|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
1 | AN ACT concerning taxes.
| |||||||||||||||||||
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 15-172 as
follows:
| |||||||||||||||||||
6 | (35 ILCS 200/15-172)
| |||||||||||||||||||
7 | Sec. 15-172. Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | Exemption.
| |||||||||||||||||||
9 | (a) This Section may be cited as the Senior Citizens | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | Assessment
Freeze Homestead Exemption.
| |||||||||||||||||||
11 | (b) As used in this Section:
| |||||||||||||||||||
12 | "Applicant" means an individual who has filed an | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | application under this
Section.
| |||||||||||||||||||
14 | "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.
| |||||||||||||||||||
18 | "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 |
| |||||||
|
|||||||
1 | results from a temporary irregularity in the property that
| ||||||
2 | 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.
| ||||||
17 | "Chief County Assessment Officer" means the County | ||||||
18 | Assessor or Supervisor of
Assessments of the county in which | ||||||
19 | the property is located.
| ||||||
20 | "Equalized assessed value" means the assessed value as | ||||||
21 | equalized by the
Illinois Department of Revenue.
| ||||||
22 | "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.
| ||||||
25 | "Household income" means the combined income of the members | ||||||
26 | of a household
for the calendar year preceding the taxable | ||||||
27 | year.
| ||||||
28 | "Income" has the same meaning as provided in Section 3.07 | ||||||
29 | of the Senior
Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief | ||||||
30 | and Pharmaceutical Assistance
Act, except that, beginning in | ||||||
31 | assessment year 2001, "income" does not
include veteran's | ||||||
32 | benefits.
| ||||||
33 | "Internal Revenue Code of 1986" means the United States | ||||||
34 | Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 or any successor law or laws | ||||||
35 | relating to federal income taxes in effect
for the year | ||||||
36 | preceding the taxable year.
|
| |||||||
|
|||||||
1 | "Life care facility that qualifies as a cooperative" means | ||||||
2 | a facility as
defined in Section 2 of the Life Care Facilities | ||||||
3 | Act.
| ||||||
4 | "Residence" means the principal dwelling place and | ||||||
5 | appurtenant structures
used for residential purposes in this | ||||||
6 | State occupied on January 1 of the
taxable year by a household | ||||||
7 | and so much of the surrounding land, constituting
the parcel | ||||||
8 | upon which the dwelling place is situated, as is used for
| ||||||
9 | residential purposes. If the Chief County Assessment Officer | ||||||
10 | has established a
specific legal description for a portion of | ||||||
11 | property constituting the
residence, then that portion of | ||||||
12 | property shall be deemed the residence for the
purposes of this | ||||||
13 | Section.
| ||||||
14 | "Taxable year" means the calendar year during which ad | ||||||
15 | valorem property taxes
payable in the next succeeding year are | ||||||
16 | levied.
| ||||||
17 | (c) Beginning in taxable year 1994, a senior citizens | ||||||
18 | assessment freeze
homestead exemption is granted for real | ||||||
19 | property that is improved with a
permanent structure that is | ||||||
20 | occupied as a residence by an applicant who (i) is
65 years of | ||||||
21 | age or older during the taxable year, (ii) has a household | ||||||
22 | income
of $35,000 or less prior to taxable year 1999 or $40,000 | ||||||
23 | or less in
taxable
year 1999
and thereafter
(or, beginning with | ||||||
24 | taxable year 2004 and thereafter, an amount determined for that | ||||||
25 | county as provided in subsection (e)) , (iii) is liable for | ||||||
26 | paying real
property taxes on
the
property, and (iv) is an | ||||||
27 | owner of record of the property or has a legal or
equitable | ||||||
28 | interest in the property as evidenced by a written instrument. | ||||||
29 | This
homestead exemption shall also apply to a leasehold | ||||||
30 | interest in a parcel of
property improved with a permanent | ||||||
31 | structure that is a single family residence
that is occupied as | ||||||
32 | a residence by a person who (i) is 65 years of age or older
| ||||||
33 | during the taxable year, (ii) has a household income of $35,000 | ||||||
34 | or less prior
to taxable year 1999 or $40,000 or less in | ||||||
35 | taxable year
1999
and thereafter (or, beginning with taxable | ||||||
36 | year 2004 and thereafter, an amount determined for that county |
| |||||||
|
|||||||
1 | as
provided in subsection (e)) , (iii)
has a legal or equitable | ||||||
2 | ownership interest in the property as lessee, and (iv)
is | ||||||
3 | liable for the payment of real property taxes on that property.
