Save Money Appeal Your Cook County Property Taxes Now! 
Email: PropertyTaxAppeals4Less@gmail.com

There is no charge to you if we cannot locate information to support your appeal. Sometimes, this will happen for various reasons: 1.) If you live in an area where residents don't actively appeal, there may not be lower comps to support your appeal. Cook County requires at least 5-6 lower comps that are in your tax township, your property class, your tax neighborhood code, and that have the same characteristics as your home as sufficient evidence to file a lack of uiniformity appeal. 2.) If you actively appeal and win your appeals, you may be amongst the lowest comps for that particular area. Cook County restricts the appeal to various factors. We look at all those factors for you and only give you the information if it supports your appeal. 3.) If you live in an area where the real estate market values have escalated, there are not as many sale listings to provide evidence of over valuation.

In order to file an appeal, Cook County requires that you produce supporting documentation. If you are filing an appeal based on lack of uniformity, Cook COunty will require comps as evidence. Typically, the most common supporting documentation are "comps". Comps are the neighboring homes in your tax township, property class, neighborhood code, etc that have lower assessed values when compared to your property. They must be as close to your property's characteristics as possible. We look at over 90 characteristics on each residential property tax record at the Cook County Assessors' Office.In order to file an appeal, Cook County requires that you produce supporting documentation. Typically the most common supporting documenation are "comps". Comps are the neighboring homes in your particular tax township, proprty class, etc that have lower assessed values when compared to your property. They must be as close to your propertys' characteristics as possible. We look at over 90 characteristics on each residential property tax record at the Cook County Assessors' Office.

Absolutely! This is the smart way to maximize your savings. You will want to use current updated information for your new appeal. The appeals that won from the first round at the Cook County Assessors' Office may present more opportunities for a reduction of your current assessed value. Simply order a new list from PropertyTaxAppeals4Less and file your Board of Review property tax appeal when your township is open for appeals. here is a savings in assessed value example of a homeowner appealing more than once

More often than not, homes in your neighborhood are over assessed. Illinois property taxes are the second highest in the nation. Cook County assesses homes every three years and homeowners can appeal twice each year. As each triennial period begins, Cook County issues assessment letters to all homeowners in the tax township. Many homeowners are in shock when they see the new assessed values. Just as in the real estate market, each home is not the same. As homeowners in your area decide to appeal their property assessed values and win, the assessed values in your area could be significantly different providing you with an opportunity to appeal and lower your assessed value which can result in property tax savings of hundreds to thousands of dollars. This is mainly why I founded PropertyTaxAppeals4Less. As a Realtor, Accountant, and a Property Tax Advocate, I had numerous requests for help with property taxes from my community. The main reason I heard from those who did not appeal their property taxes was the high costs of hiring an attorney or tax service to file for them. Our list is affordable and customized to each client. No hidden fees. 100% of your savings remains in your pocket. And since it is affordable, you can appeal 2 times a year and maximized savings on your tax bill yearly. After each appeal period, new values are available and present new opportunities for you to appeal. Prior to the second installment bill for your taxes, Cook County assigns an equalization factor for the year as well as the tax rate for that year. If your assessed value is never appealed, you will have a larger portion of taxes to pay as the assessed value is multiplied by the equalizer and the tax rate.

Yes, it is. The Cook County Assessors' office and the Cook County Board of Review have online portals where you can register your information, submit your evidence, and complete your appeal. The challenging part is to locate the best solutions for your appeal. With 100+ homes to review and 90 characteristics per home, it can be a very time-consuming and daunting process. When you order our service, we provide you with the best scenarios for the current time you are appealing from our various databases of information and then it's a simple matter of registering online, following the instructions we send you, using the info we send you, and submitting your appeal. No need to hire an attorney and pay high fees, no need to take time off work and visit the assessors' office for assistance.

The answer is no. As a homeowner, you can appeal your property taxes without hiring an attornery or tax appeal service to file your appeal. That is the main reason I formed PropertyTaxAppeals4Less.com. With our customized, numerous databases of information, we can give you the best comps to use on your appeal, saving you the countless hours to research the qualifying comps and saving you money - no fee to us except for the $50 purchase of your specific comps or market information to file your appeal. Your tax savings are 100% yours. Tax services and attorney will charge a wide range of fees - some charge a flat fee ($150 - $500), others charge 33% or even 50% of your first years savings which can result in fees of $300 - $1,000 depending on your savings calculation.

