Full Text of HB0281 094th General Assembly
HB0281 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006 HB0281
Introduced 1/18/2005, by Rep. James H. Meyer SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that college students who are enrolled full time at a public or private college or university and live with their parents are not to be included as a part of the "household" when determining eligibility for the Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption. 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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HB0281 |
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LRB094 05174 BDD 35216 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 15-172 as follows:
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| (35 ILCS 200/15-172)
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| Sec. 15-172. Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead | 8 |
| Exemption.
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| (a) This Section may be cited as the Senior Citizens | 10 |
| Assessment
Freeze Homestead Exemption.
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| (b) As used in this Section:
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| "Applicant" means an individual who has filed an | 13 |
| application under this
Section.
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| "Base amount" means the base year equalized assessed value | 15 |
| of the residence
plus the first year's equalized assessed value | 16 |
| of any added improvements which
increased the assessed value of | 17 |
| the residence after the base year.
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| "Base year" means the taxable year prior to the taxable | 19 |
| year for which the
applicant first qualifies and applies for | 20 |
| the exemption provided that in the
prior taxable year the | 21 |
| property was improved with a permanent structure that
was | 22 |
| occupied as a residence by the applicant who was liable for | 23 |
| paying real
property taxes on the property and who was either | 24 |
| (i) an owner of record of the
property or had legal or | 25 |
| equitable interest in the property as evidenced by a
written | 26 |
| instrument or (ii) had a legal or equitable interest as a | 27 |
| lessee in the
parcel of property that was single family | 28 |
| residence.
If in any subsequent taxable year for which the | 29 |
| applicant applies and
qualifies for the exemption the equalized | 30 |
| assessed value of the residence is
less than the equalized | 31 |
| assessed value in the existing base year
(provided that such | 32 |
| equalized assessed value is not
based
on an
assessed value that |
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| results from a temporary irregularity in the property that
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| reduces the
assessed value for one or more taxable years), then | 3 |
| that
subsequent taxable year shall become the base year until a | 4 |
| new base year is
established under the terms of this paragraph. | 5 |
| For taxable year 1999 only, the
Chief County Assessment Officer | 6 |
| shall review (i) all taxable years for which
the
applicant | 7 |
| applied and qualified for the exemption and (ii) the existing | 8 |
| base
year.
The assessment officer shall select as the new base | 9 |
| year the year with the
lowest equalized assessed value.
An | 10 |
| equalized assessed value that is based on an assessed value | 11 |
| that results
from a
temporary irregularity in the property that | 12 |
| reduces the assessed value for one
or more
taxable years shall | 13 |
| not be considered the lowest equalized assessed value.
The | 14 |
| selected year shall be the base year for
taxable year 1999 and | 15 |
| thereafter until a new base year is established under the
terms | 16 |
| of this paragraph.
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| "Chief County Assessment Officer" means the County | 18 |
| Assessor or Supervisor of
Assessments of the county in which | 19 |
| the property is located.
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| "Equalized assessed value" means the assessed value as | 21 |
| equalized by the
Illinois Department of Revenue.
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| "Household" means the applicant, the spouse of the | 23 |
| applicant, and all persons
using the residence of the applicant | 24 |
| as their principal place of residence. College students who are | 25 |
| enrolled full time at a public or private college or university | 26 |
| and live with their parents are not to be included as a part of | 27 |
| the "household" when determining eligibility for this | 28 |
| exemption.
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| "Household income" means the combined income of the members | 30 |
| of a household
for the calendar year preceding the taxable | 31 |
| year.
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| "Income" has the same meaning as provided in Section 3.07 | 33 |
| of the Senior
Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief | 34 |
| and Pharmaceutical Assistance
Act, except that, beginning in | 35 |
| assessment year 2001, "income" does not
include veteran's | 36 |
| benefits.
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| "Internal Revenue Code of 1986" means the United States | 2 |
| Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 or any successor law or laws | 3 |
| relating to federal income taxes in effect
for the year | 4 |
| preceding the taxable year.
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| "Life care facility that qualifies as a cooperative" means | 6 |
| a facility as
defined in Section 2 of the Life Care Facilities | 7 |
| Act.
