Cook County · New Trier Township
Accounting & Tax Services in Wilmette, IL
Accounting, controller and tax work for Wilmette businesses, from a practice in Wilmette.
This is where the practice is based, so Wilmette work is as local as it gets — in person when that is useful, remote when it is faster.
Registering a business in Wilmette
Every village on the North Shore sets its own rule, and they diverge more than most owners expect.
Wilmette requires an annual business licence for all businesses located in the village, and the fee is set by the gross interior square footage of the premises rather than a flat rate — so the same business pays differently depending on the space it takes. The licence year runs from January 1. New businesses other than home occupations also need an occupancy inspection before opening.
Wilmette's own guidance → · Requirements and fees change; confirm with the village before you rely on this.
Property assessment in Wilmette
Worth knowing before you assume the rules are the same everywhere in the north suburbs. They are not.
Wilmette is assessed by the Cook County Assessor, and it sits in the north suburban township group — reassessed in 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025, which puts the next one in 2028. In a reassessment year there are two chances to contest a value; in an off year, generally one. How the Cook County appeal cycle works →
Do I need a business licence to operate in Wilmette?
Wilmette requires an annual business licence for all businesses located in the village, and the fee is set by the gross interior square footage of the premises rather than a flat rate — so the same business pays differently depending on the space it takes. The licence year runs from January 1. New businesses other than home occupations also need an occupancy inspection before opening.
Which county and township handle assessment for a Wilmette business?
Wilmette is in Cook County, New Trier Township. 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.