All property tax appeal reductions in assessed value show up on the second installment property tax bill. If your reduction came from filing a Certificate of Error and it was approved by the Assessors' office or the Cook County Circuit office before Nov. 30 of the prior year, you will receive a corrected tax bill. If it is after that date, the Assessors' office will inform you of the steps to take to receive a refund.

The most common reasons to appeal are: 1.) Lack Of Uniformity, 2.) Overvaluation - Market Values (recent sales of your home or the area), 3.) Recent Purchase of your home is less than the assessed value of your home, 4.) Damage by Fire, Demolition, or force of nature - tornado, hurricane, flooding 5.) Major Factual or Mathematical error on your assessor property record.

It typically takes 30-90 days for the Cook County Assessor and the Cook County Baord of Review to process your appeal and determine your results. You will receive a letter with your results from the Assessors' office or the Board of Review - depends on which agency you filed an appeal. You can also check the status of your Cool County Assessors' appeal online at Cook County Assessors Property Search. Enter your PIN #, click on the magnifying glass icon. Your property will load, scroll down to the section "Appeal History". If you file a current appeal, it will appear at the top, with a status. If you filed your Cook County Assessor appeal online, you can check the status of your appeal by logging into your account at: https://propertytaxfilings.cookcountyil.gov/ Log In, click on "My Appeals", You will see the status of your appeal. Please note - if status is Published to the Property Tax System, that indicates it's being processed and is listed on your property tax record with status "Appeal Work in Progress". If you filed an appeal with the Cook County Board of Review, log into your account, select "My Appeals" and you can check the status of your appeal. The Cook County Board of Review will issue a letter of the determination which will be mailed to you. That final valuation will be updated on the Cook County Assessors site approx. 60-120 days after the decision.

No, the county does not refund taxes. In Cook County, we pay real estate taxes in arrears. When a homeowner receives the triennial assessment letter, it is for 3 years. The change in the assessed value of your home will appear on the second installment of your property tax bill in the following year. If you win the appeal and the assessed value is lowered, the new lower assessed value will appear on your second installment property tax bill in the following year and your taxes will be calculated on the new lower assessed value.

The short answer is no. If you appeal and win the appeal, the new lower assessed value is picked up on your property tax second installment bill. The mortgage company, upon receiving that bill (which is typically almost a year later after your appeal) will update their records and adjust you escrow account accordingly. Each lender varies on their escrow process. Check with your mortgage company. However, if you have already paid your property taxes ahead for the year that you won the appeal, you will receive a refund. This is rare, since, in Cook County, we pay real estate taxes in arrears. For example, if you appeal and win in the current year, 2020, the tax bill for 2020 will occur in 2021.

In Cook County, homeowners have 2 opportunities to file a property tax appeal. The first appeal opportunity is at Cook County Assessor and the second is at Cook County Board of Review. If you are not satisfied with your appeal results from the Cook County Assessors' office, you can request a re-review. Please Note - Due to Covid-19, the re-review process has been eliminated for all appeals filed in 2020. If the re-review if not satisfactory, then you can file an appeal with the Property Tax Appeal Board, and the last recourse is the Circuit Court. Each subsequent review or appeal requires additional new evidence to support your claim for a reduction of assessed value. You cannot use the same evidence that you used when you filed the property tax appeal with the Assessors' office. Please note- if you file an appeal in 2019 and win, the new assessed value is for property tax year 2019 which is paid on your 2020 property tax second installment bill. The new assessed value is reflected on your second installment bill and taxes are calculated on the new lower assessed value.

Per Illinois law, the Homeowners Exemption reduces your homes' EAV by $10,000. If you local tax rate is 6%, the Homeeowners Exemption is $10,000 x .06 = $600. If the rate changes to 9% the savings would by $10,000 x .09 = $900. The local tax rate is calculated by Cook County Clerk each year - local services, budget changes, schools, water treatment, etc. change from year to year so the local tax rate is always changing. The Senior exemption also relies on the local tax rate.

