After the Assessor's decision: your next steps

How the Assessor sends your result

When you file online with the Assessor, you get two emails: one confirming your submission and a second with your appeal docket number, which you use to refer to your appeal. The Assessor says the results of your appeal will be sent by mail. The Filing ID in the confirmation email is a system number, not your docket number.

Keep the letter and the docket number together with the evidence you filed. You will want both if you go on to the Board of Review.

If the result is no change

A no-change result means the Assessor kept the value it had set. The Assessor's appeal rules say it does not provide re-reviews of its appeal decisions. If you do not agree with the decision on your property's value, the rules point you to a further appeal at the Cook County Board of Review.

A factual error is a different matter. If the Assessor has your square footage, building characteristics or property class wrong, its rules encourage you to contact the office about the error, even outside the appeal period. A mere difference of opinion about value is not a factual error.

Remember that a lower or unchanged assessment does not translate directly into your bill. The Assessor notes that your bill also depends on exemptions, the total assessed value of your community and the levies passed by local taxing bodies.

Next: the Board of Review, in the same year

The Board of Review is a separate agency, independent of the Assessor. It opens townships for appeals after the Assessor has finished assessing each property in that township, and each township is open for at least 30 days. The Board's decision sets the final county value on the property for that tax year.

Timing matters. Township filing dates vary every year and are not set in advance. If your township has not opened yet, you can pre-register your complaint online. If it has already closed, the Board of Review says you must wait until next year. You can file online, in person or at an outreach seminar, and individual taxpayers may represent themselves.

Check your township's Board of Review window on our deadlines by township page. Each township page, for example Proviso or Jefferson, lists both the Assessor and Board of Review dates. For how a hearing works, see the Board of Review hearing.

What to bring to the Board of Review

The Board of Review considers any evidence you want it to consider. For homes, its FAQ mentions a photograph of your property's exterior, photographs and PINs of the properties you compare yours to, and other documents such as affidavits or an appraisal. It encourages a signed statement explaining why you believe your property is over-assessed. Evidence can be submitted up to 5 days before your hearing, through the online portal or the clerk's office.

If you used comparable homes at the Assessor, look at them again: see how to choose comparables.

After the Board of Review: PTAB or Circuit Court

The Board of Review says that after first appealing to it, you may choose to appeal further to the Cook County Circuit Court or to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB). The Assessor's filing guidelines say the same: if you are not satisfied with a Board of Review decision, the next step is PTAB or the Circuit Court, not a Certificate of Error at the Assessor.

For PTAB, the petition must be filed within 30 days of the postmark date of the Board of Review's written decision, or of the notice of final township multipliers. PTAB says late appeals are rejected. Filing with PTAB is free, and an individual taxpayer may represent themselves. Your taxes still come due while a PTAB appeal is pending, so pay them on time. If PTAB lowers your assessment, its decision is sent to the county treasurer, who is required by law to refund the overpaid taxes. A PTAB decision covers only the year you appealed. More in PTAB after the Board of Review.

When a change shows on your bill

The second installment bill cannot be calculated until the Board of Review has finished its review of every appeal in all 38 townships for that tax year, and it is not issued until after your Board of Review decision has been received. The Assessor says changes in assessments are reflected in the second installment bill the year after the reassessment.

Do not hold back a payment while you wait. The Board of Review's FAQ says the first installment is, by law, 55% of the previous year's total bill and is due on receipt.

Your next step

Find your township's Board of Review window, gather your Assessor decision letter and evidence, and decide whether to file. A free check of your home against similar homes can show whether your assessment still looks out of line. Any appeal can end with no change.