COOK COUNTY — Thousands of property owners in Cook County will soon receive a financial boost this holiday season.

Beginning this week, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas is sending more than $30.5 million in automatic refunds to about 9,000 property owners who overpaid their first installment taxes last year.

“This service is a huge convenience for homeowners who have overpaid their property taxes,” Pappas said. “Most will not have to file an application, fill out any forms or deal with any paperwork. They will get their money automatically.”

About half of the refunds will be deposited directly into property owners’ accounts over the next three months.

Most of the refunds will go to those who get tax exemptions, which include: Homeowner, Senior Citizen, Senior Freeze and Disabled Persons.

According to the Cook County treasurer’s office, the breakdown of automatic refunds shows:

About 1,900 homeowners who paid their property taxes online will see a total of $13.1 million electronically deposited to their bank accounts
About 4,000 homeowners who paid their taxes through a bank/mortgage escrow account will be mailed refund checks totaling $8 million
About 2,900 homeowners who paid taxes totaling $9.3 million in cash or by check will receive an electronic refund or will be mailed a refund application to ensure the proper party receives the refund.

Lat year,Pappas refunded Cook County property owners $47 million.