Exemptions are issued by the Cook County Assessors' office and can reduce your Equalized Assessed Value (EAV) which is the basis that your Cook County Property Tax rate is applied to determine your taxes due. There are many types of exemptions. Obtain your brochure here: CCAO - Property Tax Exemptions Brochure

That depends on several factors. Please note: The Homeowners' Exemption applies to single-family homes - it does not apply to Condos. Scenario 1 - Seller is the homeowner who lived in the home for the full year as their principal residence and has received or applied for the Homeowners' exemption on a Certificate of Error. If the current seller is occupying the home as their principal residence and they qualified for and applied for the Homeowners' exemption, then you will receive the Homeowners exemption since, in Cook County, IL, property taxes are paid in arrears. If you purchased the home on Aug 05, 2020, the property taxes for 2020 will be billed in 2021. Scenario 2 - Seller is the homeowner who rented the single-family home (not a condo) to another occupant and did not live in the home as their primary residence. There is a loophole in the property tax law that will allow landlords to claim the homeowners' exemption on single-family homes that they are renting to another person. Of course, the same issue applies as above, the landlord (seller) ,they must have applied for and received the homeowners' exemption to pass it on to the new homeowner of the property. Scenario 3 - Seller never applied for nor received the Homeowners' Exemption. In this case, the real estate attorneys and the real estate broker can suggest to make it a condition of the purchase of the single family home as long as the seller qualifies for the Homeowners' exemption - to qualify, the homeowner must have lived in the single family home as their primary residence for a year and must have been responsible for the payment of the property taxes. They can file a certificate of error - deadline is Oct 01, 2020, for Certificates of Error. The Cook County Assessors' office will review the COE and, if the taxes are not paid - they will apply is as an exemption for the taxes due in 2021 if the certificate was field for the current year 2020 which is due in 2021. Scenario 4 - The current seller does not qualify for the Homeowners' exemption, i.e. home was held in trust when homeowner died. home is a foreclosure held by a bank, etc. In this instance, you will not receive a homeowners' exemption from the prior owner, and you will need to occupy the residence as your primary residence and be responsible for the property taxes for 1 year. At that time, you can file an application for the Homeowners' Exemption.

The first installment property tax bill is based on the prior years' total tax amount due x 55% by law. Your exemptions will appear on the second installment property tax bill.

File a Certificate of Error with the Cook County Assessors' office, you can file a certificate for the current property tax year and up to 3 years prior, if you are eligible for those periods. The current property tax year will not be paid until the following year, allowing the Cook County Assessors' office to issue the exemption and adjust your property tax bill. CCAO Certificate of Error IMPOTANT: Please note- the tax year your file a COE on is not the year your pay your tax bill since Cook County residents pay in arrears for taxes. Example: you get your second installment bill for property tax year 2019 payable in August 2020 and notice a missing exemption. You are then filing a CEO for 2019 not for 2020. You may also want to file one for 2020 - consult your local assessors' office. To check if you already filed a certificate of error, locate your property record on the Cook County Assessor Property Search Enter your Pin Check your exemptions History & Status to verify what exemptions were applied for the current and prior property tax years Check Certificate of Error area - it will show if you filed a COE for the tax year in question. If the assessors office has issued a COE, a corrected tax bill will be generated.

First, you cannot dispute your tax rate or equalizer. Instead, you dispute your assessed value. The basis of your property taxes begins with your homes' Assessed value. The formula for your property taxes is: Assessed value (fair market value determined by the assessor = 10% of the fair market value) x State Equalizer x Tax Rate = total Taxes owed - exemptions = Total Taxes due. In Illinois, homeowners have two opportunities each year to appeal their assessed values of their homes. The first opportunity is at the Cook County Assessor. The second opportunity is at the Cook County Board of Review. PLEASE NOTE: For 2020, due to Covid-19 and time constraints, the re-review process has been eliminated by the Cook County Assessors' office. If you are dissatisfied with your results from your Cook County Assessor Appeal, you can open an appeal at the Cook County Board of Review later in the year.

