Lake County · Moraine and West Deerfield Townships
Accounting & Tax Services in Highland Park, IL
Accounting, controller and tax work for Highland Park businesses, from a practice in Wilmette.
Highland Park is firmly Lake County, so its assessment path runs through a township assessor rather than the Cook County system most of its southern neighbours use.
Registering a business in Highland Park
Every village on the North Shore sets its own rule, and they diverge more than most owners expect.
Highland Park ties registration to occupancy: businesses occupying commercial property must register within 30 days of opening, after the Certificate of Occupancy is issued. Registration then renews annually with a deadline of December 31, and the fee is prorated depending on which half of the year you register in.
Highland Park's own guidance → · Requirements and fees change; confirm with the village before you rely on this.
Property assessment in Highland Park
Worth knowing before you assume the rules are the same everywhere in the north suburbs. They are not.
Highland Park is in Lake County, which means the township assessor values your property rather than a county assessor — Cook is the exception in Illinois, not the rule. Lake County also asks you to contact that township assessor before filing with the Board of Review. What changes at the county line →
Do I need a business licence to operate in Highland Park?
Highland Park ties registration to occupancy: businesses occupying commercial property must register within 30 days of opening, after the Certificate of Occupancy is issued. Registration then renews annually with a deadline of December 31, and the fee is prorated depending on which half of the year you register in.
Which county and township handle assessment for a Highland Park business?
Highland Park is in Lake County, Moraine and West Deerfield Townships. That decides who values your property, which appeal window applies, and who you call first — and it is not the same answer a few miles away.
Also serving
Neighbouring communities we work in regularly — each with its own registration rule.