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| "Residence" means the principal dwelling place and | 9 |
| appurtenant structures
used for residential purposes in this | 10 |
| State occupied on January 1 of the
taxable year by a household | 11 |
| and so much of the surrounding land, constituting
the parcel | 12 |
| upon which the dwelling place is situated, as is used for
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| residential purposes. If the Chief County Assessment Officer | 14 |
| has established a
specific legal description for a portion of | 15 |
| property constituting the
residence, then that portion of | 16 |
| property shall be deemed the residence for the
purposes of this | 17 |
| Section.
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| "Taxable year" means the calendar year during which ad | 19 |
| valorem property taxes
payable in the next succeeding year are | 20 |
| levied.
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| (c) Beginning in taxable year 1994, a senior citizens | 22 |
| assessment freeze
homestead exemption is granted for real | 23 |
| property that is improved with a
permanent structure that is | 24 |
| occupied as a residence by an applicant who (i) is
65 years of | 25 |
| age or older during the taxable year, (ii) has a household | 26 |
| income
of $35,000 or less prior to taxable year 1999,
$40,000 | 27 |
| or less in taxable years 1999 through 2003, and $45,000 or less | 28 |
| in taxable year 2004 and thereafter, (iii) is liable for paying | 29 |
| real property taxes on
the
property, and (iv) is an owner of | 30 |
| record of the property or has a legal or
equitable interest in | 31 |
| the property as evidenced by a written instrument. This
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| homestead exemption shall also apply to a leasehold interest in | 33 |
| a parcel of
property improved with a permanent structure that | 34 |
| is a single family residence
that is occupied as a residence by | 35 |
| a person who (i) is 65 years of age or older
during the taxable | 36 |
| year, (ii) has a household income of $35,000 or less prior
to |
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| taxable year 1999, $40,000 or less in taxable years 1999 | 2 |
| through 2003, and $45,000 or less in taxable year 2004 and | 3 |
| thereafter,
(iii)
has a legal or equitable ownership interest | 4 |
| in the property as lessee, and (iv)
is liable for the payment | 5 |
| of real property taxes on that property.
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The amount of this exemption shall be the equalized | 7 |
| assessed value of the
residence in the taxable year for which | 8 |
| application is made minus the base
amount.
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| When the applicant is a surviving spouse of an applicant | 10 |
| for a prior year for
the same residence for which an exemption | 11 |
| under this Section has been granted,
the base year and base | 12 |
| amount for that residence are the same as for the
applicant for | 13 |
| the prior year.
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| Each year at the time the assessment books are certified to | 15 |
| the County Clerk,
the Board of Review or Board of Appeals shall | 16 |
| give to the County Clerk a list
of the assessed values of | 17 |
| improvements on each parcel qualifying for this
exemption that | 18 |
| were added after the base year for this parcel and that
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| increased the assessed value of the property.
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| In the case of land improved with an apartment building | 21 |
| owned and operated as
a cooperative or a building that is a | 22 |
| life care facility that qualifies as a
cooperative, the maximum | 23 |
| reduction from the equalized assessed value of the
property is | 24 |
| limited to the sum of the reductions calculated for each unit
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| occupied as a residence by a person or persons (i) 65 years of | 26 |
| age or older, (ii) with a
household income of $35,000 or less | 27 |
| prior to taxable year 1999, $40,000 or
less in taxable years | 28 |
| 1999 through 2003, and $45,000 or less in taxable year 2004 and | 29 |
| thereafter, (iii) who is liable, by contract with the
owner
or | 30 |
| owners of record, for paying real property taxes on the | 31 |
| property, and (iv) who is
an owner of record of a legal or | 32 |
| equitable interest in the cooperative
apartment building, | 33 |
| other than a leasehold interest. In the instance of a
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| cooperative where a homestead exemption has been granted under | 35 |
| this Section,
the cooperative association or its management | 36 |
| firm shall credit the savings
resulting from that exemption |
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| only to the apportioned tax liability of the
owner who | 2 |
| qualified for the exemption. Any person who willfully refuses | 3 |
| to
credit that savings to an owner who qualifies for the | 4 |
| exemption is guilty of a
Class B misdemeanor.
