any Chicagoans received their property tax assessment notices recently. While you may want to simply pay your tax bill and forget it, you could profit by making a bit of an effort to ensure that the assessment is correct.
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| If you own a home in Cook County, you can pay your property tax bill at any LaSalle branch and receive a receipt for your records. |
Mistakes can happen
Many localities inspect area homes only every few years using computer models, which can accurately assess a neighborhood as a whole but may be off the mark for individual houses.
The assessment for a brand-new home may be based on the builder's "good-faith" estimate, which may not be in line with assessed values of comparable homes.
Checking your assessment
First, determine some basic information about your property and neighborhood:
 Measure the outside dimensions of your house. (Note if the second story is smaller than the first.)
Check your land survey for the legal identification and dimensions of your lot.
Get the addresses of area homes similar to yours in age, size, style and condition. (Your real estate agent may be able to look up comparable properties for you.)
Compare your findings with the tax assessor's record to see if it accurately reflects the amenities and attributes of your house. Look up assessments on the comparable homes to see if they're in line with yours.
How to get an adjustment
You can get an assessment adjusted by proving that it is based on incorrect data or not in line with assessed values of comparable homes.
The process could be as simple as scheduling a meeting with the tax assessor, or you may have to submit a request for a formal appeal.
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