$49 one time vs 25–50% of your first-year savings

Three ways to pay for a Cook County appeal

• Free. You file with the Assessor and the Board of Review yourself, on the county's websites. Both offices charge nothing, and the Assessor says you do not need to hire anyone to appeal.
• Flat fee, you file. You pay once for prepared paperwork (comparable homes, the value to ask for, wording, instructions) and still file yourself. The Cook Tax Check packet is $49, one time, for one property and one tax year.
• Percentage of savings. A company or law firm prepares and files the appeal. If the county lowers your value, you pay a share of the first year's tax saving; if it doesn't, you pay nothing.

None of these changes what the county decides. The Assessor and the Board of Review review the evidence the same way whoever files it.

One saving, three ways to pay

The example below starts at $671 a year: the median yearly tax saving of homeowners who filed on their own at the Board of Review and got a lower value in tax year 2025. Source: Board of Review open data (Appeal Decision History), our analysis, not official figures. Your own saving can be higher, lower or zero; type yours in.

On a $671 saving, a 25% fee is about $168 and a 50% fee about $336, against $49 for the packet or $0 if you file without help.

Side by side

What the percentage services publish

These are the terms each company publishes on its own site or in its own ads. We list them without judging the services. Fees and terms can change, so read the current agreement before you sign.

• Ownwell (ownwell.com): its pricing page lists a fee of 25% of the savings for Cook County, and 25% to 35% of the savings depending on the state. Its terms say you can cancel at any time, effective at the end of the current paid term.
• O'Connor (poconnor.com, cutmytaxes.com): poconnor.com describes the fee as half of the first-year property tax savings, while the cutmytaxes.com enrollment page shows a contingency fee of 30 percent. Its terms say: "Your contract will remain in effect until you cancel it," and that it continues protesting each year; they also say you may cancel the agreement at any time.
• Cook County Tax Appeals (cookcountytaxappeal.com): a Meta ad running since October 7, 2026 says: "Our fee is 25% of your first year's tax savings. No savings, no fee."
• Property Tax Solutions (propertytaxsolutions.com, Chicago): its site describes a 50/50 split of the first-year savings.

Checked on October 9, 2026. Many Cook County law firms also work on a percentage basis; their agreements are usually not published.

When a percentage service makes sense

A percentage service can be the better fit if you do not want to deal with the filing at all, or if you want a licensed attorney to represent you at the Board of Review: under the Board's rules, only you or an attorney can do that. You also pay nothing up front, and nothing if the county does not lower your value.

The trade-off is that the fee grows with the saving. Ask how the service counts the saving it bills you for, whether the agreement covers one year or renews each year, and how to cancel.

When flat or free makes more sense

If you are willing to spend about 20 minutes on the county's site (the Assessor's estimate for an online filing), filing yourself keeps the whole saving. The free path is described step by step in how to appeal property taxes in Cook County, and both offices answer questions by phone for free.

The packet is for owners who want the groundwork done first: the most similar homes near yours with their PINs and assessed values, the value to ask for, text you can paste, a photo checklist and the filing steps for both offices. It costs $49 once whatever the saving turns out to be. You file yourself; we do not file appeals or represent anyone. Start with the free check of your home; you only pay if you decide to buy the packet.

Questions to ask any appeal service

• What share of the saving do you charge, and is it for the first year only?
• How do you count the saving you bill me for: the drop in assessed value, or my actual bill?
• Does the agreement renew every year until I cancel? How do I cancel?
• Who files at the Assessor, and who appears for me at the Board of Review?
• Do you also charge for exemptions I could claim myself for free?

For legal representation questions, see do I need a property tax lawyer.