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| When a homestead exemption has been granted under this | 6 |
| Section and an
applicant then becomes a resident of a facility | 7 |
| licensed under the Nursing Home
Care Act, the exemption shall | 8 |
| be granted in subsequent years so long as the
residence (i) | 9 |
| continues to be occupied by the qualified applicant's spouse or
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| (ii) if remaining unoccupied, is still owned by the qualified | 11 |
| applicant for the
homestead exemption.
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| Beginning January 1, 1997, when an individual dies who | 13 |
| would have qualified
for an exemption under this Section, and | 14 |
| the surviving spouse does not
independently qualify for this | 15 |
| exemption because of age, the exemption under
this Section | 16 |
| shall be granted to the surviving spouse for the taxable year
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| preceding and the taxable
year of the death, provided that, | 18 |
| except for age, the surviving spouse meets
all
other | 19 |
| qualifications for the granting of this exemption for those | 20 |
| years.
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| When married persons maintain separate residences, the | 22 |
| exemption provided for
in this Section may be claimed by only | 23 |
| one of such persons and for only one
residence.
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| For taxable year 1994 only, in counties having less than | 25 |
| 3,000,000
inhabitants, to receive the exemption, a person shall | 26 |
| submit an application by
February 15, 1995 to the Chief County | 27 |
| Assessment Officer
of the county in which the property is | 28 |
| located. In counties having 3,000,000
or more inhabitants, for | 29 |
| taxable year 1994 and all subsequent taxable years, to
receive | 30 |
| the exemption, a person
may submit an application to the Chief | 31 |
| County
Assessment Officer of the county in which the property | 32 |
| is located during such
period as may be specified by the Chief | 33 |
| County Assessment Officer. The Chief
County Assessment Officer | 34 |
| in counties of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants shall
annually | 35 |
| give notice of the application period by mail or by | 36 |
| publication. In
counties having less than 3,000,000 |
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| inhabitants, beginning with taxable year
1995 and thereafter, | 2 |
| to receive the exemption, a person
shall
submit an
application | 3 |
| by July 1 of each taxable year to the Chief County Assessment
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| Officer of the county in which the property is located. A | 5 |
| county may, by
ordinance, establish a date for submission of | 6 |
| applications that is
different than
July 1.
The applicant shall | 7 |
| submit with the
application an affidavit of the applicant's | 8 |
| total household income, age,
marital status (and if married the | 9 |
| name and address of the applicant's spouse,
if known), and | 10 |
| principal dwelling place of members of the household on January
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| 1 of the taxable year. The Department shall establish, by rule, | 12 |
| a method for
verifying the accuracy of affidavits filed by | 13 |
| applicants under this Section.
The applications shall be | 14 |
| clearly marked as applications for the Senior
Citizens | 15 |
| Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption.
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| Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, in | 17 |
| counties having fewer
than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an | 18 |
| applicant fails
to file the application required by this | 19 |
| Section in a timely manner and this
failure to file is due to a | 20 |
| mental or physical condition sufficiently severe so
as to | 21 |
| render the applicant incapable of filing the application in a | 22 |
| timely
manner, the Chief County Assessment Officer may extend | 23 |
| the filing deadline for
a period of 30 days after the applicant | 24 |
| regains the capability to file the
application, but in no case | 25 |
| may the filing deadline be extended beyond 3
months of the | 26 |
| original filing deadline. In order to receive the extension
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| provided in this paragraph, the applicant shall provide the | 28 |
| Chief County
Assessment Officer with a signed statement from | 29 |
| the applicant's physician
stating the nature and extent of the | 30 |
| condition, that, in the
physician's opinion, the condition was | 31 |
| so severe that it rendered the applicant
incapable of filing | 32 |
| the application in a timely manner, and the date on which
the | 33 |
| applicant regained the capability to file the application.
