Mike S.: At our earliest possible convenience we are moving out of the state of Illinois.

Mike S. owns a 3,236 square foot, 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom Naperville home that is currently assessed at $458,700.

“We’re overtaxed and the value of my home has not changed at all,” Mike said. “It has not appreciated. Part of the reason it has not appreciated is because how much we’re paying in property taxes.”

Mike took possession of the home in 2002 when it was worth around $436,000, or $611,093 in today’s dollars. He has paid $148,808 in property taxes since 2002, more than 32 percent the original value of his home.

“I think the way that our property taxes are assessed is unfair,” Mike said. “Do the people who are paying more get better education for their children or better services? Or the people paying less? The answer is no. We are all getting the same services and we should be paying the same amount.”

“I think the way that our property taxes are assessed is unfair,” Mike said. “Do the people who are paying more get better education for their children or better services? Or the people paying less? The answer is no. We are all getting the same services and we should be paying the same amount.”

Mike is currently paying $10,557 per year in property taxes on his home, about 2.3 percent of the Will County Assessor claimed value of $458,700.

“My investment in my home was a bad investment,” Mike said. “I should have taken all of my money that I put in the downpayment and stuck it in the stock market and rented instead.”

Indiana has a hard 1 percent cap on property taxes. This means local governments are not allowed under state law to charge homeowner’s more than 1 percent of their home’s assessed value per year. The average property tax rate for the state of Indiana is 0.89 percent. Meanwhile, the average property tax rate in Illinois is 2.3 percent.

“At our earliest possible convenience we are moving out of the state of Illinois,” Mike said. “We’re in Illinois because of the health of my mother-in-law and father-in-law. We aren’t going anywhere until something happens with them.”

If Mike lived in Indiana the most he could be charged in property taxes would be $4,587 per year or $5,970 less than what he currently pays in Illinois.

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