Cook County Property Tax Senior Exemption

Can I Still Receive The Senior Citizen Exemption If My Property Is Listed In The Name Of My Late Spouse

If you are 65 or over, you will qualify for this exemption in your name. Please notify the Taxpayer Services Department and we will send you the proper application forms. Otherwise, your property will receive the exemption for the remainder of the year of your spouses death. You will then have to apply when you turn 65. For more information, you may contact our Taxpayer Services Department at 443-7550.

How Is Property Taxed In Illinois

Every three years, your local County Assessor estimates the market value of your property. This may reflect the amount someone might pay to buy it from you. As an example, lets assume this amount is $200,000.

The next step is to find your Equalized Adjusted Value or EAV. This is done using a formula established every year. In Cook County, it is usually around 30% of market value. So, your EAV would be $60,000.

Finally, you multiply the EAV by your local tax rate. This varies by municipality. Some rates are around $7.00 per hundred dollars of value. Others are well over $20.00 per hundred in other locations. Lets say it was $10 per hundred dollars of value. Since the amount is per hundred, you first have to divide the EAV by 100. In our example that would give us $600. Then you would multiply by the tax rate of $10 to get $6,000. That would be your property tax for the year.

Now that we understand how property is taxed, we can talk about exemptions and other benefits.

When Do I Apply For A Senior Freeze Exemption

Senior Freeze Exemption Applications are available to download, print, and mail on our website, and are available in Assessor Office locations.

You must file each year in order to continue to receive the Senior Freeze Exemption and the requirements must be met each year. If you received the Senior Freeze Exemption last year, you will receive a renewal form in the mail.

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What Is A Senior Freeze Exemption In Cook County

What is a Senior Freeze exemption in Cook County?

The Senior Freeze exemption is a property tax exemption available to seniors who meet certain income requirements. The exemption freezes the propertys taxable value at the amount it was assessed at when the senior first became eligible for the exemption. This means that the seniors property taxes will not increase, even if the propertys value increases.

To be eligible for the Senior Freeze exemption, seniors must have an annual household income of less than $55,000. They must also have owned and lived in their home for at least 10 years. In addition, the property must be their principal residence.

The Senior Freeze exemption is available in all of Illinois counties, including Cook County. To apply for the exemption, seniors can contact their countys assessors office.

Apply For Senior Citizen Property Tax Exemptions

The City of Evanston’s Property Tax Assessment Review Office is advising Evanston residents 65 years or older of two different senior property tax exemptions, as well as the Senior Citizen Real Estate Tax Deferral Program for which some may qualify.

In response to COVID-19, the Cook County Assessors Office will continue the automatic renewal of the Senior Freeze, Veterans with Disabilities, and Persons with Disabilities Exemptions the Homeowner and Senior Exemptions, will continue to auto-renew every year.

If a homeowner received any of the aforementioned five exemptions last year , they do not need to reapply this year . New seniors must apply for exemptions.

Local seniors are encouraged to call the Property Tax Assessment Review Office at 847-448-8168 for assistance completing the application forms or questions.

Eligibility for Senior Exemptions:

New Senior Exemption applications and all Senior Freeze applications will be made available by the Assessor’s office in early March. You may visit www.cookcountyassessor.com/exemptions for more information.

Senior Citizen Real Estate Tax Deferral Program

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Property Tax Saving Exemption Types Available In Cook County

For additional information for exemption eligibility, documentation will be required to apply for an exemption.

For FAQs and exemption application due dates please click on the name of the exemptions below for additional information.

Homeowner Exemption: A Homeowner Exemption provides property tax savings by reducing the equalized assessed value of an eligible property. Most homeowners are eligible for this exemption if they own and occupy their property as their principal place of residence. Once the exemption is applied, the Assessors Office auto-renews it for you each year as long as a change in eligibility is not detected.

Longtime Homeowner Exemption:The Longtime Occupant Homeowner Exemption enables property owners to receive an expanded Homeowner Exemption with no maximum exemption amount. Of the 1.5 million residential properties in Cook County, fewer than two percent qualified for the Longtime Occupant Homeowner Exemption last year. This is due to the way the state legislature wrote the provision and the requirements they put in place in order to qualify. The Cook County Assessors Office automatically detects which properties qualify based on assessment increases. Simply put, would-be savings from the Longtime Occupant Homeowner Exemption would have to exceed the savings from the Standard Homeowner Exemption. This does not happen for more than 98% of residences in Cook County.

To learn more about how the property tax system works, .

Deadline To Apply For Property Tax Exemptions Is August 26 2022

Northfield Township Assessor Alida E. Nally, CIAO, wants to inform residents that Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi announced that Friday, August 26, 2022 is the deadline for homeowners to apply for their 2021 property tax exemptions.

