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Blog · Appeals · 2026-08-04 · 2 min read

Yes, the board can raise your assessment

It is uncommon, it is real, and it is the reason to check whether you are the low one first.

An Illinois Board of Review has authority to increase an assessment as well as reduce it. Filing opens your assessment to review — not only the part you complained about.

How often it happens

Rarely. Most appeals result in a reduction or no change. But "rare" is not "never", and the cases where it happens are predictable: the review turns up something the record did not have. An addition never permitted. A finished basement. A square footage lower on file than in reality.

Who should be careful

Anyone whose property is better than the county's record of it. If you finished the attic without a permit, an appeal invites someone to look. Fix your expectations before you file.

The check worth doing first

Compare yourself to properties the county records describe the same way. If most of them are assessed more than you, you are already the beneficiary of the spread and filing is a bad trade. Any honest analysis will tell you this, and a tool that never says it is not helping you.

How to reduce the risk

Make sure the county's record of your property is accurate and that you would be content for it to be verified. Argue a narrow, specific ground rather than "my assessment is too high generally". And do not file for a saving so small it is not worth the exposure.

This is general information about how Illinois assessments and appeals work. It is not legal advice, not an appraisal, and not a prediction about your case. Deadlines and rules differ by county — check yours with your Board of Review.

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More on Appeals

The 30-day rule: the deadline most owners miss Your window opens when the township list is published, not when the notice reaches you.How to file a Board of Review appeal in Illinois The form, the evidence, the copies, and the order to do them in.What actually happens at a Board of Review hearing Ten to fifteen minutes, three people, no robes. Here is the shape of it.Do you need a lawyer to appeal your property taxes? For a house, usually not. For a corporate-owned property at PTAB, usually yes.

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