You should first contact your township assessor for an explanation of your assessed value. You may be able to come to an agreement on the proper assessment with him/her. If not, you should file an assessment appeal with the Board of Review, on forms available from this office.Assessment appeals must be filed within 30 days of publication of the assessment list in the newspaper. The Board of Review will hear your appeal and make a ruling. If you are dissatisfied with the Board’s ruling, you may appeal to the State of Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board.
To obtain a copy of the Board of Review’s rules, click here.
How are tax bills calculated?
A property tax bill is calculated by multiplying the assessed value times the tax rate. Any homestead exemptions in effect serve to reduce the assessed value. The tax rate is determined by the budgets adopted by the local taxing districts your property resides in. The following example may help:
Market Value |
$150,000 |
Assessed @ 33.33% |
$50,000 |
Less Exemption(s) |
– 6,000 |
Taxable Value |
$44,000 |
Tax Rate |
x 8.50% |
Tax Due |
$ 3,740.00 |
In this example, a house with a market value of $150,000 is assessed at 33 1/3% of value, or $50,000. The general homestead exemption reduces the taxable value. The tax rate of 8.50% is determined by the money requested by the school, city, county, parks, etc. Generally, tax rates are slightly less in rural areas where fewer local government services are available.
Your tax bill depends on two things: the spending of local taxing districts, and the assessed value of your property. Assessed values of non-farm property, in recent years, have been going down, primarily in response to the changes in the residential and commercial real estate markets. Property assessments are to be based on market values. As the real estate market changes, property assessments will follow. The amount of the tax bill, however, depends on how much money your local units of government are spending. In a period of declining property assessments, tax bills can still increase if your school district, or municipality, or other districts continue to budget and spend more money.
If you are concerned about rising property taxes, we encourage you to:
- Attend budget hearings of your local taxing districts (schools, cities, parks, etc.).
- Contact taxing authorities and their board members.
- Decide if you can live without services to keep taxes lower.
- Voice your concerns with your local legislators.
- Work for more efficient government.