From the Cook County Assessors Office:

My goal is to ensure that homeowners receive all the money-saving exemptions to which they are entitled, Assessor Kaegi said. Homeowners can visit our website to apply online for exemptions they may be eligible to receive or check the status of their auto-renewed exemptions for this year.

Assessor Kaegi sent notices in April to hundreds of thousands of households notifying them that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Illinois legislature has allowed for the automatic renewal of many exemptions. For most property owners there is no need to reapply. State law requires an audit of auto-renewed exemptions. Any households selected for audit were mailed forms that allow them to re-verify their exemptions online or by mail.

The following exemptions will automatically renew for homeowners who received them last year and remained eligible this year .

• Homeowner Exemption

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Hyde Park Township Events

Hyde Park is the final township in the City of Chicago to be reassessed. Join us for a virtual workshop to understand your reassessment notice, determine if an appeal should be filed, and participate in a live Q& A session. For more information about Hyde Park reassessments, review the Residential and Commercial Valuation Reports.

Senior Property Tax Exemptions For 2018 Taxes

NOTE: IS NEW DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS FOR SENIOR PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS ALL SENIORS MUST APPLY TO RENEW THEIR EXEMPTIONS Cook County Assessor Kaegi’s press release is available here.

Contact Person: Ali ElSaffar

For a Spanish version of this press release, please click here.

Oak Park residents sixty-five years of age or older should receive renewal forms for senior citizen property tax exemptions in early January, and will have until February 6, 2019 to complete them. Local seniors should feel free to call the office of Oak Park Township Assessor Ali ElSaffar for help with the forms.

Eligibility for Senior Citizen Exemptions. There are two senior tax exemptions:

1) The Senior Exemption, available to all seniors regardless of income, reduces Oak Park property taxes by about $975. It is available for any owner-occupied residential property if the owner was born in 1953 or earlier.

2) The Senior Freeze provides seniors with additional savings if the combined income of all members of the household is less than $65,000, and if the senior has been an owner-occupant of the property since January 1, 2017.

The recently mailed senior applications are for the 2018 property taxes, which are paid in calendar year 2019. The savings from these exemptions will appear on second installment tax bills that will likely be mailed in late June of 2019.

Release date: January 5, 2019

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Senior Citizen Tax Deferral

There is also a loan program to help homeowners who are 65 by June 1 of the relevant tax year. Your household income from all sources must be below $55,000. If so, you may qualify for a state loan of up $5,000 to pay current property tax bills.

The program requirements include:

• The property must have been your primary residence for at least 3 years
• You must have property insurance
• Taxes cannot be delinquent
• If there is a mortgage on the property, the lender must approve the tax loan
• Multiple annual loans are permitted. There is a maximum 80% loan-to-equity ratio, taking all loans into account
• You dont have to pay back the loan while you live in the property unless you refinance your loans, and
• The loan balance, including 6% annual interest, is payable upon sale of the property, refinance or death of the property owner.

How Can I Lower My Property Taxes In Cook County Il

There are a few ways that you can lower your property taxes in Cook County IL. One way is to challenge the assessed value of your property with the Cook County Assessors Office. If you believe that your property has been overvalued, you can file a challenge form with the Assessors Office. You will need to provide evidence to support your claim, such as recent sales of similar properties in your area.

Another way to lower your property taxes is to file for a Homestead Exemption. The Homestead Exemption reduces the value of your property for tax purposes, which results in a lower tax bill. To qualify for the Homestead Exemption, you must own and live in the property that you are claiming the exemption for. You must also be the head of the household, or the spouse of the head of the household.

You can also qualify for the Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption if you are at least 65 years old and own the property that you are claiming the exemption for. The Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption reduces the value of your property by $5,000.

If you are disabled, you may be eligible for the Disabled Persons Homestead Exemption. This exemption reduces the value of your property by $25,000.

You can also receive a property tax exemption for your home if it is used for charitable purposes. To qualify, your home must be used exclusively for charitable purposes, and you must be the owner of the property.

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Veterans With Disability Exemption

Veterans with a service-connected disability as certified by U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs are eligible for this annual exemption. A disability of at least 30%-49% is eligible for a $2,500 exemption in Equalized Assessed Value . A disability of 50%-69% is eligible for a $5,000 EAV. New for the 2015 property tax year, a disability of 70% or higher will be exempt from property taxation.

To qualify the veteran must:

• Be an Illinois resident who has served as a member of the U.S, Armed Forces on active duty or on active duty in the state of Illinois, Illinois National Guard, or U.S. Reserve Forces and has been honorably discharged.
• Have at least a 30% service-connected disability certified by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
• Own and occupy the property as the primary residence any time during the property tax year. Note: this change was effective tax year 2018.
• Have a total EAV of less than $250,000 for the primary residence, excluding the EAV of property used for commercial purposes.

