Supervisor of Assessments

When going through the appeal process, you, the property owner, are appealing the assessed value of your property, not the amount of tax you pay. The amount of the tax bill is determined by the various tax rates applied to the assessment based on the levies of various local government taxing districts which include counties, townships, municipalities, school districts, special service areas, etc. If the assessment changes, the change will be published in a local newspaper along with all other assessment changes, typically in the later part of the year. individual assessment change notices will also be mailed to the affected property owners. You have the right to appeal your assessment, if there has been a change in your value or if you just feel your current assessment is not fair representation of value. Current Assessed Value X 3 = Current Fair Market Value. Begin by asking yourself, ‘Would I sell this property for at least the Current Fair Market Value the
assessor is showing?” If so, then your current assessment is likely what it should be and the issue is with the tax amount which is beyond the control of the assessor.

NOTE: Tax rates and tax amounts are not an issue for appealing your property assessment. These are decided by the taxing bodies.

Reasons for an Appeal

You may have a legitimate complaint if you can support any of the following claims:

Market Value Complaints

The assessor’s market value is higher than actual market value. Market value is defined as the most probable sale price of a property in terms of money in a competitive and open market, assuming that the buyer and seller are acting prudently and knowledgeably, allowing sufficient time for the sale, and assuming that the transaction is not affected by undue pressures. This definition assumes that the sale is an arms-length transaction, has had a reasonable amount of time and exposure in the open market, and the buyer and seller are knowledgeable and not related. Evidence of market value may include:

• A recent professional appraisal (1 year or less)
• Recent sale of the subject property evidenced by a copy of the sales contract and closing statement. The sale price alone is not necessarily proof of market value and also requires additional evidence such as recent comparable sales, comparable assessed values of similar homes in the surrounding area, etc.
• If new construction: evidence of the cost of construction including the cost of land value of any labor provided the owner or donated to the owner.
• Three recent sales of comparable properties in or near the subject neighborhood, if possible.

Equity Complaints

When the taxpayer cites unequal treatment or lack of uniformity in his/her appeal, he/she must prove by clear and convincing evidence that a disparity of assessment exits. The evidence must demonstrate that a consistent pattern of assessment inequities exists. Isolated examples of assessment inequities are not sufficient to substantiate an assessment reduction. (Kankakee County Board of Review vs. Property Tax Appeal Board, 131 IL 2d1 (1989))

Incorrect Information

The primary assessment of the property is based on inaccurate information, such as an incorrect measurement of a lot or building.

An informal appeal begins with your township assessor. Discussing your assessment concern with your assessor may result in a change to the value which both you and the assessor can agree to, thereby eliminating the need to go through the formal appeal process. This can only be done if the assessor still has the assessment books for that year, which means contacting your assessor before June 1 st. lf you do not agree with the decision of the Township Assessor concerning your issue, you may still be able to avoid the formal appeal process by contacting the Supervisor of Assessments office and discussing your issue with them. lf you still are not satisfied with the Supervisor of Assessments ruling, then the only option is to proceed with a formal appeal through the Board of Review.

• Sample Appeal Form

Supplements:

• New Construction Form
• Comparable Sales Data Form

A formal appeal must be made in writing to the Marion County Board of Review and can only be submitted for the 30-day period following the date Board of Review opens (typically in late October or early November). Call or email the Supervisor of Assessments to receive an appeal form for your specific property. The appeal form must be received by the Board of Review no later than 4pm on the 30th day. Email submissions are acceptable. Note: A written appeal to the Board of Review is a prerequisite to any further appeal to the State Property Tax Appeal Board or the circuit court in your county. lT lS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVE THE CURRENT VALUATION IS NOT FAIR.

Steps in the Appeal of an Assessment:

• Obtain the property record card with the assessed valuation of the property.
• Determine in your opinion the fair market value for the property.
• Determine the basis for your formal complaint (recent sales, similar property assessments, etc).
• File a written complaint with the Board of Review on the Non-Farm Assessment Complaint Form.
• Present all evidence of unfair assessment with your complaint form to the Board of Review.

Evidence Needed:

To support a claim of an unfair assessment, you will need substantial evidence, some of which may be obtained from the Township Assessor Office or Supervisor of Assessments Office, from a professional appraiser, or through research. Pertinent evidence for non-farm property should include some or all of the following:

• A copy of the property record card and photograph of the property under appeal
• Copies of the property record card and photograph of similar property used as comparables
• If a recent purchase, copy of the Real Estate Transfer Declaration, a deed, or a contract for purchase
• A recent appraisal of the property (1 year or less)
• A list of recent sales of comparable properties (including photographs, property record cards, and evidence of the sales prices). A minimum of 3 comparable sales should be provided.

Once you have formally filed an appeal with the Board of Review, the board will review the evidence which has been presented with your complaint. The Board of Review may make a tentative decision based on the evidence presented. You will be notified in writing of your scheduled appointment, along with the proposed change in your assessment (if a tentative decision was made). If you agree with the tentative decision, you may sign the hearing waiver and return it to the Board. If you do not agree with the tentative decision offered,
you must appear at the scheduled time to present your case. After the scheduled hearing you will receive a final decision from the Board of Review. All actions, decisions, and findings of the board are decided by the three-member Board of Review.

Appeal to State Property Tax Appeal Board or Circuit Court:

If you do not agree with the Board of Review final decision, you can appeal the decision (in writing) to the State Property Tax Appeal Board per ILCS Section 16-160 of the Property Tax Code or you may pay under protest and file an objection in court per ILCS Section 23-3 through 23-30 of the Property Tax Code. All final decisions of the Board of Review are subject to equalization per ILCS Section 12-40,16-60, and 16-65 of the Property Tax Code.

In either case, you must pay your taxes pending the outcome of the appeal of the Board of Review’s decision.

For more information regarding an appeal to the circuit court, you may contact the Marion County Circuit Clerk. For information regarding an appeal to the State Property Tax Appeal Board, forms can be obtained from the assessment office or you may contact PTAB directly.

For more information about property tax appeals use the following link to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board website.

• Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board

Click Publications and there are two areas you may want to review. The first is the Assessment Appeal Information Directory and the second is the Appeal Information for Illinois Taxpayers.

Note: If you have a prior year appeal pending with PTAB, you may check on the status of your appeal by clicking Appeal Status Inquiry. You will need either the PTAB docket # or your parcel lD #. If you are searching by your parcel ID#, you will need to type in the dashes between the numbers of your PIN#.

If you wish to know more about the Illinois property tax system, the 2 documents shown below are provided by the Illinois Department of Revenue and explain it in great detail.

• IDOR An Overview of Property Tax
• Illinois Property Tax System