97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB5762

 

Introduced 2/16/2012, by Rep. Renée Kosel

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
35 ILCS 200/15-175

    Amends the Property Tax Code. Increases the maximum reduction under the General Homestead Exemption from $6,000 to $7,000 for taxable year 2012 and indexes the reduction to the Consumer Price Index. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5762LRB097 18667 HLH 63901 b

1    AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
5Section 15-175 as follows:
 
6    (35 ILCS 200/15-175)
7    Sec. 15-175. General homestead exemption. Except as
8provided in Sections 15-176 and 15-177, homestead property is
9entitled to an annual homestead exemption limited, except as
10described here with relation to cooperatives, to a reduction in
11the equalized assessed value of homestead property equal to the
12increase in equalized assessed value for the current assessment
13year above the equalized assessed value of the property for
141977, up to the maximum reduction set forth below. If however,
15the 1977 equalized assessed value upon which taxes were paid is
16subsequently determined by local assessing officials, the
17Property Tax Appeal Board, or a court to have been excessive,
18the equalized assessed value which should have been placed on
19the property for 1977 shall be used to determine the amount of
20the exemption.
21    Except as provided in Section 15-176, the maximum reduction
22before taxable year 2004 shall be $4,500 in counties with
233,000,000 or more inhabitants and $3,500 in all other counties.

 

 

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1Except as provided in Sections 15-176 and 15-177, for taxable
2years 2004 through 2007, the maximum reduction shall be $5,000,
3for taxable year 2008, the maximum reduction is $5,500, and,
4for taxable years 2009 through 2011 and thereafter, the maximum
5reduction is $6,000 in all counties, for taxable year 2012, the
6maximum reduction is $7,000 in all counties, and for taxable
7years 2013 and thereafter, the maximum reduction is the maximum
8reduction for the prior taxable year increased by the annual
9rate of increase, for the previous calendar year, of the
10Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for all items,
11published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. If a
12county has elected to subject itself to the provisions of
13Section 15-176 as provided in subsection (k) of that Section,
14then, for the first taxable year only after the provisions of
15Section 15-176 no longer apply, for owners who, for the taxable
16year, have not been granted a senior citizens assessment freeze
17homestead exemption under Section 15-172 or a long-time
18occupant homestead exemption under Section 15-177, there shall
19be an additional exemption of $5,000 for owners with a
20household income of $30,000 or less.
21    In counties with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if,
22based on the most recent assessment, the equalized assessed
23value of the homestead property for the current assessment year
24is greater than the equalized assessed value of the property
25for 1977, the owner of the property shall automatically receive
26the exemption granted under this Section in an amount equal to

 

 

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1the increase over the 1977 assessment up to the maximum
2reduction set forth in this Section.
3    If in any assessment year beginning with the 2000
4assessment year, homestead property has a pro-rata valuation
5under Section 9-180 resulting in an increase in the assessed
6valuation, a reduction in equalized assessed valuation equal to
7the increase in equalized assessed value of the property for
8the year of the pro-rata valuation above the equalized assessed
9value of the property for 1977 shall be applied to the property
10on a proportionate basis for the period the property qualified
11as homestead property during the assessment year. The maximum
12proportionate homestead exemption shall not exceed the maximum
13homestead exemption allowed in the county under this Section
14divided by 365 and multiplied by the number of days the
15property qualified as homestead property.
16    "Homestead property" under this Section includes
17residential property that is occupied by its owner or owners as
18his or their principal dwelling place, or that is a leasehold
19interest on which a single family residence is situated, which
20is occupied as a residence by a person who has an ownership
21interest therein, legal or equitable or as a lessee, and on
22which the person is liable for the payment of property taxes.
23For land improved with an apartment building owned and operated
24as a cooperative or a building which is a life care facility as
25defined in Section 15-170 and considered to be a cooperative
26under Section 15-170, the maximum reduction from the equalized

 

 

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1assessed value shall be limited to the increase in the value
2above the equalized assessed value of the property for 1977, up
3to the maximum reduction set forth above, multiplied by the
4number of apartments or units occupied by a person or persons
5who is liable, by contract with the owner or owners of record,
6for paying property taxes on the property and is an owner of
7record of a legal or equitable interest in the cooperative
8apartment building, other than a leasehold interest. For
9purposes of this Section, the term "life care facility" has the
10meaning stated in Section 15-170.
11    "Household", as used in this Section, means the owner, the
12spouse of the owner, and all persons using the residence of the
13owner as their principal place of residence.
14    "Household income", as used in this Section, means the
15combined income of the members of a household for the calendar
16year preceding the taxable year.
17    "Income", as used in this Section, has the same meaning as
18provided in Section 3.07 of the Senior Citizens and Disabled
19Persons Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act,
20except that "income" does not include veteran's benefits.
21    In a cooperative where a homestead exemption has been
22granted, the cooperative association or its management firm
23shall credit the savings resulting from that exemption only to
24the apportioned tax liability of the owner who qualified for
25the exemption. Any person who willfully refuses to so credit
26the savings shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.

 

 

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1    Where married persons maintain and reside in separate
2residences qualifying as homestead property, each residence
3shall receive 50% of the total reduction in equalized assessed
4valuation provided by this Section.
5    In all counties, the assessor or chief county assessment
6officer may determine the eligibility of residential property
7to receive the homestead exemption and the amount of the
8exemption by application, visual inspection, questionnaire or
9other reasonable methods. The determination shall be made in
10accordance with guidelines established by the Department,
11provided that the taxpayer applying for an additional general
12exemption under this Section shall submit to the chief county
13assessment officer an application with an affidavit of the
14applicant's total household income, age, marital status (and,
15if married, the name and address of the applicant's spouse, if
16known), and principal dwelling place of members of the
17household on January 1 of the taxable year. The Department
18shall issue guidelines establishing a method for verifying the
19accuracy of the affidavits filed by applicants under this
20paragraph. The applications shall be clearly marked as
21applications for the Additional General Homestead Exemption.
22    In counties with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants, in the
23event of a sale of homestead property the homestead exemption
24shall remain in effect for the remainder of the assessment year
25of the sale. The assessor or chief county assessment officer
26may require the new owner of the property to apply for the

 

 

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1homestead exemption for the following assessment year.
2    Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates Act,
3no reimbursement by the State is required for the
4implementation of any mandate created by this Section.
5(Source: P.A. 95-644, eff. 10-12-07.)
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.