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1 | AN ACT concerning revenue.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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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. An | ||||||
8 | annual homestead
exemption limited, except as described here | ||||||
9 | with relation to cooperatives or
life care facilities, to a
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10 | maximum reduction set forth below from the property's value, as | ||||||
11 | equalized or
assessed by the Department, is granted for | ||||||
12 | property that is occupied as a
residence by a person 65 years | ||||||
13 | of age or older who is liable for paying real
estate taxes on | ||||||
14 | the property and is an owner of record of the property or has a
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15 | legal or equitable interest therein as evidenced by a written | ||||||
16 | instrument,
except for a leasehold interest, other than a | ||||||
17 | leasehold interest of land on
which a single family residence | ||||||
18 | is located, which is occupied as a residence by
a person 65 | ||||||
19 | years or older who has an ownership interest therein, legal,
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20 | equitable or as a lessee, and on which he or she is liable for | ||||||
21 | the payment
of property taxes. Before taxable year 2004, the | ||||||
22 | maximum reduction shall be $2,500 in counties with
3,000,000 or | ||||||
23 | more inhabitants and $2,000 in all other counties. For taxable |
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1 | years 2004 through 2005, the maximum reduction shall be $3,000 | ||||||
2 | in all counties. For taxable years 2006 and 2007, the maximum | ||||||
3 | reduction shall be $3,500. For taxable years 2008 through 2011, | ||||||
4 | the maximum reduction is $4,000 in all counties.
For taxable | ||||||
5 | year 2012, the maximum reduction is $5,000 in counties with
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6 | 3,000,000 or more inhabitants and $4,000 in all other counties. | ||||||
7 | For taxable years 2013 and thereafter, the maximum reduction is | ||||||
8 | $5,000 in all counties. | ||||||
9 | For land
improved with an apartment building owned and | ||||||
10 | operated as a cooperative, the maximum reduction from the value | ||||||
11 | of the property, as
equalized
by the Department, shall be | ||||||
12 | multiplied by the number of apartments or units
occupied by a | ||||||
13 | person 65 years of age or older who is liable, by contract with
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14 | the owner or owners of record, for paying property taxes on the | ||||||
15 | property and
is an owner of record of a legal or equitable | ||||||
16 | interest in the cooperative
apartment building, other than a | ||||||
17 | leasehold interest. For land improved with
a life care | ||||||
18 | facility, the maximum reduction from the value of the property, | ||||||
19 | as
equalized by the Department, shall be multiplied by the | ||||||
20 | number of apartments or
units occupied by persons 65 years of | ||||||
21 | age or older, irrespective of any legal,
equitable, or | ||||||
22 | leasehold interest in the facility, who are liable, under a
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23 | contract with the owner or owners of record of the facility, | ||||||
24 | for paying
property taxes on the property. In a
cooperative or | ||||||
25 | a life care facility where a
homestead exemption has been | ||||||
26 | granted, the cooperative association or the
management firm of |
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1 | the cooperative or facility shall credit the savings
resulting | ||||||
2 | from that exemption only to
the apportioned tax liability of | ||||||
3 | the owner or resident who qualified for
the exemption.
Any | ||||||
4 | person who willfully refuses to so credit the savings shall be | ||||||
5 | guilty of a
Class B misdemeanor. Under this Section and | ||||||
6 | Sections 15-175, 15-176, and 15-177, "life care
facility" means | ||||||
7 | a facility, as defined in Section 2 of the Life Care Facilities
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8 | Act, with which the applicant for the homestead exemption has a | ||||||
9 | life care
contract as defined in that Act. | ||||||
10 | When a homestead exemption has been granted under this | ||||||
11 | Section and the person
qualifying subsequently becomes a | ||||||
12 | resident of a facility licensed under the Assisted Living and | ||||||
13 | Shared Housing Act, the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized | ||||||
14 | Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the ID/DD Community | ||||||
15 | Care Act, or the MC/DD Act, the exemption shall continue so | ||||||
16 | long as the residence
continues to be occupied by the | ||||||
17 | qualifying person's spouse if the spouse is 65
years of age or | ||||||
18 | older, or if the residence remains unoccupied but is still
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19 | owned by the person qualified for the homestead exemption. | ||||||
20 | A person who will be 65 years of age
during the current | ||||||
21 | assessment year
shall
be eligible to apply for the homestead | ||||||
22 | exemption during that assessment
year.
