By Harsha N Hegde
Barrington Township homeowners do not necessarily need a property tax attorney or representative to win an appeal. In the years covered by our analysis, homeowners who filed on their own achieved a higher reduction rate than agent-filed appeals at both the Cook County Assessor and Board of Review.
The difference was particularly clear at the Board of Review. From 2020 through 2025, 56.5% of DIY appeals received a reduction, compared with 40.7% of agent-filed appeals.
Agents filed far more appeals and generally obtained larger median reductions. But the Barrington Township data does not support the assumption that hiring an agent automatically improves a homeowner’s chance of success.
Key findings
- At the Assessor, DIY appeals had a 29.8% reduction rate from 2021 through 2025. Agent-filed appeals had a 25.2% reduction rate.
- At the Board of Review, DIY appeals had a 56.5% reduction rate from 2020 through 2025. Agent-filed appeals had a 40.7% reduction rate.
- In 2025, 68.6% of DIY Board of Review appeals received a reduction, compared with 49.8% of agent-filed appeals.
- Agents generally secured larger median assessed-value reductions among successful appeals.
- Appeal activity rose sharply during 2022 and 2025, Barrington Township’s triennial reassessment years.
Assessor appeal results
The following table compares appeals filed directly by homeowners with appeals filed by agents. The reduction rate is calculated as the number of appeals receiving a reduction divided by the number of closed appeals analyzed.
| Tax year | SFR properties | DIY appeals | Agent-filed appeals | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closed appeals | Reductions | Reduction rate | Median reduction | Closed appeals | Reductions | Reduction rate | Median reduction | ||
| 2021 | 5,353 | 148 | 46 | 31.1% | $5,756 | 451 | 114 | 25.3% | $6,516 |
| 2022 | 5,401 | 545 | 183 | 33.6% | $5,969 | 1,960 | 569 | 29.0% | $8,706 |
| 2023 | 5,402 | 205 | 74 | 36.1% | $5,386 | 571 | 218 | 38.2% | $7,138 |
| 2024 | 5,434 | 270 | 44 | 16.3% | $7,138 | 714 | 88 | 12.3% | $8,730 |
| 2025 | 5,444 | 588 | 176 | 29.9% | $4,758 | 2,124 | 475 | 22.4% | $6,000 |
| 2021–2025 | Annual counts | 1,756 | 523 | 29.8% | Not calculated | 5,820 | 1,464 | 25.2% | Not calculated |
DIY filers had the higher Assessor reduction rate in four of the five years. The exception was 2023, when 38.2% of agent-filed appeals received reductions compared with 36.1% of DIY appeals.
The 2024 results were weak for both groups. Only 16.3% of DIY appeals and 12.3% of agent-filed appeals received reductions. Success rates rebounded in 2025, although they remained below the 2022 rates.
Board of Review appeal results
Homeowners can appeal to the Cook County Board of Review even if they did not first appeal to the Assessor. The Board of Review results were substantially stronger for DIY filers than the Assessor results in every year analyzed.
| Tax year | SFR properties | DIY appeals | Agent-filed appeals | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closed appeals | Reductions | Reduction rate | Median reduction | Closed appeals | Reductions | Reduction rate | Median reduction | ||
| 2020 | 5,343 | 156 | 89 | 57.1% | $3,808 | 1,293 | 449 | 34.7% | $3,908 |
| 2021 | 5,353 | 207 | 80 | 38.6% | $3,064 | 1,042 | 266 | 25.5% | $3,650 |
| 2022 | 5,401 | 312 | 183 | 58.7% | $4,431 | 2,358 | 1,111 | 47.1% | $5,609 |
| 2023 | 5,402 | 207 | 111 | 53.6% | $4,069 | 1,196 | 409 | 34.2% | $5,890 |
| 2024 | 5,434 | 228 | 120 | 52.6% | $3,676 | 1,263 | 435 | 34.4% | $5,648 |
| 2025 | 5,444 | 369 | 253 | 68.6% | $5,543 | 2,606 | 1,298 | 49.8% | $6,519 |
| 2020–2025 | Annual counts | 1,479 | 836 | 56.5% | Not calculated | 9,758 | 3,968 | 40.7% | Not calculated |
DIY appeals had a higher Board of Review reduction rate in all six years. The gap ranged from 11.5 percentage points in 2022 to 22.4 percentage points in 2020.
The best year for DIY filers was 2025. Of 369 appeals, 253 received a reduction, producing a 68.6% reduction rate. Agents filed 2,606 appeals that year, and 1,298 received reductions, for a 49.8% rate.
DIY filers won more often, but agents obtained larger median reductions
Success rate and reduction size measure different things.
DIY filers were more likely to receive some reduction in most of the comparisons above. However, successful agent-filed appeals generally produced a larger median assessed-value reduction. In 2025, for example:
- The median reduction for a successful DIY Assessor appeal was $4,758 in assessed value.
- The median reduction for a successful agent-filed Assessor appeal was $6,000.
- The median reduction for a successful DIY Board of Review appeal was $5,543.
- The median reduction for a successful agent-filed Board of Review appeal was $6,519.
For Class 2 residential property in Cook County, assessed value is generally 10% of estimated market value. A $5,543 assessed-value reduction therefore corresponds to approximately $55,430 in estimated market value. It does not represent the homeowner’s tax savings. Actual tax savings depend on the property’s equalized assessed value, local tax rate, exemptions, and other factors.
These raw comparisons also do not prove that filing method caused the difference. DIY and agent-filed appeals may involve different properties, evidence quality, requested reductions, or case difficulty. Some agents may file a broader set of cases, including weaker cases that homeowners would not pursue themselves.
What the numbers mean for Barrington Township homeowners
The practical conclusion is straightforward: a homeowner can successfully handle a Barrington Township property tax appeal without automatically hiring an agent.
That does not mean every property should be appealed. A strong appeal still needs a defensible requested value supported by relevant evidence. For a lack-of-uniformity appeal, that usually means finding comparable homes with lower assessments after accounting for differences in characteristics. For an overvaluation appeal, it means presenting market evidence that supports a lower value.
If you are ready to file, our guide to the Barrington Township property tax appeal covers the 2026 deadline, the filing form, and how to check your appeal status.
cookcountyappeal.tax analyzes your property and selects relevant comparables for your appeal. You can check your potential reduction for free before deciding whether to proceed.
Methodology and limitations
This analysis covers single-family residential properties in Barrington Township. Appeals were classified as DIY when filed without an identified agent and as agent-filed when an agent was identified.
Reduction rate equals appeals receiving a reduction divided by closed appeals analyzed. Median reduction is calculated only among appeals that received a reduction. We did not calculate a combined multi-year median from the annual medians because medians cannot be combined reliably without the underlying appeal-level values.
The Assessor table begins with 2021 because the 2020 Assessor appeal counts were unavailable in the analyzed data. The zero values recorded for that year should not be interpreted as no appeals having been filed.
Assessor and Board of Review counts should not be added together to estimate unique homeowners. The same property may appear at both appeal levels, and a property may appear in more than one tax year. The figures describe historical outcomes and do not guarantee the result of a future appeal.
Data source: https://datacatalog.cookcountyil.gov/