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| Beginning January 1, 1998, notwithstanding any other | 35 |
| provision to the
contrary, in counties having fewer than | 36 |
| 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an applicant
fails to file the |
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| application required by this Section in a timely manner and
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| this failure to file is due to a mental or physical condition | 3 |
| sufficiently
severe so as to render the applicant incapable of | 4 |
| filing the application in a
timely manner, the Chief County | 5 |
| Assessment Officer may extend the filing
deadline for a period | 6 |
| of 3 months. In order to receive the extension provided
in this | 7 |
| paragraph, the applicant shall provide the Chief County | 8 |
| Assessment
Officer with a signed statement from the applicant's | 9 |
| physician stating the
nature and extent of the condition, and | 10 |
| that, in the physician's opinion, the
condition was so severe | 11 |
| that it rendered the applicant incapable of filing the
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| application in a timely manner.
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| In counties having less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an | 14 |
| applicant was
denied an exemption in taxable year 1994 and the | 15 |
| denial occurred due to an
error on the part of an assessment
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| official, or his or her agent or employee, then beginning in | 17 |
| taxable year 1997
the
applicant's base year, for purposes of | 18 |
| determining the amount of the exemption,
shall be 1993 rather | 19 |
| than 1994. In addition, in taxable year 1997, the
applicant's | 20 |
| exemption shall also include an amount equal to (i) the amount | 21 |
| of
any exemption denied to the applicant in taxable year 1995 | 22 |
| as a result of using
1994, rather than 1993, as the base year, | 23 |
| (ii) the amount of any exemption
denied to the applicant in | 24 |
| taxable year 1996 as a result of using 1994, rather
than 1993, | 25 |
| as the base year, and (iii) the amount of the exemption | 26 |
| erroneously
denied for taxable year 1994.
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| For purposes of this Section, a person who will be 65 years | 28 |
| of age during the
current taxable year shall be eligible to | 29 |
| apply for the homestead exemption
during that taxable year. | 30 |
| Application shall be made during the application
period in | 31 |
| effect for the county of his or her residence.
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| The Chief County Assessment Officer may determine the | 33 |
| eligibility of a life
care facility that qualifies as a | 34 |
| cooperative to receive the benefits
provided by this Section by | 35 |
| use of an affidavit, application, visual
inspection, | 36 |
| questionnaire, or other reasonable method in order to insure |
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| that
the tax savings resulting from the exemption are credited | 2 |
| by the management
firm to the apportioned tax liability of each | 3 |
| qualifying resident. The Chief
County Assessment Officer may | 4 |
| request reasonable proof that the management firm
has so | 5 |
| credited that exemption.
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| Except as provided in this Section, all information | 7 |
| received by the chief
county assessment officer or the | 8 |
| Department from applications filed under this
Section, or from | 9 |
| any investigation conducted under the provisions of this
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| Section, shall be confidential, except for official purposes or
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| pursuant to official procedures for collection of any State or | 12 |
| local tax or
enforcement of any civil or criminal penalty or | 13 |
| sanction imposed by this Act or
by any statute or ordinance | 14 |
| imposing a State or local tax. Any person who
divulges any such | 15 |
| information in any manner, except in accordance with a proper
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| judicial order, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
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| Nothing contained in this Section shall prevent the | 18 |
| Director or chief county
assessment officer from publishing or | 19 |
| making available reasonable statistics
concerning the | 20 |
| operation of the exemption contained in this Section in which
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| the contents of claims are grouped into aggregates in such a | 22 |
| way that
information contained in any individual claim shall | 23 |
| not be disclosed.
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| (d) Each Chief County Assessment Officer shall annually | 25 |
| publish a notice
of availability of the exemption provided | 26 |
| under this Section. The notice
shall be published at least 60 | 27 |
| days but no more than 75 days prior to the date
on which the | 28 |
| application must be submitted to the Chief County Assessment
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| Officer of the county in which the property is located. The | 30 |
| notice shall
appear in a newspaper of general circulation in | 31 |
| the county.
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| Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates Act, | 33 |
| no reimbursement by the State is required for the | 34 |
| implementation of any mandate created by this Section.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-715, eff. 7-12-04.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 2 |
| becoming law.
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