properties, or recent construction cost can also be used. Outside Cook County, a three-year assessment level certified by the Department of Revenue can matter when the evidence supports market value as of January 1.

Unequal treatment has to be proved by clear and convincing evidence. A few lower assessments nearby are not enough. For a house, PTAB usually wants comparables in the same neighborhood or subdivision, with physical and location similarities, not only a price per square foot.

A township multiplier appeal has to show a lack of uniformity or that the equalized value is over market. PTAB reads the statute to allow an appeal of a positive factor that increased the assessment. A factor below 1.0 added nothing, so there is no increase to remove. If nobody complained to the board of review and the only issue is the factor, the reduction cannot exceed what the factor added.

What will PTAB not decide?

The Board's own description is narrow. It determines the correct assessment. Local officials set the tax rate and the bill, and those are not appealed to PTAB. The Board has no jurisdiction to exempt property. A homestead exemption or a senior freeze is a county filing, not a PTAB petition. See the general homestead exemption and the senior assessment freeze.

Cook County has extra paperwork. PTAB asks for the Cook board of review final decision, and the original decision even if you also have a re-review. After certification, it wants the township close date from the Cook board's site. Vacancy alone is not a winning residential or commercial theory at a hearing.

What happens after the decision?

You have 35 days from the decision date to file for administrative review in the circuit court or the appellate court, depending on the change you requested. A calculation mistake can be corrected with an amended decision inside that same 35 days. If PTAB lowers the assessment of an owner-occupied house after the board of review has stopped taking complaints for the next year, you can ask PTAB to carry the reduction for the rest of the general assessment period. That request has its own 30-day window and has to say the house is owner-occupied. Commercial and industrial property does not get that automatic carry-forward. The statute is silent there.

The seller disclosure is a different deadline. See five business days on a late disclosure.

FAQ

Can I skip the board of review and go straight to PTAB? No. PTAB considers appeals after the board of review's decision. The 30 days run from that written notice.

Can PTAB lower my tax rate? No. It decides assessed value. The rate and the bill are local.

Can I fax the form? No. PTAB says faxed forms are not accepted. File the prescribed form with an original signature.

What if my evidence is not ready on day 30? File the petition on time and include a written request for an extension. Without that letter, later evidence is not accepted.

How long do I have to go to court after PTAB rules? 35 days from the decision date for administrative review.

Next step

When the board of review letter arrives, write the postmark date on the envelope and count 30 days. Download the residential form, attach the decision and the evidence you have, and sign it. An exemption question belongs at the county assessment office, not on this petition.

Sources: Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board: the Board, PTAB: practice and procedures, 35 ILCS 200/16-160 and 16-185.

An Illinois seller of residential real property must complete the disclosure report and deliver it to the buyer before the contract is signed. That duty is 765 ILCS 77/20. If the seller instead delivers it after both sides have signed, and the report discloses a material defect, the buyer has five business days after receipt to terminate.

Section 40 says the earnest money and down payments come back, without liability to the seller. The five business days are the remedy for a late report that reveals a defect. They are not a general option period printed on every contract.

Which sales need the report?

Section 10 applies the Act to a sale, exchange, installment land contract, assignment of a beneficial interest, lease with an option to buy, ground lease, or assignment of a ground lease of residential real property. Section 15 then lists sellers who do not have to give the report. Those transfers include a court order, such as a probate order, a divorce judgment, eminent domain, or a bankruptcy trustee. They include a deed in lieu of foreclosure and a judicial deed from a foreclosure sale. They include a fiduciary administering an estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust, including an Illinois land trust. They include a transfer from one co-owner to another, a transfer from a decedent by will or intestacy or a transfer-on-death instrument, and a transfer to a spouse or to a person in the seller's direct line.

A relocation company that took title to help the seller move is exempt only if it gives every buyer the report the seller gave the company. Transfers to or from a government body are exempt. Newly built residential property that has never been occupied is exempt. Rehab of an existing home is not that exemption.

What does the five-business-day clock cover?

