Sarai A..: I plan to probably move to Indiana when we fully retire.

Sarai A. owns a 1,098 square foot, 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom Villa Park home that is currently assessed at $209,790.

“My husband is semi-retired and I am nearing retirement age, but I’m picking up work while I can,” Sarai said. “When you’re paying the taxes we pay here you can’t just stop working without having a really good plan. The taxes definitely impact that. “

Sarai took possession of the home in 2015 when it was worth around $180,000, or $191,712 in today’s dollars. She has paid $16,100 in property taxes since 2015, more than 8.9 percent of the original value of her home.

“This state is in such poor shape,” Sarai said. “Our taxes have not been spent wisely, that’s for sure.”

“This state is in such poor shape,” Sarai said. “Our taxes have not been spent wisely, that’s for sure.”

Sarai is currently paying $5,278 per year in property taxes on her home, about 2.5 percent of the DuPage County Assessor claimed value of $209,790.

“I plan to probably move to Indiana when we fully retire,” Sarai said. “If it doesn’t stop, how do you live in retirement and pay the taxes here?”

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.

“The tax cap like in Indiana would be helpful,” Sarai said. “We’re losing people in this state. It would have a huge impact.”

If Sarai lived in Indiana the most she could be charged in property taxes would be $2,097 per year or $3,181 less than what she currently pays in Illinois.

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