Full Text of SB2146 94th General Assembly
SB2146 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006 SB2146
Introduced 10/26/2005, by Sen. Dale A. Righter - Pamela J. Althoff - Adeline Jay Geo-Karis - Peter J. Roskam - Edward Petka, et al. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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35 ILCS 200/15-165 |
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35 ILCS 200/15-166 new |
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Amends the Property Tax Code. Ends the current exemption for disabled veterans with the 2005 tax year. Provides that, beginning with the 2006 tax year, the total value of property that is owned and used as a homestead by (i) a disabled veteran (or his or her spouse), (ii) a veteran confined to a wheelchair (or his or her spouse), or (iii) the surviving spouse of a veteran who died from service-connected causes while on active duty is exempt from taxation. Sets forth requirements for the exemptions. Provides that a surviving spouse may transfer the exemption to homestead property acquired after the veteran's death. Requires an annual application for the exemptions. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY |
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A BILL FOR
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SB2146 |
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LRB094 13640 BDD 48508 b |
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| AN ACT concerning revenue.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing | 5 |
| Section 15-165 and by adding Section 15-166 as follows:
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| (35 ILCS 200/15-165)
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| Sec. 15-165. Disabled veterans. This Section applies | 8 |
| through the 2005 tax year.
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| Property up to an assessed value of $70,000,
owned and used | 10 |
| exclusively by a disabled veteran, or the spouse or unmarried
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| surviving spouse of the veteran, as a home, is exempt. As used | 12 |
| in this
Section, a disabled veteran means a person who has | 13 |
| served in the Armed Forces
of the United States and whose | 14 |
| disability is of such a nature that the Federal
Government has | 15 |
| authorized payment for purchase or construction of Specially
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| Adapted Housing as set forth in the United States Code, Title | 17 |
| 38, Chapter 21,
Section 2101.
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| The exemption applies to housing where Federal funds have | 19 |
| been used to
purchase or construct special adaptations to suit | 20 |
| the veteran's disability.
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| The exemption also applies to housing that is specially | 22 |
| adapted to suit the
veteran's disability, and purchased | 23 |
| entirely or in part by the proceeds of a
sale, casualty loss | 24 |
| reimbursement, or other transfer of a home for which the
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| Federal Government had previously authorized payment for | 26 |
| purchase or
construction as Specially Adapted Housing.
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| However, the entire proceeds of the sale, casualty loss | 28 |
| reimbursement, or
other transfer of that housing shall be | 29 |
| applied to the acquisition of
subsequent specially adapted | 30 |
| housing to the extent that the proceeds equal the
purchase | 31 |
| price of the subsequently acquired housing.
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| For purposes of this Section, "unmarried surviving spouse" |
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| means the
surviving spouse of the veteran at any time after the | 2 |
| death of the veteran
during which such surviving spouse is not | 3 |
| married.
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| This exemption must be reestablished on an annual basis by
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| certification from the Illinois Department of Veterans' | 6 |
| Affairs to the
Department, which shall forward a copy of the | 7 |
| certification to local
assessing officials.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-310, eff. 7-25-05.)
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| (35 ILCS 200/15-166 new) | 10 |
| Sec. 15-166. Disabled veterans; veterans confined to | 11 |
| wheelchairs; surviving spouses. | 12 |
| (a) This Section applies to tax years 2006 and thereafter.
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| (b) Any real estate that is owned and used as a homestead | 14 |
| by a veteran who was honorably discharged with a | 15 |
| service-connected total and permanent disability and for whom a | 16 |
| letter from the United States Government or United States | 17 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor has been | 18 |
| issued certifying that the veteran is a totally and permanently | 19 |
| disabled person is exempt from taxation, if the veteran is a | 20 |
| permanent resident of this State on January 1 of the tax year | 21 |
| for which exemption is being claimed or was a permanent | 22 |
| resident of this State on January 1 of the year the veteran | 23 |
| died. | 24 |
| The production by a veteran or the spouse or surviving | 25 |
| spouse of a letter of total and permanent disability from the | 26 |
| United States Government or United States Department of | 27 |
| Veterans Affairs or its predecessor before the chief county | 28 |
| assessment officer of the county in which property of the | 29 |
| veteran lies is prima facie evidence of the fact that the | 30 |
| veteran or the surviving spouse is entitled to the exemption. | 31 |
| If the totally and permanently disabled veteran | 32 |
| predeceases his or her spouse and if, upon the death of the | 33 |
| veteran, the spouse holds the legal or beneficial title to the | 34 |
| homestead and permanently resides thereon, then the exemption | 35 |
| from taxation carries over to the benefit of the veteran's |
