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Public Act 098-0007
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| SB1894 Enrolled | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
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AN ACT concerning revenue.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing |
Sections 15-170 and 15-175 as follows:
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(35 ILCS 200/15-170) |
Sec. 15-170. Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption. An |
annual homestead
exemption limited, except as described here |
with relation to cooperatives or
life care facilities, to a
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maximum reduction set forth below from the property's value, as |
equalized or
assessed by the Department, is granted for |
property that is occupied as a
residence by a person 65 years |
of age or older who is liable for paying real
estate taxes on |
the property and is an owner of record of the property or has a
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legal or equitable interest therein as evidenced by a written |
instrument,
except for a leasehold interest, other than a |
leasehold interest of land on
which a single family residence |
is located, which is occupied as a residence by
a person 65 |
years or older who has an ownership interest therein, legal,
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equitable or as a lessee, and on which he or she is liable for |
the payment
of property taxes. Before taxable year 2004, the |
maximum reduction shall be $2,500 in counties with
3,000,000 or |
more inhabitants and $2,000 in all other counties. For taxable |
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years 2004 through 2005, the maximum reduction shall be $3,000 |
in all counties. For taxable years 2006 and 2007, the maximum |
reduction shall be $3,500. For and, for taxable years 2008 |
through 2011 and thereafter, the maximum reduction is $4,000 in |
all counties.
For taxable year 2012, the maximum reduction is |
$5,000 in counties with
3,000,000 or more inhabitants and |
$4,000 in all other counties. For taxable years 2013 and |
thereafter, the maximum reduction is $5,000 in all counties. |
For land
improved with an apartment building owned and |
operated as a cooperative, the maximum reduction from the value |
of the property, as
equalized
by the Department, shall be |
multiplied by the number of apartments or units
occupied by a |
person 65 years of age or older who is liable, by contract with
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the owner or owners of record, for paying property taxes on the |
property and
is an owner of record of a legal or equitable |
interest in the cooperative
apartment building, other than a |
leasehold interest. For land improved with
a life care |
facility, the maximum reduction from the value of the property, |
as
equalized by the Department, shall be multiplied by the |
number of apartments or
units occupied by persons 65 years of |
age or older, irrespective of any legal,
equitable, or |
leasehold interest in the facility, who are liable, under a
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contract with the owner or owners of record of the facility, |
for paying
property taxes on the property. In a
cooperative or |
a life care facility where a
homestead exemption has been |
granted, the cooperative association or the
management firm of |
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the cooperative or facility shall credit the savings
resulting |
from that exemption only to
the apportioned tax liability of |
the owner or resident who qualified for
the exemption.
Any |
person who willfully refuses to so credit the savings shall be |
guilty of a
Class B misdemeanor. Under this Section and |
Sections 15-175, 15-176, and 15-177, "life care
facility" means |
a facility, as defined in Section 2 of the Life Care Facilities
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Act, with which the applicant for the homestead exemption has a |
life care
contract as defined in that Act. |
When a homestead exemption has been granted under this |
Section and the person
qualifying subsequently becomes a |
resident of a facility licensed under the Assisted Living and |
Shared Housing Act, the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized |
Mental Health Rehabilitation Act, or the ID/DD Community Care |
Act, the exemption shall continue so long as the residence
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continues to be occupied by the qualifying person's spouse if |
the spouse is 65
years of age or older, or if the residence |
remains unoccupied but is still
owned by the person qualified |
for the homestead exemption. |
A person who will be 65 years of age
during the current |
assessment year
shall
be eligible to apply for the homestead |
exemption during that assessment
year.
Application shall be |
made during the application period in effect for the
county of |
his residence. |
Beginning with assessment year 2003, for taxes payable in |
2004,
property
that is first occupied as a residence after |
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January 1 of any assessment year by
a person who is eligible |
for the senior citizens homestead exemption under this
Section |
must be granted a pro-rata exemption for the assessment year. |
The
amount of the pro-rata exemption is the exemption
allowed |
in the county under this Section divided by 365 and multiplied |
by the
number of days during the assessment year the property |
is occupied as a
residence by a
person eligible for the |
exemption under this Section. The chief county
assessment |
officer must adopt reasonable procedures to establish |
eligibility
for this pro-rata exemption. |
The assessor or chief county assessment officer may |
determine the eligibility
of a life care facility to receive |
the benefits provided by this Section, by
affidavit, |
application, visual inspection, questionnaire or other |
reasonable
methods in order to insure that the tax savings |
resulting from the exemption
are credited by the management |
firm to the apportioned tax liability of each
qualifying |
resident. The assessor may request reasonable proof that the
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management firm has so credited the exemption. |
The chief county assessment officer of each county with |
less than 3,000,000
inhabitants shall provide to each person |
allowed a homestead exemption under
this Section a form to |
designate any other person to receive a
duplicate of any notice |
of delinquency in the payment of taxes assessed and
levied |
under this Code on the property of the person receiving the |
exemption.
