Nearly $50K property tax bills robs ‘Home Alone’ house
The current owners of Kevin McCallister’s house from the “Home Alone” movie will pay nearly $50,000 in property taxes this year. Illinoisans pay more than twice as much as the typical American in property taxes.
The house used in the “Home Alone” movie is one of Illinois’ more famous spots, but while the “Wet Bandits” aren’t planning any heists this holiday season, Illinois politicians sure are.
This year, the owners of 671 Lincoln Ave. in Winnetka, Illinois, will pay $49,769 in property taxes. That’s about 1% less than the previous year but 56% more than they paid two years ago and double the taxes in 2004.
The Cook County estimate for the property’s value is $2,179,950. In the movie, youngster Kevin McCallister is accidentally left behind from the family Christmas vacation. Burglars hit the neighborhood. Kevin fends them off with a series of booby traps, but there’s no deterring the taxman.
In total, property taxes on the “Home Alone” house have cost its owners over $1 million since the movie came out in 1990.
Illinoisans on average pay the second-highest property tax rates in the U.S behind only New Jersey. Homeowners pay more than double the national median property tax bill, or about 2% of a home’s value per year.
In Cook County these homeowners pay even more. Cook County ranks among the 100 most expensive for property taxes in the nation.
Property taxes from the house support 11 different taxing districts. Illinois leads the nation in bloated government with nearly 7,000 separate units.
These property tax increases hit low-income households the hardest because wealthier homeowners can hire an attorney to appeal their bills. Taxes create barriers to long-term homeownership, especially for those with lower incomes.
Illinois lawmakers should give Illinoisans the gift of property tax relief this holiday season. If they fail to do so, they may be the ones to find themselves home alone, with more Illinoisans leaving them and their taxes behind.