Taxes in Waukegan
Waukegan layers a real, elevated property tax rate on top of Illinois's simple flat 4.95% state income tax, but carries a genuinely LOWER combined sales tax than Cook County suburbs.
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Learn moreA Real, Elevated Property Tax Rate Despite Lower Home Values
Waukegan's median effective property tax rate ran approximately 2.89%, above even the Illinois statewide median cited by the same source (2.35%) -- producing an average annual bill of approximately $4,212 despite the city's genuinely lower home values.
A Real, Genuinely Lower Combined Sales Tax
Waukegan's combined sales tax rate ran approximately 8.5% -- genuinely lower than every Cook County suburb documented elsewhere in this project's Illinois buildout, since Waukegan sits in Lake County outside Cook County's own RTA/special-district sales tax layers.
Illinois's Flat Income Tax and Retirement-Income Exemption
Illinois's flat 4.95% state income tax applies to earned income statewide, but Illinois taxes NONE of a retiree's Social Security, pension, or 401(k)/IRA income -- a real, substantial positive that applies identically in Waukegan.
Key takeaways
- Waukegan's property tax rate runs elevated (approximately 2.89% effective) despite the city's genuinely lower home values.
- Waukegan's combined sales tax (approximately 8.5%) runs genuinely lower than the Cook County suburbs in this project.
- Illinois's flat 4.95% income tax excludes all retirement income -- a real, substantial positive for retirees.
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