Public Act 098-0007
 
SB1894 EnrolledLRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b



    AN ACT concerning revenue.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly: 

 
    Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended  by changing 
Sections 15-170 and 15-175 as follows:
 
    (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

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

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,

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 
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

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

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 
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

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

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 
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

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 
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

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

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 
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

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.)
 



    (35 ILCS 200/15-175)



    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 
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.

    (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 
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.


    (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

reduction set forth in this Section.

    (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.

    (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 
        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

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 
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

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.

    "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.

    "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.

    "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.

    (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.

    (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.

    (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

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. 

    (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

assessment officer may require the new
owner of the property to 
apply for the homestead exemption for the following
assessment 
year.

    (k) 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. 97-689, eff. 6-14-12; 97-1125, eff. 8-28-12; 
revised 9-20-12.)

 

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.