Equalization = a uniform percentage increase or decrease to assessed values of various areas and classes of property in an attempt to "equalize" assessment levels to the same percentage of market value The Illinois Department of Revenue calculates the equalization factor and announces it yearly. The 2019 final equalization factor was announced 05-20-20 and is 2.9160 for Cook County. Since homeowners pay taxes in arrears in Cook County, this equalization factor will appear on second installment of the 2019 property tax bill issued in Aug 2020.

There are various reasons. The most common are: 1.) Your home has more livable building square footage than your neighbors. 2.) When a home sells in your area for a higher price, it suggests higher value of all homes. 3.) If you have done a home improvement, building permits are accessible by the assessor. 4.) If you purchased a new home - new construction. 5.) If yu purchased a home that was recently updated or added on rooms, a deck, etc. The prior homeowner receives a Home Improvement exemption, where the assessed vale will not increase due to the home improvement (for a value of up to $75,000) for up to a 4-year period. When that 4-year period expires, the assessed value of the home will increase substantially. 6.) Purchasing a home from a senior owner - they would have senior exemptions that expire and do not transfer to you. Therefore, your taxes will be higher than the actual taxes they paid when they owned the home. 7.) If you never appeal your property taxes - chances are you have a higher assessed value. 8.) If your assessor record contains inaccurate information - i.e. wrong building sq footage - you will need to provide proof and file a certificate of error. 9.) Your home has a masonry exterior and your neighbor has a frame exterior. 10.) Your neighbor may have received exemptions that you do not have or are not qualified to have. i.e. senior exemption, disability exemption, etc. 11.) They have an attached garage and you have a detached garage - attached garage square footage is not part of total building square footage. 12.) State and Local budgets 13.) Supplemental Taxes Please Note: When you file a property tax appeal, you are not appealing the tax rate, the state equalizer, etc. You are appealing your assessed value which is what your property tax bill starts with in terms of applying the state equalizer (multiplier) and the tax rate.

1.) Home improvements that increase the building square footage of your home. Adding a bathrom, bedroom, or additional rooms to your home. - They must be heated and not a three season room (unheated), or adding on another story to the home of livable space. 2.) Refinishing your basement - while basements are not counted in building square footage, a finished basement make your home worth more than an unfinished basement. 3.) Remodeling your kitchen, bathrooms. and other rooms- that increases your homes' value. 4.) Adding a fireplace 5.) Installing a deck - while not part of the building square footage - it increases your homes' overall value. 6.) Purchasiong a home where significant improvements have occurred - new kitchens, new bathrooms, etc.the Homeowners can file for a Home Improvement exemption - this allows themup to a 4-year period in which home improvements up to $75,000 will not affect their assessed value. This exemption does not cover maintenance, gutters, placing siding over existing frame structure, replacing electrical systems, etc. For more info visit - Cook Country Assessor - Homeowner Exemption 7.) Smaller updates - carpeting, kitchen cabinet hardware, blinds, etc. will not increased your assessed value.

A Pin is the Property Index number assigned to your home. Some homes may have more than 1 PIN if the house straddles two properties or additional lots are part of the purchase. If you own a condo, your garage may have a separate PIN. You can locate your homes' PIN in various areas: 1.) At the top of your property tax bill 2.) On your property deed 3.) Closing Documents from the purchase of your home 4.) Reassessment notices 5.) Any notices from the Cook County Assessors' office or from the Cook County Board of Review 6.) Search online at Cook County Assessors' website - property search

In Illinois, the Certificate of Error is the procedure which allows the Cook County Assessor to apply changes to a property tax bill that has already been issued. If you feel you are eligible for a Certificate of Error for more than 1 year, a seperate Certificate of Error mus be filed for each year. The most common reasons for a certificate of error: 1.) A missed exemption that the homeowner was eligible for. Proof of eligibility is required. 2.) Duplicate assessment 3.) Improvements were damaged or destroyed 4.) Incorrect description of property assessed 5.) Approval of a non-homestead property tax exemption by Dept of Revenue if the property was eligible prior to the year that is was approved (35 ILCS 200/14-25) In 2020, the forms must be filed with Cook County Clerks' office between April 1,202 and October 1, 2020. The form is located at: Cook County Certificate of Error