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| spouse until such time as he or she remarries or sells or | 2 |
| otherwise disposes of the property. If the spouse sells the | 3 |
| property, then an exemption not to exceed the amount granted | 4 |
| from the most recent ad valorem tax roll may be transferred to | 5 |
| his or her new residence, as long as it is used as his or her | 6 |
| primary residence and he or she does not remarry. | 7 |
| (c) Any real estate is exempt from taxation that is used | 8 |
| and owned as a homestead by a veteran who has been honorably | 9 |
| discharged with a service-connected total disability and who | 10 |
| has a certificate from the United States Government or United | 11 |
| States Department of Veterans Affairs, or its predecessor or | 12 |
| successors, certifying that the veteran is (i) receiving or has | 13 |
| received special pecuniary assistance due to disability | 14 |
| requiring specially adapted housing and (ii) required to use a | 15 |
| wheelchair for his or her transportation. | 16 |
| The production by a veteran of a certificate of disability | 17 |
| from the United States Government or the United States | 18 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs, or its predecessor or | 19 |
| successors, before the chief county assessment officer of the | 20 |
| county in which the veteran's property lies is prima facie | 21 |
| evidence of the fact that he or she is entitled to the | 22 |
| exemption under this Section. | 23 |
| In the event the homestead of the wheelchair veteran was or | 24 |
| is held with the veteran's spouse as an estate by the entirety, | 25 |
| and in the event the veteran did or shall predecease his or her | 26 |
| spouse, the exemption from taxation shall carry over to the | 27 |
| benefit of the veteran's spouse, provided the spouse continues | 28 |
| to reside on such real estate and uses it as his or her | 29 |
| domicile or until such time as he or she remarries or sells or | 30 |
| otherwise disposes of the property.
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| (d) Any real estate that is owned and used as a homestead | 32 |
| by the surviving spouse of a veteran who died from | 33 |
| service-connected causes while on active duty as a member of | 34 |
| the United States Armed Forces and for whom a letter from the | 35 |
| United States Government or United States Department of | 36 |
| Veterans Affairs or its predecessor has been issued certifying |
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| that the veteran who died from service-connected causes while | 2 |
| on active duty is exempt from taxation if the veteran was a | 3 |
| permanent resident of this state on January 1 of the year in | 4 |
| which the veteran died. | 5 |
| The production by the surviving spouse of a letter that was | 6 |
| issued as required under this subsection and that attests the | 7 |
| veteran's death while on active duty is prima facie evidence of | 8 |
| the fact that the surviving spouse is entitled to an exemption | 9 |
| under this subsection. | 10 |
| The tax exemption that applies under this subsection to the | 11 |
| surviving spouse carries over to the benefit of the veteran's | 12 |
| surviving spouse as long as the spouse holds the legal or | 13 |
| beneficial title to the homestead, permanently resides | 14 |
| thereon, and does not remarry. If the surviving spouse sells | 15 |
| the property, an exemption not to exceed the amount granted | 16 |
| from the most recent ad valorem tax roll may be transferred to | 17 |
| his or her new residence as long as it is used as his or her | 18 |
| primary residence and he or she does not remarry. | 19 |
| (e) Every person who, on January 1, has the legal title to | 20 |
| real or personal property that is entitled to an exemption | 21 |
| under this Section must, on or before March 1 of each year, | 22 |
| file an application for the exemption with the chief county | 23 |
| assessment officer, listing and describing the property for | 24 |
| which exemption is claimed and certifying its ownership and | 25 |
| use. The Department of Revenue shall prescribe the forms upon | 26 |
| which the application is made. The failure to make an | 27 |
| application as required under this subsection constitutes a | 28 |
| waiver of the exemption privilege for that year. | 29 |
| Once an original application for tax exemption has been | 30 |
| granted, in each succeeding year on or before February 1, the | 31 |
| chief county assessment officer must mail a renewal application | 32 |
| to the applicant, and the officer shall accept from each that | 33 |
| applicant a renewal application on a form to be prescribed by | 34 |
| the Department of Revenue. This renewal application shall be | 35 |
| accepted as evidence of exemption by the chief county | 36 |
| assessment officer unless he or she denies the application.
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| (f) For the purposes of this Section: | 2 |
| "Real estate used and owned as a homestead" means real | 3 |
| property but less any portion of that property that is used for | 4 |
| commercial purposes, with the title of that property being | 5 |
| recorded in the official records of the county in which the | 6 |
| property is located. Property rented for more than 6 months is | 7 |
| presumed to be used for commercial purposes.
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| "Totally and permanently disabled person" means a person | 9 |
| who is currently certified by 2 licensed physicians of this | 10 |
| State who are professionally unrelated, by the United States | 11 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor, or by the | 12 |
| Social Security Administration, to be totally and permanently | 13 |
| disabled. | 14 |
| "Veteran" means an Illinois resident who has served as a | 15 |
| member of the United States Armed Forces on active duty or | 16 |
| State active duty, a member of the Illinois National Guard, or | 17 |
| a member of the United States Reserve Forces.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 19 |
| becoming law.
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