Section 40(a) applies when the report arrives after the contract is signed, which section 20 says is a violation, and the report discloses a material defect. A "yes" answer counts, except items 1 and 2 on the form. The buyer then has five business days after receipt to terminate. Termination is written notice delivered to at least one seller by a method in section 50, using the contact on the contract or the one the seller gave. The right ends at conveyance. Closing is too late.

A supplement is different. The buyer does not get a fresh right to walk away unless the defect was something the seller actually knew when the earlier report was signed, or the defect cannot be repaired before closing, or it can be repaired and the seller does not agree in writing within five business days to repair it. Section 40 says none of this cuts off other remedies in the contract or in section 55.

What is the seller actually promising?

Section 25 says the seller discloses material defects the seller actually knows. The seller does not have to investigate. The seller is not liable for an error if the seller did not know it, or reasonably believed a defect had been corrected, or relied on a public agency or a licensed engineer, surveyor, pest operator, or a contractor working in that trade, and did not know the information was wrong.

Mine-subsidence claims have a second statute. At the time of a transfer agreement, 765 ILCS 95/3 says the transferor discloses in writing, to the buyer and the lender, all insurance claims paid to the transferor for mine subsidence. If the contract is in writing, that disclosure is part of the agreement. See the mine-subsidence claim disclosure. The insurance endorsement is a different paper. See mine-subsidence coverage.

How does this sit next to the tax bill?

The disclosure report does not set the assessed value. A buyer who thinks the assessment is wrong appeals to the board of review and, after that decision, may have 30 days to reach the Property Tax Appeal Board. See the PTAB deadline. The general homestead exemption and the senior freeze are applications at the county, not lines on the disclosure form. See the general homestead exemption and the senior assessment freeze.

What should the buyer write on the calendar?

Write the date and time the report was received, and the method. Five business days exclude Saturday and Sunday. Count from receipt, not from the day the contract was signed, when the report was late. If the report was on time, before signing, section 40(a)'s termination right for a late defective report does not open. A supplement delivered later has the narrower test in section 40(b): actual knowledge at the time of the first report, a defect that cannot be fixed before closing, or a repairable defect the seller will not agree in writing to fix within five business days. Keep a copy of any termination notice and of how you delivered it under section 50. Conveyance ends the right even if you are still inside the count.

FAQ

When is the report due? Before the contract is signed, under 765 ILCS 77/20.

When do the five business days apply? When a late report, delivered after signing, discloses a material defect. The buyer may terminate within five business days after receipt and get the deposits back.

Does a foreclosure seller complete the form? Section 15 exempts a deed in lieu and a judicial deed from a foreclosure sale, among other transfers. Read the exemption before you demand the form.

Is a brand-new house included? Newly constructed residential property that has never been occupied is exempt. A rehab of an existing house is not.

Does the seller have to hire an inspector to fill it out? No. Section 25 says the seller is not obligated to investigate. Actual knowledge is the standard, with the defenses the section lists.

Next step

Buyers should date the day the report arrives and, if it is after the contract and it marks a material defect, count five business days. Sellers should complete the report from what they know and deliver it before anyone signs. A late honest report is still better than silence, and it starts a clock.

Sources: 765 ILCS 77, Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, 765 ILCS 95, Mine Subsidence Disclosure Act.

Illinois charges a state transfer tax of 50 cents per $500 of value, or $1 per $1,000. Counties can add 25 cents per $500, and many cities, including Chicago, add their own tax. Cook County's clerk lists the seller as liable for the state and county taxes. A transfer declaration, usually filed online through MyDec, is required.

How much is the Illinois state transfer tax?

The state tax comes from the Property Tax Code, 35 ILCS 200/31-10. It's 50 cents for each $500 of value, or fraction of $500, stated in the declaration. That works out to:

• $300,000 sale: $600.
• $500,000 sale: $1,000.
• $800,000 sale: $1,600.

The statute excludes the value of a mortgage or lien that the buyer assumes and that stays on the property. A brand-new loan doesn't reduce the taxable amount.

