Property tax in Union County, Illinois
In Union County, the property tax bill comes from the Union County Treasurer. Every due date for the 2025 bill has passed, and the county had not posted the next cycle's dates when we checked. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Union County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Union County, Illinois is $1,712 a year, which is about 1.3% of the county's median home value of $131,700. That effective rate is lower than the typical Illinois county (1.81%) and higher than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Union County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Union County Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Union County Supervisor of Assessments, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
The county publishes each year's assessment changes late in the cycle, so the appeal window can fall in the next calendar year: the deadline for complaints on 2024 assessments was February 24, 2025, and the 2025 assessment changes were published in early 2026. A decision of the Board of Review can be appealed to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board. One county bill carries the taxes of every local district the property sits in, such as schools, cities and villages, road districts and fire, library and water districts. The Treasurer also bills drainage assessments. Mobile homes get a separate bill, due October 6, 2026. Checks are payable to Union County Treasurer, and the office is at the courthouse in Jonesboro.
When are property taxes due in Union County?
Every due date for the 2025 (Payable 2026) bill has passed, and Union County had not posted the next cycle's dates when we checked on September 23, 2026. If that bill is still unpaid, the late-payment rules below apply to it. Counties usually repeat the schedule, but confirm the new dates on your next bill. For the 2025 (Payable 2026) bill, Union County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due August 6, 2026 and the last October 6, 2026. Interest of 1.5% a month, with any part of a month counted as a full month, is added to late taxes after each due date until the tax is paid or sold. A $10 charge for certified mail and advertising is added to each delinquent bill. Not receiving a bill does not excuse the interest. Taxes that stay unpaid go to the county's annual tax sale, where tax lien certificates are sold; the county has not posted the date of the sale for 2025 taxes.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First installment | August 6, 2026 (passed) | Include the first installment stub with the payment so it is credited correctly. Most banks in Union County accept payments up to the due date, and the tax can also be paid online through the county's property tax inquiry site. |
| Second installment | October 6, 2026 (passed) | After a due date, payments are taken only at the Treasurer's office; banks cannot collect delinquent tax. |
From Union County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Union County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Union County's average effective rate of 1.3% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $1,712 / year
Property tax in Union County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $1,712 |
| Median home value | $131,700 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.3% |
| Typical Illinois county rate | 1.81% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does Union County compare in Illinois?
Among Illinois's 102 counties, Union County has the 97th highest effective property-tax rate: 96 rank higher and 5 rank lower. That places it among the least taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 594th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Illinois county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Union County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Union County's 5,319 owner-occupied homes, 23.4% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 39.6% pay at least $2,000, and 21.6% pay under $800. Another 7.2% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 1,150 | 21.6% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 1,051 | 19.8% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 628 | 11.8% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 860 | 16.2% |
| $3,000 or more | 1,246 | 23.4% |
| No property tax paid | 384 | 7.2% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,273 and owners without one pay $1,246. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.
How does the Union County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $1,712 is about 2.5% of the median income of Union County homeowner households, $69,787 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 77.4% of Union County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Union County?
The survey cannot tell. The median bill was $1,651 in 2015-2019 and $1,712 in 2020-2024, but that $61 difference is inside the Census's own margin of error for a county this size, so it could be sampling noise rather than a real change.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to Union County
Union County borders 7 counties, 2 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson County, IL | 1.84% | $2,526 | $137,300 |
| Alexander County, IL | 1.81% | $1,084 | $59,800 |
| Williamson County, IL | 1.72% | $2,690 | $156,400 |
| Union County, IL (this county) | 1.3% | $1,712 | $131,700 |
| Johnson County, IL | 1.24% | $1,992 | $160,500 |
| Pulaski County, IL | 1.02% | $869 | $85,100 |
| Perry County, MO | 0.74% | $1,395 | $188,200 |
| Cape Girardeau County, MO | 0.64% | $1,421 | $220,700 |
How is a home assessed in Union County?
Illinois assesses homes at 33.33% of market value in every county, Union County included. How Illinois assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Union County?
Yes. Illinois's General Homestead Exemption is $6,000 of equalized assessed value in most counties, $8,000 in counties next to Cook, and $10,000 in Cook County. That is the Illinois rule, and it applies in Union County. Illinois's exemptions and relief programs in full.
Union County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Illinois ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your Union County property assessment
In Union County you appeal to the Union County Board of Review. The deadline: A written complaint must be filed with the Supervisor of Assessments within 30 days after the county publishes the assessment list for the year. For the 2026 assessment year (taxes payable in 2027) the Board of Review opened June 1, 2026; the county has not yet posted the publication date that starts the 30 days. Complaint forms and rules are available from the Supervisor of Assessments. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Illinois's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Illinois rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Illinois page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Union County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Illinois income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Illinois actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Union County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Union County, Illinois: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.