20 ILCS 2505/2505-810

(20 ILCS 2505/2505-810)

Sec. 2505-810. Veterans Property Tax Relief Reimbursement Pilot Program.

(a) Subject to appropriation, for State fiscal years that begin on or after July 1, 2023 and before July 1, 2028, the Department shall establish and administer a Veterans Property Tax Relief Reimbursement Pilot Program. For purposes of the Program, the Department shall reimburse eligible taxing districts, in an amount calculated under subsection (c), for revenue loss associated with providing homestead exemptions to veterans with disabilities. A taxing district is eligible for reimbursement under this Section if (i) application of the homestead exemptions for veterans with disabilities under Sections 15-165 and 15-169 of the Property Tax Code results in a cumulative reduction of more than 2.5% in the total equalized assessed value of all taxable property in the taxing district, when compared with the total equalized assessed value of all taxable property in the taxing district prior to the application of those exemptions, for the taxable year that is 2 years before the start of the State fiscal year in which the application for reimbursement is made and (ii) the taxing district is located in whole or in part in a county that contains a United States military base. Reimbursement payments shall be made to the county that applies to the Department of Revenue on behalf of the taxing district under subsection (b) and shall be distributed by the county to the taxing district as directed by the Department of Revenue.

(b) If the county clerk determines that one or more taxing districts located in whole or in part in the county qualify for reimbursement under this Section, then the county clerk shall apply to the Department of Revenue on behalf of the taxing district for reimbursement under this Section in the form and manner required by the Department. The county clerk shall consolidate applications submitted on behalf of more than one taxing district into a single application. The Department of Revenue may audit the information submitted by the county clerk as part of the application under this Section for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of that information.

(c) Subject to the maximum aggregate reimbursement amount set forth in this subsection, the amount of the reimbursement shall be as follows:

(1) for reimbursements awarded for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2023, 50% of the product generated by multiplying 90% of the total dollar amount of exemptions granted for taxable year 2021 under Section 15-165 or Section 15-169 of the Property Tax Code to property located in the taxing district by the taxing district's property tax rate for taxable year 2021; and

(2) for reimbursements awarded for fiscal years that begin on or after July 1, 2024 and begin before July 1, 2028, 100% of the product generated by multiplying 90% of the total dollar amount of exemptions granted for the base year under Section 15-165 or Section 15-169 of the Property Tax Code to property located in the taxing district by the taxing district's property tax rate for the base year.

The aggregate amount of reimbursements that may be awarded under this Section for all taxing districts in any calendar year may not exceed the lesser of $30,000,000 or the amount appropriated for the program for that calendar year. If the total amount of eligible reimbursements under this Section exceeds the lesser of $30,000,000 or the amount appropriated for the program for that calendar year, then the reimbursement amount awarded to each particular taxing district shall be reduced on a pro rata basis until the aggregate amount of reimbursements awarded under this Section for the calendar year does not exceed the lesser of $30,000,000 or the amount appropriated for the program for the calendar year.

(d) The Department of Revenue may adopt rules necessary for the implementation of this Section.

(e) As used in this Section:

"Base year" means the taxable year that is 2 years before the start of the State fiscal year in which the application for reimbursement is made.

"Taxable year" means the calendar year during which property taxes payable in the next succeeding year are levied.

"Taxing district" has the meaning given to that term in Section 1-150 of the Property Tax Code.

(Source: P.A. 103-8, eff. 6-7-23; 103-588, eff. 6-5-24.)