The Chicago Sun-Times recently published an investigative report claiming Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi cut 2020 assessments for nearly all Cook County homes based on a “wild miscalculation” that pandemic-induced job cuts would cause home values to plummet. Home prices skyrocketed, however, and it appears the Assessor jumped the gun.

According to Civic Federation president, Laurence Msall, “They [the Assessor’s office] took a gamble, and the gamble didn’t turn out as they expected.”

How did this impact taxpayers?

Winners and losers

The Assessor’s actions did not reduce government spending. Taxing bodies still needed the same money to operate, but the Assessor’s COVID adjustments did impact tax bills. Since property taxation is a zero-sum game, many taxpayers ended up paying more (often, much more) so others could pay less (mostly a little less).

And, the pain suffered by the losers was much worse than the gain enjoyed by the winners.

Who paid more?

It’s fair to say that everyone in Cook County paid 10.54% more because of the Assessor’s COVID tax relief.

Why? These huge reductions in the assessment base caused the Cook County equalizer to spike 10.54% and that caused 10.54% upward pressure on every 2020 Cook County tax bill.

But, many homeowners experienced offsetting tax savings (10% or so) because of the Assessor’s COVID assessment reductions. In the end, however, many homeowners paid higher taxes as the 10.54% increase in the equalizer was greater than the 10% (+/-) savings they experienced from their assessment reductions.

The Sun-Times and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas report that “50% of the county’s homeowners ended up with bigger tax bills, and 78% of the commercial property owners ended up with bigger bills to cover the COVID discounts homeowners got.”

So, there was much pain for many because of a “miscalculation” that proved wrong. And, according to the Civic Federation, “A lot of the relief they gave was uneven and not where it was needed.”

At the end of the day, this ended up being a shell game that confused everyone.

Our Thoughts

The Assessor’s job is to value real estate based on market data. He is not supposed to speculate what property might be worth in the future, but to value property based on actual data and events that occurred before the valuation date (January 1^st of the tax year). It’s NOT the Assessor’s job to speculate on future property values, nor to make tax policy (to determine who should pay more or less). That’s the job of the legislature. The Assessor’s job is to value properties based on hard data.

It’s clear the Assessor had no solid data on how COVID impacted property values when he made his COVID adjustments at the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, his former data chief, Robert Ross, admitted, “We guessed it wrong” (quoted in the Sun-Times).

That being the case, if any taxpayer believed COVID impacted the value of his or her property, that issue should have been raised by the taxpayer in a tax appeal supported by appropriate evidence. That’s how the law is supposed to work. And that would have resulted in a fair outcome for all taxpayers.

 What can you do?

 The property tax world today is ever-changing. Old approaches to contesting assessments don’t work as well today. To get the lowest tax bill possible, you must keep your ear to the ground and adapt your tactics and strategies to work in the current environment. Today, there is no substitute for good lawyering and sage valuation knowledge.

To read the Sun Times article, click here.

Leading Lawyer magazine names Elliott & Associates partner Mike Elliott #5 Real Estate Tax attorney in Illinois and #3 in the Suburban Real Estate category.

Question:
Why did I get a one-year assessment reduction?

​Answer: 
Assessment reductions are generally awarded for multiple years.  But, occasionally they may be awarded for one-year only.  And, that is not necessarily a bad thing.  Here’s how one-year reductions work and why they may actually be a good thing.
 
Property in Cook County is assessed triennially, meaning once every 3rd year.  Once an assessment is reduced, that reduction will typically remain in place for all 3-years of the assessment cycle.   
 
Outside of Cook County, property is assessed quadrennially, or every 4th year and any reduction should benefit the taxpayer for the remainder of the assessment cycle, and maybe longer.  That’s because the Assessor adjusts assessments each year by a percentage called a factor.  Factors reflect changes in real estate values in the local community.  So, when an assessment reduction is awarded one year, it carries forward to all future years of the same assessment cycle because the factor is applied to the reduced assessment rather than the originally proposed/higher one. 
 
In Cook County, the Assessor and Board of Review sometimes mark their reductions as one year only.  In those cases, the assessment the following year will be increased to the original level (before the reduction) and the taxpayer will need to appeal again.       
 
The Cook County assessing officials tend to issue one-year reductions when property has

• high vacancy,
• unusually low rental income,
• unusually high expenses, or
• the building was constructed or demolished during the tax year.          

One-year assessment reductions can be substantial and the assessment will often be reduced well below the level of the prior year.            
 
The assessing officials tend to award one-year reductions to help taxpayers who are suffering financially.  But, they require the taxpayer to appeal again the following year to prove the hardship continues to exist.              

Multi-year reductions, on the other hand, tend to be less dramatic.   Usually, an assessment increase is reduced or eliminated and the reduction will carry forward to the rest of the assessment cycle.   
 
One-year assessment reductions often occur in Cook County.  And, are a good thing because the assessment is often reduced much more than it would have been had a multiple-year reduction been awarded.

Question: 
If Elliott appeals my assessment and wins, will my tax bill be less than last year?
 
Answer:
Not necessarily.  But, in nearly all cases, if we file a tax appeal for you and win, your taxes will be less than otherwise and you will save money.
 
Here’s why.      
 
Your taxes are based on:

1. Your current assessment
2. The county equalization factor,
3. Your local tax rate, and
4. Any exemptions you are entitled to receive as a homeowner.

If we file an appeal for you and win, your assessment will be reduced.  And, that reduced assessment will be reflected on your next tax bill. 

If the originally proposed assessment were reflected on your bill, your taxes (before exemptions) would be higher.                
The difference between the taxes based on the original assessment and the final one because of the appeal we filed is the tax savings. 
 