Documentation required:

Applications for the Veterans with Disabilities Standard Homeowner Exemptions are available at our office or at the Cook County Assessors office. The application and proof of the of current year Disability Certification Letter from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs must be submitted yearly to continue receiving the exemption.

Surviving Spouse of a Disabled Veteran

To qualify, the spouse must meet the following:

Disabled Veterans Standard Homeowner Exemption

Veterans with a service-connected disability of 30% or more, as certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, are eligible for the Exemption on the primary residence occupied by the disabled veteran. This annual exemption reduces the Equalized Assessed Value on a disabled veterans primary residence, very likely lowering the tax bill.

Non-remarried surviving spouses of veterans already receiving this Disabled Veterans Exemption are also eligible, as are non-remarried surviving spouses of would-be veterans who were killed in action in 2015 or later. The KIA provision was part of the 2015 expansion of this Exemption.

It is very important to please note that the EAV is not the amount of your taxes. The EAV is the adjusted partial property value on which your taxes are computed any reduction in EAV is not the dollar amount by which your tax bill may be lowered.

• Disabled Veterans Standard Homeowner Exemption

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Senior Freeze Exemption Cook County

The Senior Freeze Exemption allows a qualified senior citizen to apply for a freeze of the equalized assessed value of their property for the year preceding the year in which they first apply and qualify for this exemption. For example, a senior citizen who qualifies and applies for this exemption in taxable year 2019 will have the EAV of the property frozen at the 2018 EAV.

Those who qualify and receive this exemption should be aware that this does not automatically freeze the amount of their tax bill. Only the EAV remains at the fixed amount. The amount of dollars that the taxing districts asks for may change and thus alter a tax bill.

Who Qualifies For A Senior Freeze Exemption

To qualify for the taxable year 2019 , you must meet all of these requirements:

• Be 65 years of age of older in 2019,
• Have a total gross household income of $65,000 or less for income tax year 2018,
• Own the property, or have a legal, equitable or leasehold interest in the property on January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2019,
• Be liable for the payment of 2018 and 2019 property taxes, and
• Use the property as a principal place of residence on January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2019.

There is also a minimum $2,000 EAV deduction for the Senior Freeze, which helps offset increases in assessed value and helps ensure that more seniors benefit from the Senior Freeze Exemption.

It is important to note that the exemption amount is not the dollar amount by which a tax bill is lowered. EAV is the partial value of a property to which tax rates are applied it is this figure on which a tax bill is calculated.The Assessor does not set tax rates.

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Home Owner Exemptions In Cook County

1. Homeowner Exemption – Taxpayers whose single-family home, townhouse, condominium, co-op, or apartment building is their primary residence can save $250.00 to $2,000.00 per year, depending on local tax rates and assessment increases. The homeowner exemption allows you to lower your property’s EAV by $10,000 per year. Learn more about how your property’s EAV is calculated here.

First-time applicants must have been the occupants of the property as of January 1 of the tax year in question. The Cook County Assessor’s Office now automatically renews Homeowners Exemptions for properties that were not sold to new owners in the last year.

You may find applications and additional information at: www.cookcountyassessor.com.

2. Senior Citizen Exemption Seniors can save up to $250.00 per year in property taxes and up to $750.00 when combined with the Homeowner Exemption. For the 2021 tax year , the applicant must have owned and occupied the property as of January 1, 2021, and must have been 65 years of age or older during the year for which you are applying. The applicant must also have a household income of less than $65,000 per year.

4. Home Improvement Exemption As of 2022, homeowners can make up to $75,000.00 worth of property improvements without increasing property taxes for at least four years. The value varies depending on the reduction of the assessed value and the tax rates where the property is located.

There Are Also Several State And City Programs Available:

5. Senior Citizen Tax Deferral The household income limit to participate has increased to $55,000.00. This program works similar to a loan from the State of Illinois to qualified senior citizens, with an annual interest rate of six percent. Any portion or all of the tax may be deferred until the house is sold or until the taxpayer’s death. To apply, contact the Cook County Treasurer’s Office at 312-443-5100.

6. Disabled Veteran Homestead Exemption Administered through the Illinois Department of Veteran’s Affairs. Call 312-814-2460.

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Cook County Homeowners To Start Receiving Tax Refunds

For the span of three months, Cook County homeowners are to receive automatic refunds for overpaid property taxes last year. 53,000 county homeowners are to receive over $47 million in overpaid property taxes according to the Cook County Treasurers Office.

These refunds are for property owners who paid their 2021 first installment taxes due in the first half of 2022. According to treasurers office spokesman Andrew Gavrilos, the refund is around $883. Maria Pappas of the treasury department also said that if you are supposed to receive your refund, it will automatically hit your banks or through the mail.

53,000 Cook County homeowners start receiving tax refunds for overpaid property taxes.