How To File a Cook County Property Tax Appeal

The state of Illinois has one of the highest property tax rates in the United States, with an average effective rate of 2.16%—more than twice the national average.

With a rate this high, it is no wonder why so many property owners in Chicago and local counties need help paying their property taxes.

This article will give you the most crucial information about filing a Cook County property tax appeal.

How Do Property Taxes Work?

Paying property taxes is every owner's obligation. Each state sets the ground rules and guidelines which local counties have to abide by. Even though they follow the same rules, property tax rates can vary from one county to another. Whether a local government is going to have higher property tax revenue depends on the development of the land and the number of services collecting the revenue.

Hawaii is the state with the lowest property taxes, while New Jersey has the highest property tax rates.

Property taxes in Illinois fund local governments and numerous local districts, such as:

• Park districts
• School districts
• Sanitary districts
• Fire department districts

The Illinois property taxes even support mosquito abatement districts.

Here Is Why You Should Appeal Cook County Property Taxes

The reason why property taxes in Illinois are excessive is the fact that the revenue funds over 8,000 different taxing authorities. Before buying real estate in Illinois, you should find out what the best and worst counties for owning a property are:

With property tax rates like these, it is not surprising that so many Illinois property owners end up filing appeals.

Cook County Property Tax Assessment Explained

Every two years, the local assessing official will appraise the property to calculate the value. Property’s value depends on several factors:

• Size
• Neighborhood
• Location within the county
• Land-to-property ratio
• Overall condition of the property and land it’s on

Once the property tax assessment is over, county boards should review the assessor’s statement to determine if the value is correct.

Cook County allows owners to dispute the assessed value. If you disagree with the assessment, you can file an appeal to the State Property Tax Appeal Board.

How To Lower Your Property Taxes in Cook County

If you find Cook County tax rate excessive, there are a couple of highly recommended approaches for lowering your property taxes:

1. Don’t do any repairs or renovations before the assessment since they can increase the value of your property
2. Make sure the assessor is doing an adequate job by accompanying them during the valuation
3. Point out any damages on the property
4. Check your property tax bill for any mistakes and irregularities
5. See if you qualify for any property tax exemptions that the state authorizes
6. Gather the necessary information to file an appeal

Chicago Property Tax Assessment Appeal—From A to Z

Dealing with bureaucracy can be tedious and demanding, but you should keep in mind your goal and the benefits you cannot get otherwise.

There are no fees for filing property tax appeals and no potential penalties—if you appeal the assessment, the value cannot increase. It either stays the same or gets lowered.

You can file an appeal online or with the Cook County Assessor’s Office, and you have 35 days from receiving the notice to do so. To learn what else you need for filing Cook County property tax appeals and how to do it, you can consult DoNotPay and get a personalized guide.

Appeal Cook County Property Taxes Using the Best Virtual Assistant—DoNotPay

Managing your taxes, filing appeals, and checking eligibility can be too much for a person, especially someone not working in that field. Certain websites can offer some information about the topic, but they can be too general and not applicable to your case.

DoNotPay had that in mind when creating the life-saving Reduce Property Tax feature!

We use an extensive database that allows us to check every state’s laws and rules and implement them in your situation.

With our convenient service, you can find out if you qualify for any Cook County property tax relief type, including:

• Homeowners property tax exemption
• Veterans property tax exemption
• Senior citizens property tax exemption
• Disabled persons property tax exemption

Here’s how to use our nifty service:

1. Open DoNotPay in any web browser
2. Choose the Reduce Property Tax feature
3. Answer our chatbot’s questions about yourself and your property

Once you complete the short questionnaire, DoNotPay will create a personalized guide.

The handbook contains all the information you need to deal with property taxes—the explanations of necessary forms, rules, regulations, guidelines, requirements, and other details.

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