Do I have to apply every year? No. Once you apply, the Homeowner Exemption will renew automatically in subsequent years as long as your residency remains the same.

In order to qualify for a property tax exemption, your organization must be exclusively beneficent and charitable, religious, educational, or governmental and own the property that is used exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, or governmental purposes and not leased or used for profit.

Illinois law provides the Certificate of Error procedure to allow the Cook County Assessor to apply changes to a property tax bill that has already been issued. It is a way to make a correction after the assessment for that tax year is finalized.

Cook County homeowners may reduce their tax bills by hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year by taking advantage of the Homeowner Exemption. Exemptions reduce the Equalized Assessed Value (EAV) of your home, which is multiplied by the tax rate to determine your tax bill.

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.

In Cook County, taxpayers can file an appeal with the County Assessor or the County Board of Review. Call these offices and ask for the date for filing an appeal in your township: The County Assessor's Taxpayer Assistance Department (312) 443-7550. The Board of Review (312) 443-5542.

You can get your property taxes lowered by proving that your house is worth less than the assessor says it is. To do this, you have to appeal to your local board of review. You can find contact information for your local board of review on the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board website.