Understanding Your Assessment

Understanding Your Assessment
 

Illinois law requires that the estimated property value and assessed valuation of your property be periodically updated for real estate tax purposes. In Cook County, this general reassessment is done every three years.

Property Value and Assessed Valuation

The estimated value of your property is determined by analyzing sales information of similar homes in your area.

Your Assessed Valuation and Property Taxes

The overall amount of real estate taxes to be collected in your community is determined, not by the Assessor nor any single government official, but by all local governments providing services in your community, such as your municipality, school, park and library districts. That is why it is important to be aware of any proposed increases in spending by your local governments. On the other hand, the assessed valuation of your property does determine your share of those taxes. It is important, therefore, to you and to our office, that your assessed valuation be accurate and fair.

Appealing Your Assessment

You should consider filing an appeal  with the Assessor's Office if you think your new proposed assessed valuation is too high compared to similar properties in your area. You may also file an appeal if you believe that there is an error in the description of your property. However, a minor error does not necessarily indicate an incorrect assessment.

You can find the reassessments of other homes in your neighborhood in the newspaper publication indicated on your reassessment notice. In addition, our office will provide computer printouts of data for similar homes in your area for you to review as comparison properties. Data on sales of comparable homes is also available.

You do not need an attorney or a tax representative to file an appeal. Personal assistance and information, including forms and specific guidelines for filing appeals, are available from our Taxpayer Services Department. In the suburbs, assistance is also available from the local township assessor.

What You Can Do About High Property Taxes

Property tax increases are directly related to the amount of money your local government requests for spending. Only when local governments stop relying so heavily on the property tax to fund education and other government services will property owners see property tax relief. In an attempt to create a more equitable tax system, Cook County Assessor James Houlihan has continued to support legislation involving a $1 billion statewide reduction in property taxes for schools, coupled with a dollar for dollar replacement of that revenue with a corresponding increase in state income taxes. If you are interested in helping curb government's over reliance on the property tax, contact your state legislators as well as your local government agencies and voice your opinion regarding the restructuring of the property tax system.