Full Text of SB2878 103rd General Assembly
SB2878eng 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | SB2878 Engrossed | | LRB103 35657 HLH 65732 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning revenue. | 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 | | represented in the General Assembly: | 4 | | Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing | 5 | | Section 15-170 as follows: | 6 | | (35 ILCS 200/15-170) | 7 | | Sec. 15-170. Senior citizens homestead exemption. | 8 | | (a) An annual homestead exemption limited, except as | 9 | | described here with relation to cooperatives or life care | 10 | | facilities, to a maximum reduction set forth below from the | 11 | | property's value, as equalized or assessed by the Department, | 12 | | is granted for property that is occupied as a residence by a | 13 | | person 65 years of age or older who is liable for paying real | 14 | | estate taxes on the property and is an owner of record of the | 15 | | property or has a legal or equitable interest therein as | 16 | | evidenced by a written instrument, except for a leasehold | 17 | | interest, other than a leasehold interest of land on which a | 18 | | single family residence is located, which is occupied as a | 19 | | residence by a person 65 years or older who has an ownership | 20 | | interest therein, legal, equitable or as a lessee, and on | 21 | | which he or she is liable for the payment of property taxes. | 22 | | Before taxable year 2004, the maximum reduction shall be | 23 | | $2,500 in counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants and |
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| 1 | | $2,000 in all other counties. For taxable years 2004 through | 2 | | 2005, the maximum reduction shall be $3,000 in all counties. | 3 | | For taxable years 2006 and 2007, the maximum reduction shall | 4 | | be $3,500. For taxable years 2008 through 2011, the maximum | 5 | | reduction is $4,000 in all counties. For taxable year 2012, | 6 | | the maximum reduction is $5,000 in counties with 3,000,000 or | 7 | | more inhabitants and $4,000 in all other counties. For taxable | 8 | | years 2013 through 2016, the maximum reduction is $5,000 in | 9 | | all counties. For taxable years 2017 through 2022, the maximum | 10 | | reduction is $8,000 in counties with 3,000,000 or more | 11 | | inhabitants and $5,000 in all other counties. For taxable | 12 | | years 2023 and thereafter, the maximum reduction is $8,000 in | 13 | | counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants and counties that | 14 | | are contiguous to a county of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants | 15 | | and $5,000 in all other counties. | 16 | | (b) For land improved with an apartment building owned and | 17 | | operated as a cooperative, the maximum reduction from the | 18 | | value of the property, as equalized by the Department, shall | 19 | | be multiplied by the number of apartments or units occupied by | 20 | | a person 65 years of age or older who is liable, by contract | 21 | | with the owner or owners of record, for paying property taxes | 22 | | on the property and is an owner of record of a legal or | 23 | | equitable interest in the cooperative apartment building, | 24 | | other than a leasehold interest. For land improved with a life | 25 | | care facility, the maximum reduction from the value of the | 26 | | property, as equalized by the Department, shall be multiplied |
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| 1 | | by the number of apartments or units occupied by persons 65 | 2 | | years of age or older, irrespective of any legal, equitable, | 3 | | or leasehold interest in the facility, who are liable, under a | 4 | | contract with the owner or owners of record of the facility, | 5 | | for paying property taxes on the property. In a cooperative or | 6 | | a life care facility where a homestead exemption has been | 7 | | granted, the cooperative association or the management firm of | 8 | | the cooperative or facility shall credit the savings resulting | 9 | | from that exemption only to the apportioned tax liability of | 10 | | the owner or resident who qualified for the exemption. Any | 11 | | person who willfully refuses to so credit the savings shall be | 12 | | guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. Under this Section and | 13 | | Sections 15-175, 15-176, and 15-177, "life care facility" | 14 | | means a facility, as defined in Section 2 of the Life Care | 15 | | Facilities Act, with which the applicant for the homestead | 16 | | exemption has a life care contract as defined in that Act. | 17 | | (c) When a homestead exemption has been granted under this | 18 | | Section and the person qualifying subsequently becomes a | 19 | | resident of a facility licensed under the Assisted Living and | 20 | | Shared Housing Act, the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized | 21 | | Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the ID/DD Community | 22 | | Care Act, or the MC/DD Act, the exemption shall continue so | 23 | | long as the residence continues to be occupied by the | 24 | | qualifying person's spouse if the spouse is 65 years of age or | 25 | | older, or if the residence remains unoccupied but is still | 26 | | owned by the person qualified for the homestead exemption. |