Application shall be | ||||||
23 | made during the application period in effect for the
county of | ||||||
24 | his residence. | ||||||
25 | Beginning with assessment year 2003, for taxes payable in | ||||||
26 | 2004,
property
that is first occupied as a residence after |
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1 | January 1 of any assessment year by
a person who is eligible | ||||||
2 | for the senior citizens homestead exemption under this
Section | ||||||
3 | must be granted a pro-rata exemption for the assessment year. | ||||||
4 | The
amount of the pro-rata exemption is the exemption
allowed | ||||||
5 | in the county under this Section divided by 365 and multiplied | ||||||
6 | by the
number of days during the assessment year the property | ||||||
7 | is occupied as a
residence by a
person eligible for the | ||||||
8 | exemption under this Section. The chief county
assessment | ||||||
9 | officer must adopt reasonable procedures to establish | ||||||
10 | eligibility
for this pro-rata exemption. | ||||||
11 | The assessor or chief county assessment officer may | ||||||
12 | determine the eligibility
of a life care facility to receive | ||||||
13 | the benefits provided by this Section, by
affidavit, | ||||||
14 | application, visual inspection, questionnaire or other | ||||||
15 | reasonable
methods in order to insure that the tax savings | ||||||
16 | resulting from the exemption
are credited by the management | ||||||
17 | firm to the apportioned tax liability of each
qualifying | ||||||
18 | resident. The assessor may request reasonable proof that the
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19 | management firm has so credited the exemption. | ||||||
20 | The chief county assessment officer of each county with | ||||||
21 | less than 3,000,000
inhabitants shall provide to each person | ||||||
22 | allowed a homestead exemption under
this Section a form to | ||||||
23 | designate any other person to receive a
duplicate of any notice | ||||||
24 | of delinquency in the payment of taxes assessed and
levied | ||||||
25 | under this Code on the property of the person receiving the | ||||||
26 | exemption.
The duplicate notice shall be in addition to the |
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1 | notice required to be
provided to the person receiving the | ||||||
2 | exemption, and shall be given in the
manner required by this | ||||||
3 | Code. The person filing the request for the duplicate
notice | ||||||
4 | shall pay a fee of $5 to cover administrative costs to the | ||||||
5 | supervisor of
assessments, who shall then file the executed | ||||||
6 | designation with the county
collector. Notwithstanding any | ||||||
7 | other provision of this Code to the contrary,
the filing of | ||||||
8 | such an executed designation requires the county collector to
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9 | provide duplicate notices as indicated by the designation. A | ||||||
10 | designation may
be rescinded by the person who executed such | ||||||
11 | designation at any time, in the
manner and form required by the | ||||||
12 | chief county assessment officer. | ||||||
13 | The assessor or chief county assessment officer may | ||||||
14 | determine the
eligibility of residential property to receive | ||||||
15 | the homestead exemption provided
by this Section by | ||||||
16 | application, visual inspection, questionnaire or other
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17 | reasonable methods. The determination shall be made in | ||||||
18 | accordance with
guidelines established by the Department. | ||||||
19 | In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, beginning | ||||||
20 | in taxable year 2010, each taxpayer who has been granted an | ||||||
21 | exemption under this Section must reapply on an annual basis. | ||||||
22 | The chief county assessment officer shall mail the application | ||||||
23 | to the taxpayer. In all counties with less than 3,000,000 | ||||||
24 | inhabitants , the county board may by
resolution provide that if | ||||||
25 | a person has been granted a homestead exemption
under this | ||||||
26 | Section, the person qualifying need not reapply for the |
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1 | exemption. | ||||||
2 | If In counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if the | ||||||
3 | assessor or chief
county assessment officer requires annual | ||||||
4 | application for verification of
eligibility for an exemption | ||||||
5 | once granted under this Section, the application
shall be | ||||||
6 | mailed to the taxpayer. | ||||||
7 | The assessor or chief county assessment officer shall | ||||||
8 | notify each person
who qualifies for an exemption under this | ||||||
9 | Section that the person may also
qualify for deferral of real | ||||||
10 | estate taxes under the Senior Citizens Real Estate
Tax Deferral | ||||||
11 | Act. The notice shall set forth the qualifications needed for
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12 | deferral of real estate taxes, the address and telephone number | ||||||
13 | of
county collector, and a
statement that applications for | ||||||
14 | deferral of real estate taxes may be obtained
from the county | ||||||
15 | collector. | ||||||
16 | In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, the | ||||||
17 | assessor and the county recorder of deeds shall establish a | ||||||
18 | policy and practice for the regular exchange of information for | ||||||
19 | the purpose of alerting the assessor whenever the transfer of | ||||||
20 | ownership of any property receiving an exemption under this | ||||||
21 | Section has occurred. When such a transfer occurs, the assessor | ||||||
22 | shall mail a notice to the new owner of the property (i) | ||||||
23 | informing the new owner that the exemption will remain in place | ||||||
24 | through the year of the transfer, after which it will be | ||||||
25 | cancelled and (ii) providing information pertaining to the | ||||||
26 | rules for reapplying for the exemption if the homeowner |
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1 | qualifies. | ||||||
2 | Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates Act, | ||||||
3 | no
reimbursement by the State is required for the | ||||||
4 | implementation of any mandate
created by this Section. | ||||||
5 | (Source: P.A. 98-7, eff. 4-23-13; 98-104, eff. 7-22-13; 98-756, | ||||||
6 | eff. 7-16-14; 99-180, eff. 7-29-15.)
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7 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
8 | becoming law.
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