Cook County property owners can sign up for eBilling for themselves or family members to receive property tax bills through their computers or smart phones instead of the mail.

The eBilling option offers the convenience of allowing spouses to each receive copies of tax bills or multiple adult siblings to receive copies of a parent’s tax bills.

An eBill is an electronic bill sent by email. You can sign up for eBilling at cookcountytreasurer.com. Scroll down to the bottom of the webpage and on the left-hand side you should see a “Contact us” banner. In the middle you’ll see a link called, “Sign Up for Electronic Tax Billing”. Click on this link to start setting up your e-billing account.

Setting up an account is easy and free. Just enter your name, email address, phone number and 14-digit Property Index Number or PIN. Then create a password and agree to the terms and conditions. Lastly, reply to an email from my office within 72 hours to confirm your registration and activate your eBilling account.

Once you sign up:

• The paper bill will stop coming to your home mailbox
• You’ll receive an email when your bill is ready to view
• You can download your bill, save a pdf version or print a copy for your records

If you don’t receive a confirmation email, check your spam filters and junk email folder to ensure delivery.

With eBilling, you can still pay your bill by mail or in person. Just include the tax bill payment coupon, which is part of the eBill, when you pay.

Paying online at cookcountytreasurer.com transfers funds electronically from your bank account.

Once you sign up for eBilling, you’ll be notified via email when your next installment bill is available for online review. And eBilling users can receive bills sooner than taxpayers who get printed bills through the mail.

If a mortgage company manages an escrow account and pays your property tax bill on your behalf, you can still sign up for eBilling to access important information about your taxes without affecting your mortgage company’s ability to pay.

If you own multiple properties in Cook County you can enroll up to 10 Property Index Numbers under a single eBilling account. If you want to change the email address on your eBilling account, simply log in and update your information.

Tax bills for a PIN can be sent to more than one email address, but each email address requires a separate eBillling account.

If you forget the password to your eBilling account, just go to the eBilling login page at cookcountytreasurer.com and click on the “Forgot your password?” link to receive emailed instructions on how to reset your password.

And once you go electronic you can return to paper billing. Simply log in to your eBilling account and unsubscribe. But going paperless is convenient and greener since it helps the environment by saving paper and reducing waste.