Every Illinoisans is on the hook for 3 percent of their income going to state income taxes, according to the state tax code. Their federal taxes, however, likely will vary, and municipalities throughout the state levy their own local taxes on different things and at different levels. But some places in Illinois, and throughout the country, benefit more from state and local tax deductions than others. How does this happen, and which counties in Illinois come out the winners in this ranking?
The Tax Foundation explains that people can get itemized tax deductions for state and local income taxes, sales taxes and real estate taxes. They looked at every county in the country and the way their residents benefit from these tax deductions:
The measurement used here is mean deduction amount taken per return: in other words, the total of all of the deductions for state and local taxes, divided by number of returns filed.
The county with the highest average state and local tax deductions in the country is New York County, New York, where residents have an average of $20,621 in deductions taken. No Illinois county ranks in the top 10 of the country, nor does any county in the Midwest. All the highest-deduction counties are in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and California.
Still, here are the five counties in Illinois whose residents have some of the highest tax deductions on average, according to the Tax Foundation:
10. Grundy: $3,561
9. McLean: $3,622
8. Monroe: $4,002
7. Cook: $4,038
6. Kane: $5,065
Check out Reboot Illinois to see a map of which Illinois counties have the biggest on-average tax deductions and which counties have the smallest on-average tax deductions. Also see how income can make a difference in this county-by-county variety.
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