Property Tax Frequently Asked Questions
The 10th District staff is available to assist homeowners with property tax assistance including exemptions, certificates of error, and appeals. Read below for more information provided by the Cook County Assessor’s Office, including frequently asked questions and topics about the property tax process. To contact us directly regarding property tax questions, email district10@cookcountyil.gov or call 312-603-4210.
2024 Assessment Calendar: City of Chicago
Properties located in the City of Chicago are undergoing reassessment this year. When a township "opens" property owners will receive a Reassessment Notice in the mail that contains important information including the new estimated Fair Market Value of their property. The date on which a township opens for appeal is listed below. A property owner has until the date listed under "last file date" to file an appeal if they choose to do so.
Note: updated values take an additional business day to appear online from the mail date. As townships in the City of Chicago are certified, updated values also take an additional business day to appear online from the "Certified" date. By law, the assessment roll must also be published in a print newspaper. The "published" date refers to when the information will be available in the newspaper.
The CCAO publishes residential and commercial valuation reports for each township as they are reassessed. To access these reports, visit https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/valuation-reports.
Property Tax Exemptions
Property tax exemptions are savings that contribute to lowering a homeowner’s property tax bill. The most common is the Homeowner Exemption, which saves a Cook County property owner an average of approximately $950 dollars each year. Read about each exemption below.
To determine which exemptions are currently being applied to a residence, homeowners can review their Property Details, and then review the Exemption History and Status section to determine which exemptions they received.
New homeowners and those who need to reapply can do so by completing the online application.
If a homeowner believes they are entitled to exemptions in previous tax years, a Certificate of Error application can be filed to redeem past savings. Click on the individual exemption below to learn how to file.
The deadline for 2024 exemptions is now closed, but you will have the opportunity to file any missing exemptions as a certificate of error.
Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze "Senior Freeze"
Senior homeowners are eligible for this exemption if they are over 65 years of age and have a total household annual income of $65,000 or less in the 2022 calendar year. A "Senior Freeze" Exemption provides property tax savings by freezing the equalized assessed value (EAV) of an eligible property. This does not automatically freeze the amount of their tax bill, only the EAV remains at the fixed amount. Tax rates may change and thus alter a tax bill. The automatic renewal of this exemption due to COVID-19 has ended. Applicants must apply annually.
NEW: The "Senior Freeze" has been renamed to the Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze.
State legislation now considers homeowners enrolled in the following programs to be eligible for the "Senior Freeze." Proof of enrollment is required, please read the instructions under the Eligibility section to learn more.
Aid to the Aged, Blind or Disabled (AABD) Program
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
The Benefit Access Program
Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program
Automatic Renewal: No, this exemption must be filed annually.
Due Date: The deadline to file for tax year 2023 is Monday, April 29, 2024.
Did you file online for your senior freeze exemption?
Log in to view your application status.
How can a homeowner see which exemptions were applied to their home last year?
Check the Property Details, then review the Exemption History and Status section.
📌 Reminder: Exemptions appear on your second installment tax bill issued in the summer. To learn more about how the property tax system works, click here.
senior exemption
Most senior homeowners are eligible for this exemption if they are 65 years of age or older (born in 1958 or prior) and own and occupy their property as their principal place of residence. Once this exemption is applied, the Assessor’s Office automatically renews it for you each year. A Senior Exemption provides property tax savings by reducing the equalized assessed value of an eligible property.
Automatic Renewal: Yes, this exemption automatically renews each year.
Due Date: The deadline to file for tax year 2023 is Monday, April 29, 2024.
Did you file online for your senior exemption?
Log in to view your application status.
How can a homeowner see which exemptions were applied to their home?
Check the Property Details then review the Exemption History and Status section.
📌 Reminder: Exemptions appear on your second installment tax bill issued later this year. To learn more about how the property tax system works, click here.
Missing exemptions from prior tax years?
If an exemption(s) was not applied to the 2022 Second Installment Property Tax Bill, homeowners may be able to apply for a refund through the Certificate of Error process. The Certificate of Error process allows homeowners to redeem missing exemptions. Homeowners can now file for past exemptions for tax years 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018.
Should I appeal my assessment?
If the property characteristics listed on your assessment notice are incorrect, or if the estimated market value of your home is significantly more than what you believe your home could sell for in the current real estate market, you should file an appeal. The last date to file an appeal is printed on your notice. A good rule of thumb is this: If the property characteristics on this notice are correct and the estimated market value is within 10 percent of what you think your home is worth then it is unlikely that an appeal would change your property’s assessed value enough to significantly affect its property tax bill.
Will I pay less in property taxes if I file an appeal?
An appeal is intended to correct the accuracy of your property’s assessment. An increase (or decrease) in your home’s assessment does not lead to the same increase (or decrease) in your property taxes. The Assessor does not set property tax levies, rates, or bills.
Your property’s share of the total assessed value of all properties within your community affects your share of your community’s property taxes.
This means your home’s value can increase, while its share of property taxes could increase, decrease, or stay the same due to the reassessment of your city, village, or town. If other properties’ assessments increase more than yours, this can shrink your home’s share of property taxes.
Your property tax bill depends not just on your property’s assessment, but also its exemptions, the total assessed value of your community, and the levies passed by local taxing bodies. Your property tax bills list the taxing districts funded by your property taxes.
Changes in your tax bill due to changes in assessments or local levies will be reflected in your second installment tax bill the year following your reassessment. For instance, reassessments received in 2021 will affect the property tax bill issued in the summer of 2022.
I recently purchased my home. Why is the Assessor’s Office estimate of my home’s market value not the same as my purchase price?
A home’s recent purchase price is sometimes, but not always, a reflection of its true market value. Sale prices of a home depend on not just the characteristics of the home itself, but also the individual buyer, seller, and even the time of year. To be fair to all properties—those that have sold recently, and those that haven’t—the CCAO uses the same methods to estimate true market values.
Do I need to hire someone to file an appeal?
You do not need to hire anyone to file an appeal for you. Filing an appeal is free and can be done online in as little as 20 minutes.
You may have received a notice in the mail from a property tax firm saying they can file an appeal on your behalf. These notices do not come from our office and are sent by firms which charge you a fee based on their estimates of how much they think they can save you in property taxes. These estimates may or not be accurate.
How do I file an appeal?
We encourage the filing of appeals online. Please read our complete guide to online appeals before filing. If you are unable to file an appeal online due to lack of access, you can find more information about filing a paper appeal form here.
All filers must adhere to the Official Appeal Rules of the Cook County Assessor.
When should I file an appeal?
Typically, you have 30 days to file an appeal after receiving your reassessment notice. The last date to file an appeal for that year is printed on your notice. If you miss your appeal period in your reassessment year, you may appeal the following year when your township is open for appeals. Once you have appealed your reassessment once, you do not need to do it each year, unless the characteristics of your property have changed significantly due to new construction, demolition, vacancy, or other issues.
To see the appeals schedule, go to cookcountyassessor.com/calendar.
How does the Assessor’s Office calculate the estimated market value of my property? The process used to calculate residential property and commercial/industrial property differs. See the following pages for more information:
How Residential Property Is Valued
How Commercial Property Is Valued
What is the difference between the estimated market value and the assessed value?
The estimated market value is what our office believes properties like yours are worth in the current real estate market. The assessed value of your home is the amount used to calculate your property taxes. For residential property, this is usually 10% of the estimated market value. For commercial property, this is typically 25% of estimated market value. Here is a list of property types with links to the forms you may need to upload into our online appeals system.
The kind of appeal you file depends on your property type.