Frequently Asked Questions

A property tax appeal is a request to reduce the assessed value of your property. It is not an appeal of the tax rate, your school district, or local government spending.

The appeal focuses on whether the county's assessed value is fair based on market value, comparable properties, property characteristics, uniformity, purchase price, vacancy, damage, or other relevant evidence. If the county agrees that your assessment is too high, your assessed value may be reduced.

Every property owner should at least have their assessment reviewed. You do not need to know whether your assessment is wrong before contacting us - that is what we check for you.

An appeal review is especially important if your assessment recently increased, you purchased your property within the last few years, your home is assessed higher than similar nearby homes, your property needs repairs, you completed construction or remodeling, you own a rental or investment property, your property suffered damage, or you are not sure whether your exemptions are correct. In short, if you own property in Cook County or Lake County, it is worth checking.

The Property Tax Department primarily helps property owners with Cook County property tax appeals and Lake County property tax appeals in Illinois. We handle residential property tax appeals, rental property appeals, investment property appeals, and certain commercial assessment reviews.

If your property is outside Cook County or Lake County, we may still be able to review it or point you in the right direction.

You should choose The Property Tax Department because property tax appeals are what we do every day. Our company was founded by a property tax professional who has served as an Illinois assessor and is a Certified Illinois Assessing Officer.

Our team has more than 87 years of combined property tax experience, has handled tens of thousands of appeals, and has helped save clients millions of dollars in property taxes. We know how assessors and Boards of Review evaluate evidence because we understand the system from the inside - that experience helps us identify arguments and comparable properties that many property owners and basic filing services miss.

We also work on a contingency fee basis. There is no upfront fee. If we do not lower your assessment, you do not owe us a fee for the appeal.

There is no upfront fee to file a standard residential property tax appeal with The Property Tax Department. Our fee is a contingency fee equal to 50% of the estimated first-year tax savings from a successful appeal.

That means we are only paid if we reduce your assessment and create estimated tax savings. The first-year savings are split 50/50 between you and The Property Tax Department. Future savings from that same appeal benefit you 100%, unless you later authorize a new appeal or additional service. No reduction means no fee.

Estimated tax savings means the difference between what your tax bill was expected to be without the appeal and what it is expected to be after the successful reduction.

Sometimes the county has not released every final number yet, such as the final tax rate, equalization factor, or tax bill calculation. When that happens, savings must be estimated using the best available county data. Once final tax information is available, the savings can be confirmed or adjusted based on the county's actual figures.

There is no upfront financial risk when you hire The Property Tax Department for a standard appeal. If we do not obtain a reduction, you do not owe us a fee for that appeal.

The practical risk of an appeal is very low. In most unsuccessful appeals, the result is simply "no change," meaning the assessment stays the same. Our guarantee is simple: no reduction, no fee.

In a typical property tax appeal, an unsuccessful appeal results in no change. That means the county did not agree to reduce the assessment, and the assessment remains the same. The county is not supposed to punish property owners for appealing.

However, any assessing office can correct factual errors, omitted property information, or changes to a property if those issues are discovered through the normal assessment process. For most homeowners, the realistic downside of an appeal is that nothing changes.

You can usually appeal every year when the county opens the appeal window for your township or assessment area. Cook County follows a three-year reassessment cycle. Lake County and many other Illinois counties follow a four-year general assessment cycle.

Even when your property is not in a major reassessment year, it can still be worth reviewing your assessment because values, exemptions, property characteristics, and comparable properties can change. The most important rule is simple: do not miss your deadline - appeal windows are short. View current appeal deadlines.

If your appeal deadline has already passed, you may have to wait until the next available appeal window. That does not mean you should ignore it. You can still sign up for a review, and we can monitor your property so you do not miss the next opportunity to appeal.

This is especially important in Cook County and Lake County because appeal deadlines vary by township and are easy to miss.

When you hire The Property Tax Department, we handle the appeal process for you. First, we review your property, assessment history, exemptions, market value, and comparable properties. Then we determine whether there is a basis to file an appeal.

If there is, we prepare the strongest available evidence, file the appeal before the county deadline, monitor the case, and review the county's decision. You do not have to gather comparable sales, figure out county rules, or track multiple deadlines yourself - we handle the details.

Every property is different, so we do not use the same argument for every appeal. Depending on the property, we may review comparable sales, comparable assessed values, uniformity issues with similar nearby properties, recent purchase price, property condition, incorrect property characteristics, vacancy or income issues, assessment history, neighborhood trends, and township data.

The goal is not just to file an appeal. The goal is to file the right appeal with the strongest evidence available.

Yes. You can file a property tax appeal yourself. The question is whether you know what evidence to use, which comparable properties matter, how the county reviews appeals, what deadline applies, and how to avoid weakening your own case.

Many homeowners file appeals with weak or incomplete evidence. Others miss the deadline entirely. The Property Tax Department handles the research, evidence, filing, and follow-up for you. Since there is no upfront fee and no fee unless we reduce your assessment, most clients prefer to have an experienced team handle it.

Yes. You can appeal a property if you own it or are responsible for the property taxes. That includes primary homes, second homes, rental properties, investment properties, and certain commercial properties.

Rental and investment properties may have additional appeal arguments, especially when there are vacancy, income, condition, or market value issues.

The timeline depends on the county, township, appeal level, and when you sign up. Most assessment appeals take several months from filing to decision. Some appeals move faster, and some take longer. Appeals to higher levels, such as the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, can take much longer.

We track the deadlines and status for you, so you do not have to keep checking county websites or worry about missing the next step.

Not always. Most successful appeals reduce the tax bill you would have owed. That savings may show up as a lower bill, not as a separate refund check. In some situations, especially when a reduction is applied after a bill has already been paid, the county may issue a refund or credit.

The timing and method depend on the county and where the case is in the billing cycle. The important point is this: a successful appeal lowers the assessment used to calculate your taxes. Whether that savings appears as a lower bill, credit, or refund depends on timing.

Yes, when authorized, The Property Tax Department can continue monitoring your assessment so you do not miss future opportunities to reduce your property taxes.

This matters because appeal deadlines are short, reassessment cycles vary, and many homeowners do not realize they should appeal until the deadline has already passed. Our goal is to keep you protected year after year, not just file one appeal and disappear.

No. The Property Tax Department, LLC is a private property tax consulting firm. We are not a government agency.

We help property owners navigate the Cook County and Lake County property tax appeal process. We review assessments, prepare evidence, monitor deadlines, and help clients pursue fair property tax reductions.

Signing up is simple. Enter your property address, review the available information, and complete the short sign-up process.

Once you sign up, The Property Tax Department reviews your property and determines whether there is a basis to pursue a reduction. If an appeal makes sense, we handle the process for you. Click here to begin.