SPRINGFIELD, IL — The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) has announced a tentative property assessment equalization factor, or “multiplier,” of 1.0793 for Madison County for the 2025 tax year, according to David Harris, director of IDOR.
The multiplier is used to ensure that property assessments are uniform across counties in Illinois. This process is required by law and is especially important because many of the state’s 6,600 local taxing districts overlap multiple counties. Without equalization, taxpayers with similar properties could face significant disparities in their tax burdens.
State law mandates that most property in Illinois be assessed at one-third of its market value. However, farm property is treated differently: while homesites and dwellings on farms follow regular assessment and equalization procedures, farmland and farm buildings are assessed based on productivity standards.
Each year, IDOR determines the equalization factor for every county by comparing the sales prices of properties sold over the past three years to their assessed values as determined by local assessors. If the average level of assessment matches one-third of market value, the multiplier is set at 1.0000. If assessments are higher than one-third of market value, the multiplier falls below 1.0000; if lower, it rises above 1.0000.
For Madison County, assessments currently stand at 30.88% of market value based on property sales from 2022 through 2024. The new tentative multiplier will apply to taxes due in 2026.
Last year’s equalization factor for Madison County was 1.0000.
The proposed figure may change if the County Board of Review takes actions that significantly affect county assessments or if local officials or others provide data indicating that IDOR’s estimates should be revised. A public hearing on the tentative multiplier will take place between 20 and 30 days after its publication in a local newspaper.
IDOR clarified that changes to the equalization factor do not automatically increase or decrease total property tax bills. Local taxing bodies determine tax bills when they request funds each year for services provided to residents. If these requests do not exceed amounts received in previous years, overall property taxes will not rise even if assessments increase.
“The assessed value of an individual property determines what portion of the tax burden a specific taxpayer will assume,” said IDOR Director David Harris. “That individual’s portion of tax responsibility is not changed by the multiplier.”
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