Review your assessment
We look at whether you're over-assessed and whether an appeal is worth the cost before you spend a dollar pursuing it.
Property Tax Appeals
Property Tax Appeals in Illinois
If your property is assessed for more than it's worth, you are overpaying every year until you fix it — and the county is not going to fix it for you. A property tax appeal is how you push back: built on evidence, filed on time, and aimed at the correct level of review.
Understanding. Answers. Direction.
At Marvel Law, we handle assessment appeals for homeowners, commercial owners, and farmland owners across Central Illinois. We explain in plain terms whether you have a case, what it's worth pursuing, and exactly what the process looks like.
If the assessor has your property valued too high, the fix is an appeal — and the appeal has to be built on the right evidence, filed by the right deadline, and brought before the right level of review.
What we do for you
From a second look to a courtroom — whatever your case needs.
We handle the assessment appeal end to end, at every level the law allows.
Build the evidence
Comparable sales, uniformity comparisons, and — where it pays off — a USPAP appraisal to support a lower value.
File and argue your appeal
At the township assessor, the county Board of Review, and the Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB).
Take it to court when warranted
Through a tax-objection complaint in circuit court — and we handle every property type: residential, commercial, industrial, and farmland.
Built for Illinois law
How Illinois property taxes — and appeals — actually work
A few Illinois-specific rules decide most appeals. Understanding them is the difference between a strong case and a wasted filing.
Assessed value is not your tax bill
This is the single most important thing to understand: you appeal your assessment, not your tax bill. Outside of Cook County, Illinois law assesses most non-farm property at one-third (33.33%) of its fair market value. So if your home would sell for $300,000, its assessed value should be around $100,000. If the assessor has it at $120,000, your fair market value is effectively being treated as $360,000 — and you can challenge that. Farmland is different: it is assessed on an agricultural-use formula based on soil productivity, not on what the ground would sell for. Your tax bill is then the assessed value (after exemptions and the state equalization multiplier) times the local tax rate. An appeal attacks the assessment — the one number you can actually contest.
The appeal path
Illinois gives you a ladder. You don't have to climb every rung, but you generally have to start at the bottom:
- Township assessor / supervisor of assessments. Often the fastest fix. A conversation and good comparables can resolve a clear error before a formal appeal.
- County Board of Review (BOR). Your first formal appeal. The deadline is generally 30 days after your township's assessment list is published in the local newspaper. You present comparable sales, uniformity evidence, and/or an appraisal. The BOR issues a written decision.
- Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB). If you disagree with the BOR, you can appeal to the state PTAB. The deadline is 30 days from the postmark date of the Board of Review's written decision. PTAB is a state administrative body that reviews the evidence fresh.
- — OR — a tax-objection complaint in circuit court. As an alternative to PTAB, you can pay your taxes under protest and file a tax-objection complaint in the circuit court. This is a different track with its own rules and is sometimes the better forum for larger commercial disputes. We'll advise which path fits your case.
A PTAB decision can itself be reviewed in court under the Administrative Review Law. Choosing PTAB versus a circuit-court objection is a strategic decision — the right answer depends on the size of the over-assessment, the property type, and the quality of your evidence.
What actually wins an appeal
Boards and PTAB decide on evidence, not on how high your bill feels. The arguments that move the number are:
- Comparable sales — recent arm's-length sales of similar properties showing a lower fair market value than your assessment implies.
- A USPAP appraisal — for commercial property and larger disputes, a professional appraisal is often the strongest evidence.
- Uniformity — proof that comparable properties in your area are assessed at a lower level than yours. Even if your value is arguably right, Illinois requires uniform assessment, and a lack of uniformity is its own winning argument.
- Errors of fact — wrong square footage, wrong lot size, a building that no longer exists, or a property class that doesn't match reality.
The Marvel Law approach
We tell you up front whether an appeal is worth pursuing.
Sometimes the over-assessment is large and the case is strong; sometimes the likely savings don't justify the effort, and we'll say so. When you do have a case, we build the evidence, hit every deadline, and pick the forum that gives you the best shot.
Richard T. Marvel — bio, credentials, and bar admissions to be inserted from the About/Attorney page, including his litigation and real-estate experience relevant to assessment appeals before the Board of Review, PTAB, and the circuit court.
"Boards and PTAB decide on evidence, not on how high your bill feels." — The Marvel Law approach
Which property, which evidence
What your appeal likely turns on
| Property type | What it's usually about | Evidence that tends to win |
|---|---|---|
| Residential home | Assessment above one-third of market value | Comparable sales; corrected square footage/lot data |
| Commercial / industrial | Over-assessment of income-producing property | USPAP appraisal; income approach; sales comps |
| Farmland | Wrong soil-productivity classification or applied factors | Soil and use data; the agricultural-use formula |
| Any property | Neighbors assessed lower for similar property | Uniformity comparison of assessed values |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Take your assessed value, multiply by three, and compare that figure to what your property would realistically sell for. If the multiplied number is meaningfully higher than market value, you may be over-assessed. (Farmland uses a different, soil-based formula.) Send us your assessment notice and we'll take a look.
The first formal deadline is roughly 30 days after your township's assessment is published, to file with the county Board of Review. If you then appeal to PTAB, that's another 30 days from the Board of Review's decision. Deadlines are strict and vary by township and year — don't wait.
It depends. PTAB is a state administrative appeal with no filing fee and no requirement to pay under protest first. A tax-objection complaint in circuit court is a separate track sometimes better suited to larger commercial disputes. We'll recommend the forum that fits your property and your evidence.
Not always. For many residential appeals, strong comparable sales and a uniformity argument carry the day. For commercial property and larger disputes, a USPAP appraisal is often worth the cost. We'll tell you what your case actually needs before you spend money on it.
Where we serve
Based in Bloomington. Serving central & southern Illinois.
In person and remotely. Assessment appeals across Central Illinois, including Bloomington-Normal, Lincoln, and the surrounding counties:
Property Tax Appeals in McLean County
Property Tax Appeals in Logan County
DeWitt, Woodford, Peoria, Champaign, Macon & more as we expand