Your Real Estate Tax Guide
How Real Estate Taxes Work
The real estate taxes you are required to pay for your property are based on the assessed valuation of your home and the tax rates established by local taxing bodies such as schools and governments. In Cook County, the assessed value of a property is determined by the County Assessor's office. If you believe that your property's assessed value is higher than that of comparable properties with similar characteristics, you can file an appeal with the Cook County Assessor's office to have it reduced. If the appeal is not successful, the next step is to appeal to the Cook County Board of Review. It's worth noting that properties where homeowners have never filed an appeal are often over-assessed.
Steps to File a Property Appeal
- Obtain your Property Identification Number (PIN) from a tax bill or the Cook County Assessors website https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/address-search#address
- Identify comparable properties to your own. Comparable properties are available by submitting your PIN to OPRFCBN using the request form on the following page or the Cook County Assessor's website at https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/what-are-comparable-properties
- Finally, file your appeal "on-line" at the Cook County Assessor's website https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/online-appeals
What are Comparable Properties
Homes that are similar should therefore have comparable assessed values
If homes have similar characteristics, they should have corresponding market and assessed values. To determine if your home has been assessed equitably, you can compare its assessment with other homes that share comparable features. Comparing the assessed value of your home with other homes that have similar attributes is a method to verify if an assessment is equitable or consistent. For two homes to be comparable to each other, they must be similar in:
- location (township and neighborhood)
- property class code
- age
- building square footage
- land square footage
- like type of construction
How do I find comparable properties to mine?
Complete the form on the following page. A list of comparable homes will be delivered to your email in-box and it is free as a courtesy of OPRFCBN. Note: you will need your property identification number (PIN) to receive your list of comparable properties. Your PIN is available from the Cook County Assessor's website at https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/address-search#address.
The Cook County Assessor's website has a video with easy-to-follow instructions on "self filing" your appeal on-line at https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=search&v=980302349390208&external_log_id=73650bf9-d247-428b-ac4d-62c1c795195b&q=cook%20county%20assessor%27s%20office