Adam S.: We’ve seriously given thought to downsizing quicker than we had planned.
Adam S. owns a 2,466 square foot, 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom Third Lake home that is currently assessed at $506,586.
“Some of the things we have had to decide, there are things we would have liked to do for our kids that we couldn’t do,” Adam said. “If we didn’t have such a significant tax bill, we could’ve made different decisions.”
Adam took possession of the home in 2006, when it was worth $540,000, or $676,175 in today’s dollars. He has paid $143,518 in property taxes since 2008, more than 26 percent of the original value of his home.
“We’ve seriously given thought to downsizing quicker than we had planned,” Adam said. “We want to be good stewards of our money, but the state isn’t being a good steward with its money.”
“We’ve seriously given thought to downsizing quicker than we had planned,” Adam said. “We want to be good stewards of our money, but the state isn’t being a good steward with its money.”
Adam is currently paying $19,103 per year in property taxes on his home, about 3.7 percent of the Lake County Assessor claimed value of $506,586
“We’re getting public school education for private school pricing,” Adam said. “It’s outrageous. It’s 70 percent of our tax bill.”
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.
“I would think a state budget that actually decreases spending [would help me],” Adam said. “We need to force the lawmakers to be actual stewards of our money. A flat tax rate would help that.”
If Adam lived in Indiana the most he could be charged in property taxes would be $5,065 per year or $14,038 less than what he currently pays in Illinois.
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