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| 1 | | (d) A person who will be 65 years of age during the current | 2 | | assessment year shall be eligible to apply for the homestead | 3 | | exemption during that assessment year. Application shall be | 4 | | made during the application period in effect for the county of | 5 | | his residence. | 6 | | (e) Beginning with assessment year 2003, for taxes payable | 7 | | in 2004, property that is first occupied as a residence after | 8 | | January 1 of any assessment year by a person who is eligible | 9 | | for the senior citizens homestead exemption under this Section | 10 | | must be granted a pro-rata exemption for the assessment year. | 11 | | The amount of the pro-rata exemption is the exemption allowed | 12 | | in the county under this Section divided by 365 and multiplied | 13 | | by the number of days during the assessment year the property | 14 | | is occupied as a residence by a person eligible for the | 15 | | exemption under this Section. The chief county assessment | 16 | | officer must adopt reasonable procedures to establish | 17 | | eligibility for this pro-rata exemption. | 18 | | (f) The assessor or chief county assessment officer may | 19 | | determine the eligibility of a life care facility to receive | 20 | | the benefits provided by this Section, by affidavit, | 21 | | application, visual inspection, questionnaire or other | 22 | | reasonable methods in order to ensure insure that the tax | 23 | | savings resulting from the exemption are credited by the | 24 | | management firm to the apportioned tax liability of each | 25 | | qualifying resident. The assessor may request reasonable proof | 26 | | that the management firm has so credited the exemption. |
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| 1 | | (g) The chief county assessment officer of each county | 2 | | with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants shall provide to each | 3 | | person allowed a homestead exemption under this Section a form | 4 | | to designate any other person to receive a duplicate of any | 5 | | notice of delinquency in the payment of taxes assessed and | 6 | | levied under this Code on the property of the person receiving | 7 | | the exemption. The duplicate notice shall be in addition to | 8 | | the notice required to be provided to the person receiving the | 9 | | exemption, and shall be given in the manner required by this | 10 | | Code. The person filing the request for the duplicate notice | 11 | | shall pay a fee of $5 to cover administrative costs to the | 12 | | supervisor of assessments, who shall then file the executed | 13 | | designation with the county collector. Notwithstanding any | 14 | | other provision of this Code to the contrary, the filing of | 15 | | such an executed designation requires the county collector to | 16 | | provide duplicate notices as indicated by the designation. A | 17 | | designation may be rescinded by the person who executed such | 18 | | designation at any time, in the manner and form required by the | 19 | | chief county assessment officer. | 20 | | (h) The assessor or chief county assessment officer may | 21 | | determine the eligibility of residential property to receive | 22 | | the homestead exemption provided by this Section by | 23 | | application, visual inspection, questionnaire or other | 24 | | reasonable methods. The determination shall be made in | 25 | | accordance with guidelines established by the Department. | 26 | | (i) In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, for |
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| 1 | | taxable years 2010 through 2018, and beginning again in | 2 | | taxable year 2024, each taxpayer who has been granted an | 3 | | exemption under this Section must reapply on an annual basis. | 4 | | If a reapplication is required, then the chief county | 5 | | assessment officer shall mail the application to the taxpayer | 6 | | at least 60 days prior to the last day of the application | 7 | | period for the county. | 8 | | For taxable years 2019 and thereafter through 2023 , in | 9 | | counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, a taxpayer who | 10 | | has been granted an exemption under this Section need not | 11 | | reapply. However, if the property ceases to be qualified for | 12 | | the exemption under this Section in any year for which a | 13 | | reapplication is not required under this Section, then the | 14 | | owner of record of the property shall notify the chief county | 15 | | assessment officer that the property is no longer qualified. | 16 | | In addition, for taxable years 2019 and thereafter through | 17 | | 2023 , the chief county assessment officer of a county with | 18 | | 3,000,000 or more inhabitants shall enter into an | 19 | | intergovernmental agreement with the county clerk of that | 20 | | county and the Department of Public Health, as well as any | 21 | | other appropriate governmental agency, to obtain information | 22 | | that documents the death of a taxpayer who has been granted an | 23 | | exemption under this Section. Notwithstanding any other | 24 | | provision of law, the county clerk and the Department of | 25 | | Public Health shall provide that information to the chief | 26 | | county assessment officer. The Department of Public Health |
