Thousands of Cook County property owners to receive automatic refunds starting this week

CHICAGO - Over $30.5 million in automatic refunds will start going out to thousands of Cook County property homeowners this week who overpaid on their taxes last year.

Nearly half of the refunds will be deposited directly into property owners' accounts during the next three months, according to Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.

"This service is a huge convenience for homeowners who have overpaid their property taxes," Pappas said in a statement. "Most will not have to file an application, fill out any forms or deal with any paperwork. They will get their money automatically."

Property owners can visit cookcountytreasurer.com to see if an automatic refund is headed their way. You will need to select the purple box labeled "Your Property Tax Overview" and enter your address or 14-digit Property Index Number to check the status of your refunds.

A total of 9,000 property owners in Cook County will receive refunds with roughly 4,000 of those being mailed refund checks.

The new automatic refunds will be for taxpayers that overpaid on their first installment amounts. Property taxes are due in two annual installments.