The duplicate notice shall be in addition to the |
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notice required to be
provided to the person receiving the |
exemption, and shall be given in the
manner required by this |
Code. The person filing the request for the duplicate
notice |
shall pay a fee of $5 to cover administrative costs to the |
supervisor of
assessments, who shall then file the executed |
designation with the county
collector. Notwithstanding any |
other provision of this Code to the contrary,
the filing of |
such an executed designation requires the county collector to
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provide duplicate notices as indicated by the designation. A |
designation may
be rescinded by the person who executed such |
designation at any time, in the
manner and form required by the |
chief county assessment officer. |
The assessor or chief county assessment officer may |
determine the
eligibility of residential property to receive |
the homestead exemption provided
by this Section by |
application, visual inspection, questionnaire or other
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reasonable methods. The determination shall be made in |
accordance with
guidelines established by the Department. |
In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, beginning |
in taxable year 2010, each taxpayer who has been granted an |
exemption under this Section must reapply on an annual basis. |
The chief county assessment officer shall mail the application |
to the taxpayer. In counties with less than 3,000,000 |
inhabitants, the county board may by
resolution provide that if |
a person has been granted a homestead exemption
under this |
Section, the person qualifying need not reapply for the |
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exemption. |
In counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if the |
assessor or chief
county assessment officer requires annual |
application for verification of
eligibility for an exemption |
once granted under this Section, the application
shall be |
mailed to the taxpayer. |
The assessor or chief county assessment officer shall |
notify each person
who qualifies for an exemption under this |
Section that the person may also
qualify for deferral of real |
estate taxes under the Senior Citizens Real Estate
Tax Deferral |
Act. The notice shall set forth the qualifications needed for
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deferral of real estate taxes, the address and telephone number |
of
county collector, and a
statement that applications for |
deferral of real estate taxes may be obtained
from the county |
collector. |
Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates Act, |
no
reimbursement by the State is required for the |
implementation of any mandate
created by this Section. |
(Source: P.A. 96-339, eff. 7-1-10; 96-355, eff. 1-1-10; |
96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 96-1418, eff. 8-2-10; 97-38, eff. |
6-28-11; 97-227, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12.)
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(35 ILCS 200/15-175)
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Sec. 15-175. General homestead exemption. |
(a) Except as provided in Sections 15-176 and 15-177, |
homestead
property is
entitled to an annual homestead exemption |
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limited, except as described here
with relation to |
cooperatives, to a reduction in the equalized assessed value
of |
homestead property equal to the increase in equalized assessed |
value for the
current assessment year above the equalized |
assessed value of the property for
1977, up to the maximum |
reduction set forth below. If however, the 1977
equalized |
assessed value upon which taxes were paid is subsequently |
determined
by local assessing officials, the Property Tax |
Appeal Board, or a court to have
been excessive, the equalized |
assessed value which should have been placed on
the property |
for 1977 shall be used to determine the amount of the |
exemption.
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(b) Except as provided in Section 15-176, the maximum |
reduction before taxable year 2004 shall be
$4,500 in counties |
with 3,000,000 or more
inhabitants
and $3,500 in all other |
counties. Except as provided in Sections 15-176 and 15-177, for |
taxable years 2004 through 2007, the maximum reduction shall be |
$5,000, for taxable year 2008, the maximum reduction is $5,500, |
and, for taxable years 2009 through 2011 and thereafter, the |
maximum reduction is $6,000 in all counties. For taxable years |
2012 and thereafter, the maximum reduction is $7,000 in |
counties with 3,000,000 or more
inhabitants
and $6,000 in all |
other counties. If a county has elected to subject itself to |
the provisions of Section 15-176 as provided in subsection (k) |
of that Section, then, for the first taxable year only after |
the provisions of Section 15-176 no longer apply, for owners |
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who, for the taxable year, have not been granted a senior |
citizens assessment freeze homestead exemption under Section |
15-172 or a long-time occupant homestead exemption under |
Section 15-177, there shall be an additional exemption of |
$5,000 for owners with a household income of $30,000 or less.
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(c) In counties with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if, |
based on the most
recent assessment, the equalized assessed |
value of
the homestead property for the current assessment year |
is greater than the
equalized assessed value of the property |
for 1977, the owner of the property
shall automatically receive |
the exemption granted under this Section in an
amount equal to |
the increase over the 1977 assessment up to the maximum
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reduction set forth in this Section.
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(d) If in any assessment year beginning with the 2000 |
assessment year,
homestead property has a pro-rata valuation |
under
Section 9-180 resulting in an increase in the assessed |
valuation, a reduction
in equalized assessed valuation equal to |
the increase in equalized assessed
value of the property for |
the year of the pro-rata valuation above the
equalized assessed |
value of the property for 1977 shall be applied to the
property |
on a proportionate basis for the period the property qualified |
as
homestead property during the assessment year. The maximum |
proportionate
homestead exemption shall not exceed the maximum |
homestead exemption allowed in
the county under this Section |
divided by 365 and multiplied by the number of
days the |
property qualified as homestead property.