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| 1 | | shall supply this information no less frequently than every | 2 | | calendar quarter. Information concerning the death of a | 3 | | taxpayer may be shared with the county treasurer. The chief | 4 | | county assessment officer shall also enter into a data | 5 | | exchange agreement with the Social Security Administration or | 6 | | its agent to obtain access to the information regarding deaths | 7 | | in possession of the Social Security Administration. The chief | 8 | | county assessment officer shall, subject to the notice | 9 | | requirements under subsection (m) of Section 9-275, terminate | 10 | | the exemption under this Section if the information obtained | 11 | | indicates that the property is no longer qualified for the | 12 | | exemption. In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, the | 13 | | assessor and the county clerk recorder of deeds shall | 14 | | establish policies and practices for the regular exchange of | 15 | | information for the purpose of alerting the assessor whenever | 16 | | the transfer of ownership of any property receiving an | 17 | | exemption under this Section has occurred. When such a | 18 | | transfer occurs, the assessor shall mail a notice to the new | 19 | | owner of the property (i) informing the new owner that the | 20 | | exemption will remain in place through the year of the | 21 | | transfer, after which it will be canceled, and (ii) providing | 22 | | information pertaining to the rules for reapplying for the | 23 | | exemption if the owner qualifies. In counties with 3,000,000 | 24 | | or more inhabitants, the chief county assessment official | 25 | | shall conduct , by no later than December 31 of the first year | 26 | | of each reassessment cycle, as determined by Section 9-220, a |
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| 1 | | review audits of all exemptions granted under this Section for | 2 | | the preceding reassessment cycle under this Section no later | 3 | | than December 31, 2022 and no later than December 31, 2024 . The | 4 | | review audit shall be designed to ascertain whether any senior | 5 | | homestead exemptions have been granted erroneously. If it is | 6 | | determined that a senior homestead exemption has been | 7 | | erroneously applied to a property, the chief county assessment | 8 | | officer shall make use of the appropriate provisions of | 9 | | Section 9-275 in relation to the property that received the | 10 | | erroneous homestead exemption. | 11 | | (j) In counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, the | 12 | | county board may by resolution provide that if a person has | 13 | | been granted a homestead exemption under this Section, the | 14 | | person qualifying need not reapply for the exemption. In | 15 | | counties in which the county board passes such a resolution, | 16 | | the chief county assessment official shall, prior to the | 17 | | submission of the final abstract for the first year of each | 18 | | reassessment cycle, as determined by Section 9-215, review all | 19 | | exemptions granted for the preceding reassessment cycle under | 20 | | this Section. The review shall be designed to ascertain | 21 | | whether any senior homestead exemptions have been granted | 22 | | erroneously. | | | | 23 | | In counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if the | 24 | | assessor or chief county assessment officer requires annual | 25 | | application for verification of eligibility for an exemption | 26 | | once granted under this Section, the application shall be |
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| 1 | | mailed to the taxpayer. | 2 | | (l) The assessor or chief county assessment officer shall | 3 | | notify each person who qualifies for an exemption under this | 4 | | Section that the person may also qualify for deferral of real | 5 | | estate taxes under the Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax | 6 | | Deferral Act. The notice shall set forth the qualifications | 7 | | needed for deferral of real estate taxes, the address and | 8 | | telephone number of county collector, and a statement that | 9 | | applications for deferral of real estate taxes may be obtained | 10 | | from the county collector. | 11 | | (m) Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates | 12 | | Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the | 13 | | implementation of any mandate created by this Section. | 14 | | (Source: P.A. 101-453, eff. 8-23-19; 101-622, eff. 1-14-20; | 15 | | 102-895, eff. 5-23-22.) |
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