How your assessed value affects your actual property taxes
Your Assessed Valuation and Property Taxes
"The overall amount of real estate taxes to be collected in your community is determined, not by the Assessor nor any single government official, but by all local governments providing services in your community, such as your municipality, school, park and library districts. That is why it is important to be aware of any proposed increases in spending by your local governments. On the other hand, the assessed valuation of your property does determine your share of those taxes. It is important, therefore, that your assessed valuation be accurate and fair." (Cook County Assessor's Office website, April 24, 2015) Further, while you do have some say in local government spending, you have significantly more say in establishing a proper assessment value for your property.
If you live in the City of Chicago, 2018 is a reassessment year for you. This means that your property will be reviewed and evaluated by the Cook County Assessor's Office and given a new assessed valuation to determine your share of the property taxes. This value will remain the same for the next three (3) years -- or until the next reassessment. However, this does NOT mean that the ACTUAL PROPERTY TAXES YOU PAY WILL STAY THE SAME. It simply means that the assessed value will remain constant but the multipliers may fluctuate based on local government spending during that time. It also means that if your assessed value is significantly increased, local governments will not need to increase the property tax RATE in order to have more money at the end of the day. Therefore, it is in YOUR best interest to appeal your property taxes if you feel your reassessment value is higher than it should be based on the assessed values of comparable properties in your neighborhood with the same or similar characteristics. Like it or not, you are stuck with that assessed value for 3 years if you do not appeal at some point during that three-year period.
Please send an email to: Lauren@easytaxappeals.com if you have any additional questions relating to your property taxes! If you are interested in having me appeal your Cook County property taxes, please log on to www.easytaxappeals.com and complete your property information under the "contact" tab. I will provide a free consultation and analysis of your specific potential tax savings (or not). If there is no basis for appeal, I will tell you that before you pay a cent!