Andrew R.: After [Illinois] passed the income tax hike, I was done. I had to leave.

Andrew R. owned a 2,150 square foot, 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom Beecher home that is currently assessed at $188,454.

“The amount I was spending on property taxes, which kept going up every year when I finally sold my house I ended up losing money because I had to pay $6,200 upfront,” Andrew said. “I didn’t even break even. I lost money. Six years living in Beecher destroyed any equity that I had in the house.”

Andrew took possession of the home in 2013 when it was worth around $205,000, or $221,886 in today’s dollars. He paid $27,927 in property taxes from 2013, until he sold the home in 2018, more than 13 percent the original value of his home.

“I sold my house at a loss just to leave because, in the long run, the inexpensive taxes in Indiana and the inexpensive college in Indiana for my kids—it was a no-brainer to leave,” Andrew said. “I was basically paying for nothing [in Illinois].”

“I sold my house at a loss just to leave because, in the long run, the inexpensive taxes in Indiana and the inexpensive college in Indiana for my kids—it was a no-brainer to leave,” Andrew said. “I was basically paying for nothing [in Illinois].”

Andrew was paying $5,650 per year in property taxes on his home, about 2.9 percent of the Will County Assessor claimed value of $188,454.

“Now, I have $100,000 more house for cheaper than I was paying in Illinois,” Andrew said. “I gave Illinois the benefit of a doubt. I lived there my whole life. But, after [Illinois] passed the income tax hike, I was done. I had to leave.”

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.

“Hard capping property taxes at 1 percent of a home’s value and forcing the government to stop using homes for a bankroll to fund whatever they need to do is the only solution I see,” Andrew said. “Because every time a board of people can continually raise taxes and finance their retirements on my money and my home it’s not going to work. People will continue to leave as I did. I am so much happier saving so much money. I should have done this years ago.”

If Andrew lived in Indiana the most he could be charged in property taxes would be $1,884 per year or $3,766 less than what he paid in Illinois.

To share your story with us, please send an email including your full name, address, phone number and email address to news@saveyourhomenow.org.