How much do counties charge?

Under the Counties Code, 55 ILCS 5/5-1031, a county can impose its own transfer tax of up to 25 cents per $500 of value. Most counties do. On a $500,000 sale, that adds $250.

Combined, the state and county taxes come to $1.50 per $1,000 of value.

Who pays the transfer tax in Illinois?

The state statute imposes the tax on the privilege of transferring title, but doesn't settle the buyer versus seller question for every case. In Cook County, the clerk's transfer fee page lists the seller as liable for both the state and county taxes, and that's the common practice across Illinois. Your contract can change who pays.

What about city transfer taxes?

This is where costs can climb. Many Illinois cities and villages, especially in the Chicago area, charge their own transfer taxes. The Cook County Clerk publishes a list of municipal transfer taxes that shows each town's rate and who's liable.

A few patterns from that list:

• Most municipalities charge the seller.
• Some charge the buyer.
• Chicago charges both buyer and seller portions.

Some towns also require a water bill certification or inspection before they'll issue the city transfer stamp. Ask your attorney or title company early so this doesn't delay closing.

What is MyDec?

Every deed recorded in Illinois needs a real estate transfer declaration. Under 35 ILCS 200/31-25, the declaration must be signed by at least one seller and one buyer, or their agents. It reports the sale price, property type and other details used by assessors and the Illinois Department of Revenue.

MyDec is the state's electronic version of that form. Most title companies and attorneys file it online instead of on paper. The declaration has to be filed when the deed is presented for recording or within three business days after.

Why does the declaration matter after closing?

The declaration isn't just paperwork for the recorder. Assessors and the Department of Revenue use the sale information to study market values and check assessment levels. That's one reason the price and property details need to be accurate. If something on the declaration looks wrong, like the wrong property class or a price that includes furniture, ask your attorney to fix it before it's filed.

Are any transfers exempt?

Yes. Section 31-45 of the Property Tax Code lists exempt deeds, including:

• Deeds where the actual consideration is less than $100.
• Property acquired by or from a government body, or by or from a charitable, religious or educational organization.
• Deeds that confirm, correct or modify an earlier deed without additional consideration.
• Tax deeds and deeds of partition.
• Deeds to a mortgage holder in a foreclosure or a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Some exempt transfers still have to file the declaration. Local ordinances can have their own exemptions, and they don't always match the state list.

How do transfer taxes show up at closing?

In Illinois, attorneys often handle residential closings alongside the title company. The settlement statement lists state, county and city transfer taxes separately. The title company collects the money and pays for the stamps when the deed is recorded.

What should sellers plan for?

If you're selling in Illinois, ask for a net sheet that includes:

• State transfer tax.
• County transfer tax.
• Any city or village transfer tax, plus related inspection or water certification fees.

In a city with a high municipal tax, that last line can be bigger than the state and county taxes combined.

What should buyers plan for?

In most towns, buyers don't pay state or county transfer taxes. But in towns that charge buyers, or in Chicago, there may be a buyer portion. Ask your attorney before you sign the contract, and build it into your cash-to-close estimate.

FAQ

How much is the Illinois real estate transfer tax? The state tax is 50 cents per $500 of value, or $1 per $1,000. Counties can add 25 cents per $500.

Who pays transfer taxes in Illinois? In Cook County, the clerk lists the seller as liable for state and county taxes. City taxes vary, and some charge the buyer.

What is MyDec? The state's electronic real estate transfer declaration. A declaration signed by a seller and a buyer, or their agents, is required to record a deed.

When is the transfer declaration due? When the deed is presented for recording, or within three business days after.

Next step

Look up your town on the Cook County Clerk's municipal transfer tax list, or call your village hall if you're outside Cook County. Then talk with a licensed local agent about local custom and what to expect on your closing statement.

Sources: 35 ILCS 200/31-10, Tax imposed; 35 ILCS 200/31-25, Transfer declaration; Cook County Clerk: Transfer Fees; Cook County Clerk: Transfer Tax by Municipality.