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(e) The chief county assessment officer may, when |
considering whether to grant a leasehold exemption under this |
Section, require the following conditions to be met: |
(1) that a notarized application for the exemption, |
signed by both the owner and the lessee of the property, |
must be submitted each year during the application period |
in effect for the county in which the property is located; |
(2) that a copy of the lease must be filed with the |
chief county assessment officer by the owner of the |
property at the time the notarized application is |
submitted; |
(3) that the lease must expressly state that the lessee |
is liable for the payment of property taxes; and |
(4) that the lease must include the following language |
in substantially the following form: |
"Lessee shall be liable for the payment of real |
estate taxes with respect to the residence in |
accordance with the terms and conditions of Section |
15-175 of the Property Tax Code (35 ILCS 200/15-175). |
The permanent real estate index number for the premises |
is (insert number), and, according to the most recent |
property tax bill, the current amount of real estate |
taxes associated with the premises is (insert amount) |
per year. The parties agree that the monthly rent set |
forth above shall be increased or decreased pro rata |
(effective January 1 of each calendar year) to reflect |
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any increase or decrease in real estate taxes. Lessee |
shall be deemed to be satisfying Lessee's liability for |
the above mentioned real estate taxes with the monthly |
rent payments as set forth above (or increased or |
decreased as set forth herein).". |
In addition, if there is a change in lessee, or if the |
lessee vacates the property, then the chief county assessment |
officer may require the owner of the property to notify the |
chief county assessment officer of that change. |
This subsection (e) does not apply to leasehold interests |
in property owned by a municipality. |
(f) "Homestead property" under this Section includes |
residential property that is
occupied by its owner or owners as |
his or their principal dwelling place, or
that is a leasehold |
interest on which a single family residence is situated,
which |
is occupied as a residence by a person who has an ownership |
interest
therein, legal or equitable or as a lessee, and on |
which the person is
liable for the payment of property taxes. |
For land improved with
an apartment building owned and operated |
as a cooperative or a building which
is a life care facility as |
defined in Section 15-170 and considered to
be a cooperative |
under Section 15-170, the maximum reduction from the equalized
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assessed value shall be limited to the increase in the value |
above the
equalized assessed value of the property for 1977, up |
to
the maximum reduction set forth above, multiplied by the |
number of apartments
or units occupied by a person or persons |
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who is liable, by contract with the
owner or owners of record, |
for paying property taxes on the property and is an
owner of |
record of a legal or equitable interest in the cooperative
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apartment building, other than a leasehold interest. For |
purposes of this
Section, the term "life care facility" has the |
meaning stated in Section
15-170.
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"Household", as used in this Section,
means the owner, the |
spouse of the owner, and all persons using
the
residence of the |
owner as their principal place of residence.
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"Household income", as used in this Section,
means the |
combined income of the members of a household
for the calendar |
year preceding the taxable year.
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"Income", as used in this Section,
has the same meaning as |
provided in Section 3.07 of the Senior
Citizens
and Disabled |
Persons Property Tax Relief Act,
except that
"income" does not |
include veteran's benefits.
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(g) In a cooperative where a homestead exemption has been |
granted, the
cooperative association or its management firm |
shall credit the savings
resulting from that exemption only to |
the apportioned tax liability of the
owner who qualified for |
the exemption. Any person who willfully refuses to so
credit |
the savings shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
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(h) Where married persons maintain and reside in separate |
residences qualifying
as homestead property, each residence |
shall receive 50% of the total reduction
in equalized assessed |
valuation provided by this Section.
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(i) In all counties, the assessor
or chief county |
assessment officer may determine the
eligibility of |
residential property to receive the homestead exemption and the |
amount of the exemption by
application, visual inspection, |
questionnaire or other reasonable methods. The
determination |
shall be made in accordance with guidelines established by the
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Department, provided that the taxpayer applying for an |
additional general exemption under this Section shall submit to |
the chief county assessment officer an application with an |
affidavit of the applicant's total household income, age, |
marital status (and, if married, the name and address of the |
applicant's spouse, if known), and principal dwelling place of |
members of the household on January 1 of the taxable year. The |
Department shall issue guidelines establishing a method for |
verifying the accuracy of the affidavits filed by applicants |
under this paragraph. The applications shall be clearly marked |
as applications for the Additional General Homestead |
Exemption.
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(j) In counties with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants, in |
the event of a sale
of
homestead property the homestead |
exemption shall remain in effect for the
remainder of the |
assessment year of the sale. The assessor or chief county
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assessment officer may require the new
owner of the property to |
apply for the homestead exemption for the following
assessment |
year.
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(k) Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates |