Property Tax Exemptions Overview

In Illinois, there are numerous Property Tax Exemptions an individual can benefit from.  Here, we will go over just a few Property Tax Exemptions you may qualify for.  Below are a few more common Property Tax Exemptions for Illinois:

• General Homestead Exemption
• Senior Citizens Homestead Tax Exemption
• Homestead Exemption for Persons with Disabilities
• Home Improvement Exemption

These are only a few exemptions, among many, that can save homeowners thousands of dollars.

General Homestead Exemption

This annual exemption is for residential property that is occupied or lived in by the owner of record or the person who is responsible for paying the property taxes.  This exemption reduces the Equalized Assessed Value (EAV) of the property by about $10,000.00.  But remember, this is not the actual amount of the exemption.  The exemption is calculated by the EAV, the $10,000.00, and multiplying your local tax rate which can be found on your second installment tax bill or by contacting the Cook County, Illinois Clerk’s Office at 312-603-6566. 

Remember if you have never received the General Homestead Exemption, you must apply for one. Exemption forms may be found at the Assessor’s Office or your local township or city Assessor’s Office.  You can find out more information on how to apply for the first time General Homestead Exemption at www.cookcountyassessor.com.  Other counties can visit their local Assessor’s websites for information that pertains to the county they live in.  If you have already filed for this exemption, it is automatically set to renew for the tax year 2019, which is billed in 2020

Senior Citizens Homestead Tax Exemption

This exemption provides savings on your property taxes by reducing the Equalized Assessed Value (EAV) of an eligible property.  This savings comes in the form of a deduction of real estate taxes in the second installment of the property tax bill.  The eligibility requirements for this exemption are:

• You must be 65 years or older during the tax year that you are applying for
• You must be the legal owner of the property and be legally responsible for

 the property taxes

• The property must be your primary residence

You must apply for this exemption by filling out the application and providing corresponding documentation that proves you meet the requirements for the Senior Citizens Homestead Tax Exemption.  If the property is located in Cook County, you can find the necessary application and guidelines at www.cookcountyassessor.com/senior-citizen-exemption or by contacting your local Assessor’s Office for more information.  On August 26, 2019, the law regarding this exemption changed to automatically renew for the following tax years.  Unlike, in prior years which required you to apply every year to claim this exemption.  So, if you have already received this exemption on prior years’ property taxes, there is no need to reapply.  Be sure to check with your local Assessor’s Office to ensure you are following their guidelines. 

There is property tax relief for veterans, and many more exemptions to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on your taxes for a bigger refund.  Be sure you know what exemptions you qualify for by contacting your local Assessor’s Office. 

Finally, in most counties, Homeowners Exemption and Senior Freeze exemptions don’t require homeowner to apply for them every year. All other exemptions do. When it comes to Senior Freeze, you also need to live at the property at least 1 year before you can apply to receive this exemption.

Long Time Resident Tax Exemption

The Longtime Occupant Homeowner Exemption enables you to receive an expanded Homeowner Exemption with no maximum exemption amount.

Only approximately 11,000 properties in Cook County qualify for this exemption. The Cook County Assessor’s Office automatically detects which properties qualify based on assessment increases. These properties will receive application forms in the mail.

In order to get approved for the Long Time Resident Exemption, the Total Assessed Value of the property for the year that you are applying to receive this exemption should be higher than the Total Assessed Value of the property 10 years ago or when you bought the property. You can only apply for this exemption if you lived at the property for more than 10 years, have income of 100K or less and your tax savings from this exemption would have exceeded savings you got from the Standard Homeowners Exemption. To learn more:  https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/longtime-homeowner-exemption

Homestead Exemption for Persons with Disabilities

If you have already received this exemption, you should have received a renewal application in the mail some time in February 2020.  To qualify for this exemption, you must be:

• Disabled or became disabled during the tax year
• Own or have a legal interest in the property
• Be legally responsible for payment of the property taxes
• Must have lived in the property since January 1^st of the tax year
• The property is occupied by the spouse, or
• If the property remains unoccupied (perhaps the taxpayer is now residing in a

licensed nursing facility)

Remember, to complete the exemption application with the Assessor’s Office, and you must meet their criteria for being considered disabled.  To find out more about completing the application in Cook County, go to www.cookcountyassessor.com/persons-disabilities-exemption. 

Home Improvement Exemption

The Home Improvement Exemption allows you to increase the value of your home for up to $75,000.00 worth of home improvements without increasing the property taxes for at least four years.  This exemption applies to:

• owners of single-family homes
  • condominiums
  • co-ops, and
  • apartment building up to six units

When making improvements to your home, you must apply for a building permit with your city before starting most improvements to the property.  In Cook County, you can go to www.cookcountyil.gov/service/building-permits.com for more information on how to obtain a building permit.  Please note to make sure you know if the property is in unincorporated Cook County and all permits must be submitted in digital format.  The great thing about this exemption is it should automatically be applied to your tax bill when the building inspector inspects the property after the improvements are complete.  Always follow-up with the Department of Building and Zoning and your Assessor’s Office just to be sure.

What You Need To Know if You Missed The Filing Deadline

In Cook County, the deadline for filing the General Homestead Exemption and the Senior Citizens Homestead Tax Exemption was usually in mid-February. Nevertheless, in the past, one could file for any exemption just up to the point when the 2^nd installment tax bill was issued by visiting the Cook County Assessor office and submitting their documentation at the counter. This year the deadline for filing ALL exemptions was moved to April 10^th.

However, if the homeowner missed the filing deadline but tries to apply for an exemption at the later date, that exemption will not be applied to their 2^nd installment tax bill if the 2^nd installment tax bill was already generated by the County Treasurer. To get their exemption, the homeowner would have to file a Certificate of Error with the County Assessor after the 2^nd installment tax bill is paid to get the exemption amount refunded to them after the fact.

A lot of people in Cook County, in general, are missing their exemptions. Homeowners who are missing exemptions can always file a Certificate of Error to get all exemptions refunded to them for the last three (3) years, granted they would have qualified to receive these exemptions in the first place 3 years ago.

Finally, to receive all of these exemptions, the homeowner must prove that they lived at the property as of January 1^st of the year for which they are applying to receive such exemption; this can usually be done by presenting the county with a valid drivers license or voter registration card. However, if the homeowner did not change their license to reference the new address right after the purchase of the home or renewed their drivers-license because it has expired,  in this situation, the owner would have to complete an Ownership Affidavit that he lived at the property as of January 1^st of the year when he was first eligible to receive their exemptions.