Your tax bill following a successful appeal could be more or less than the prior year.  Why?   

• Even though your assessment was reduced this year, it could be higher than last year.          

• The county equalization factor changes each year and tends to rise over time.  The tax rate reflects local government spending that increases over time causing rates to go up.  On the other hand, increasing property values can put downward pressure on tax rates.  So, tax rates change each year.     

•  And, finally, the value of the exemptions you receive each year can change.

The savings you realize from a tax appeal is not computed by comparing this year’s bill to last year’s because there are other factors that change from year to year that affect your bill.  The savings you realize from a tax appeal is the difference between the taxes you would have owed had no appeal been filed and the taxes you will owe following the appeal. 

Question:  
​You filed an appeal on my property and the assessment was reduced, buy my tax bill is higher than last year.  Where are the savings?

Answer:
​When your assessment is reduced because of a tax appeal, your taxes before exemptions will always be less than what they would have been had there been no reduction. You cannot see the savings by comparing this year’s bill to last year’s bill. You see the savings by comparing this year’s bill to the bill you would have received had your assessment not been reduced. 

Your taxes are determined by the: assessed value, state equalization factor, and local tax rate.
 
Months before you received your bill, the Assessor placed an assessment on your property.  In a reassessment year, an assessment notice was mailed to you.
 
You contested that assessment and caused it to be reduced. The reduced assessment appeared on your tax bill and was used to compute your taxes.
 
But, since you won your appeal, you never saw the bill that would have been issued had the original assessment not be lowered.
 
The bill you received included the reduced assessment and not the original  Here’s what an actual tax bill looks like and what the bill would have looked like had there been no assessment reduction.

​As you can see, the actual tax was lower than the tax that would have been billed had no reduction been obtained. That’s the savings.          
 
There are several factors that could have caused this year’s real estate tax bill to be greater than last year’s.

1. Equalizers and tax rates vary from year to year but tend to increase over time.
   1. This year’s equalization factor may have been higher than last year’s.
   2. This year’s tax rate could have been higher than last year’s.
2. Even if there was an assessment reduction, this year’s assessment may have been higher than last year’s assessment.

The tax savings that you realize because of an assessment appeal is the difference between the actual taxes billed and the taxes that would have been billed had no reduction been obtained. It is not the difference between this year’s taxes and last year’s taxes. 

Question: 
How is my tax bill calculated? ​

Answer:
Your tax bill is based on your current assessment, current equalizer, current tax rates and any exemptions you are entitled to as a homeowner.
 
Here’s how the bill is computed:

1. Your tax bill reflects the current assessment of your property.  If an appeal was filed– and if you won that appeal – the reduced assessment will appear on your tax bill.
2. The assessment is multiplied by the County equalization factor to arrive at the equalized assessed value of your property or the EAV.  This is also known as the taxable property value.            
3. The EAV is multiplied by the local tax rate to determine the gross tax due.
4. If you are a homeowner, you may be entitled to receive exemptions.
5. Exemptions are then deducted from the gross tax to arrive at the net tax due.

Question: 
Why does my tax bill rise each year? 

Answer:
Tax bills can rise over time even when you diligently contest your assessment.  But, if you don’t contest your assessment, the tax increases will be even greater. 

Here’s why.
                                                                                                                         
Property taxes are directly impacted by local government spending.  If you review your tax bill, you will see all the governmental agencies that levy a tax on your property.

The more these agencies spend, the greater the tax they take from property owners like you.

The amount government takes from you is reflected on your tax bill in the tax rate.  The higher the spending, the higher the tax rate and the more you will owe.          
                                                
Many governmental agencies are limited by law as to how much they can take from property owners each year.  These limitations are known as tax caps.  Tax caps limit tax levies from increasing from year to year by more than the rate of inflation —which has been about 2% to 3% per year recently.  
             
But, other agencies are not limited by tax caps and they can take whatever amount they wish.    
In the final analysis, you can expect tax levies to increase at least 2% to 3% each year because of increases in government spending.    
                                                                                                     
So, even if you keep your property assessment under control, increases in spending could cause your tax bill to grow over time.                                                                                                                          
But, if you don’t contest your assessment, the situation will be even worse as a higher tax rate will be applied to a higher assessment causing an even higher tax bill.

Question:
Elliott & Associates is pursuing a tax appeal for me.  Should I pay my tax bill?

Answer: 
Yes, you should pay your tax bill even though you have an appeal pending.  Here’s how the appeal process affects your tax bill.     
 
In Illinois, property taxes are paid in arrears.  That means taxes for a particular year are paid the next year.  
 
In Cook County, taxes are payable in two installments.  The first installment is 55% of the prior year’s tax bill and is basically a down payment on what you will eventually owe for this year.  So, you need to pay your 1st installment bill regardless of whether a tax appeal is pending.

After all appeals have been concluded, 2nd installment tax bills will be computed and issued.  The 2nd installment bills are usually mailed around July 1st and due August 1st.  The 2nd installment bill will reflect any assessment reduction we obtain for you.  If your assessment is reduced, your 2nd installment bill will be smaller than otherwise.              
 
Your 2nd installment bill will include a credit for the amount you paid for the 1st installment and you will be billed for the balance due.         
 
Outside of Cook County, tax bills are not issued until all appeals have been concluded.    Then, the taxes are computed and will reflect any assessment reduction we obtain for you.  The bills are usually mailed in mid-April and payable in two installments of 50% each.  There is no estimated 1st installment bill as there is in Cook County.
 
So, regardless of whether your property is located in Cook County or elsewhere, you must pay each tax bill when it due regardless of whether a tax appeal is pending.  If you fail to do so, interest will accrue at the rate of 1-1/2% per month.