Where can I get reliable info on property tax rates for specific cities, counties, or townships? This is so confusing! I find one site that says, for example, that Chicago residential property taxes are as much as 7 percent, but then I check places listed on Chicago realtors' sites, and the estimated property taxes are said to be X dollars, which amount to between .8 to 3 percent. HUH? I get that property taxes are based on assessed value (um, right?) and not sales price, but come on--there's a huge difference between 7 percent and less than 1 percent! I'm looking (just looking at this point) at buying property in a specific city in one of the following states: Indiana, Illinois, California, Nevada, Oregon, or Washington. Any help you can give is most appreciated. Thanks!

Illinois Dept of Revenue Property Tax records.

This link is to the 1999 records but it gives you an idea of why the different sites lists it differently. The tax rates depend upon the class of property, and if there are any exemptions.

So the tax rate may be a certain amount, it may be a certain average over all, it may be a certain average paid ( tax rate minus exemptions)

So the numbers are played with to show it in the best light.

http://www.revenue.state.il.us/publications/LocalGovernment/99PTAX50.pdf#search='Chicago%20property%20tax%20ra te'

Can give you contact info

Chuck, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, when I tried to use the link I got "page cannot be found" (although the link did get me to the Cook County Assessor's Office Web site).