The Illinois Department of Revenue announced on Mar. 13 that Coles County has been assigned a final property assessment equalization factor, or “multiplier,” of 1.0000 for the 2025 tax year, payable in 2026. David Harris, director of the department, said this decision follows a public hearing and review of recent property sales data.
The equalization factor is used to ensure uniform property assessments across counties in Illinois, which is important because many local taxing districts overlap county lines. Without such equalization, taxpayers with similar properties could face unequal tax burdens.
According to Harris, “The property assessment equalization factor, often called the ‘multiplier,’ is the method used to achieve uniform property assessments among counties, as required by law.” He explained that under state law passed in 1975, most properties should be assessed at one-third of their market value. Farm homesites and dwellings are subject to regular assessing and equalization procedures, while farmland itself is assessed at one-third its agricultural economic value and not subject to the state multiplier.
Assessments in Coles County currently stand at 33.52% of market value based on sales from 2022 through 2024. The previous year’s multiplier was also set at 1.0000. The department determines the annual multiplier by comparing three years’ worth of sale prices with assessed values for individual properties.
A change in the multiplier does not automatically mean higher or lower total tax bills for residents; those amounts depend on how much money local taxing bodies request each year for services. The assessed value only determines what share of taxes an individual taxpayer will pay relative to others.
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