Am I over-assessed — and is it worth it?
Is it worth appealing property taxes in Cook County?
For most over-assessed homeowners, yes. Filing is free at both county stages, it takes about 30 minutes with the right comparables, and appealing does not raise your assessment at the Assessor. The real question is not whether it is worth trying — it costs nothing to file — but whether your home is actually over-assessed.
Cook County over-assessment is structural: mass appraisal values hundreds of thousands of parcels by formula, so individual homes routinely land above comparable properties. If a comparison to similar nearby homes shows you are high, an appeal has a real basis. If you are already at or below your peers, appealing is unlikely to help — and it is honest to say so.
Check your address — freeSee your own assessment math before you file. You keep 100%.