Property Tax Appeal
Commercial property reductions
The Appeals Process in Cook County
The property tax appeal process can be a very difficult and perplexing system of Constitutional rights, State laws, and County ordinances. There are several distinct administrative agencies and the courts, with each having its own rules, forms, policies, practices, and procedures that must be strictly followed for a successful appeal. Moreover, each property tax agency considers issues and arguments differently, and even contradictory—while one agency may completely reject an argument, another agency may agree unequivocally.
We are here to help you exercise your right as a property owner to obtain a correct and equitable assessment. The first step to understanding the property tax appeal process is understanding your property’s assessment and its impact on your property tax bill.
Property Tax Assessment
An assessment is a specific value placed on your property by the County which directly affects how much you pay in property taxes. Your assessment is based upon a percentage of your property’s market value. While property outside of Cook County is assessed at 33.33% of its market value, Cook County employs a classification system in which property is assessed at different percentages:
Tax Appeals
Taxpayers in Cook County have access to a three-tiered administrative property tax appeal process. Each tier has its own rules, policies, practices, procedures, forms, and deadlines which must be strictly followed for a successful appeal. Taxpayers outside of Cook County have only a two tired appeal process (County Board of Review and State Property Tax Appeal Board or Circuit Court).
You have a legal right to appeal your assessment. Each year thousands of people successfully appeal their assessments and receive reductions in their property taxes. For example, appeals on over 400,000 parcels were filed with the Cook County Board of Review in 2016.
Only a taxpayer or his or her attorney can file an appeal with the County Board of Review, the State Property Tax Appeal Board, and the Circuit Court—tax consultants cannot file appeals.
Uniquely experienced legal counsel can fight for the lowest possible assessment on your behalf. Contact us now to request a free property tax analysis.
Cook County Property Tax Triennial Reassessment Cycle
Property in Cook County is reassessed once every three years by the Cook County Assessor. The Assessor reassesses on a rotating basis through three assessment districts so that only one district is being reassessed in any given year. The three districts are the City, North and South. Each district is further broken down in to 37 Townships, with 8 to 16 townships in each district. The Assessor and the Board of Review will open 30 day windows each year to file appeals for each of the Townships. It is critical to make sure an appeal is filed within the 30 day window for the appropriate Township. A property owner will only receive notice of the 30 day window from the Assessor once every three years when the property is reassessed.
The following table provides a guide to determining the Township, Reassessment District, and Triennial Assessment Years, but the Cook County Property Tax Portal should be checked to accurately determine the Township because the township boundary lines are not always along municipal boundaries lines (http://www.cookcountypropertyinfo.com/default.aspx). For example, parts of Glen-view can be found in five different Townships.