| ||||||
4 | The amount of this exemption shall be the equalized | ||||||
5 | assessed value of the
residence in the taxable year for which | ||||||
6 | application is made minus the base
amount.
| ||||||
7 | When the applicant is a surviving spouse of an applicant | ||||||
8 | for a prior year for
the same residence for which an exemption | ||||||
9 | under this Section has been granted,
the base year and base | ||||||
10 | amount for that residence are the same as for the
applicant for | ||||||
11 | the prior year.
| ||||||
12 | Each year at the time the assessment books are certified to | ||||||
13 | the County Clerk,
the Board of Review or Board of Appeals shall | ||||||
14 | give to the County Clerk a list
of the assessed values of | ||||||
15 | improvements on each parcel qualifying for this
exemption that | ||||||
16 | were added after the base year for this parcel and that
| ||||||
17 | increased the assessed value of the property.
| ||||||
18 | In the case of land improved with an apartment building | ||||||
19 | owned and operated as
a cooperative or a building that is a | ||||||
20 | life care facility that qualifies as a
cooperative, the maximum | ||||||
21 | reduction from the equalized assessed value of the
property is | ||||||
22 | limited to the sum of the reductions calculated for each unit
| ||||||
23 | occupied as a residence by a person or persons (i) 65 years of | ||||||
24 | age or
older , (ii) with a
household income of $35,000 or less | ||||||
25 | prior to taxable year 1999 or
$40,000 or
less in taxable year | ||||||
26 | 1999
and thereafter (or, beginning with taxable year 2004 and | ||||||
27 | thereafter, an amount determined for that county as provided in | ||||||
28 | subsection (e)), (iii) who is liable, by
contract with
the
| ||||||
29 | owner
or owners of record, for paying real property taxes on | ||||||
30 | the property , and
(iv) who is
an owner of record of a legal or | ||||||
31 | equitable interest in the cooperative
apartment building, | ||||||
32 | other than a leasehold interest. In the instance of a
| ||||||
33 | cooperative where a homestead exemption has been granted under | ||||||
34 | this Section,
the cooperative association or its management | ||||||
35 | firm shall credit the savings
resulting from that exemption | ||||||
36 | only to the apportioned tax liability of the
owner who |
| |||||||
|
|||||||
1 | qualified for the exemption. Any person who willfully refuses | ||||||
2 | to
credit that savings to an owner who qualifies for the | ||||||
3 | exemption is guilty of a
Class B misdemeanor.
| ||||||
4 | When a homestead exemption has been granted under this | ||||||
5 | Section and an
applicant then becomes a resident of a facility | ||||||
6 | licensed under the Nursing Home
Care Act, the exemption shall | ||||||
7 | be granted in subsequent years so long as the
residence (i) | ||||||
8 | continues to be occupied by the qualified applicant's spouse or
| ||||||
9 | (ii) if remaining unoccupied, is still owned by the qualified | ||||||
10 | applicant for the
homestead exemption.
| ||||||
11 | Beginning January 1, 1997, when an individual dies who | ||||||
12 | would have qualified
for an exemption under this Section, and | ||||||
13 | the surviving spouse does not
independently qualify for this | ||||||
14 | exemption because of age, the exemption under
this Section | ||||||
15 | shall be granted to the surviving spouse for the taxable year
| ||||||
16 | preceding and the taxable
year of the death, provided that, | ||||||
17 | except for age, the surviving spouse meets
all
other | ||||||
18 | qualifications for the granting of this exemption for those | ||||||
19 | years.
| ||||||
20 | When married persons maintain separate residences, the | ||||||
21 | exemption provided for
in this Section may be claimed by only | ||||||
22 | one of such persons and for only one
residence.
| ||||||
23 | For taxable year 1994 only, in counties having less than | ||||||
24 | 3,000,000
inhabitants, to receive the exemption, a person shall | ||||||
25 | submit an application by
February 15, 1995 to the Chief County | ||||||
26 | Assessment Officer
of the county in which the property is | ||||||
27 | located. In counties having 3,000,000
or more inhabitants, for | ||||||
28 | taxable year 1994 and all subsequent taxable years, to
receive | ||||||
29 | the exemption, a person may submit an application to the Chief | ||||||
30 | County
Assessment Officer of the county in which the property | ||||||
31 | is located during such
period as may be specified by the Chief | ||||||
32 | County Assessment Officer. The Chief
County Assessment Officer | ||||||
33 | in counties of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants shall
annually | ||||||
34 | give notice of the application period by mail or by | ||||||
35 | publication. In
counties having less than 3,000,000 | ||||||
36 | inhabitants, beginning with taxable year
1995 and thereafter, |
| |||||||
|
|||||||
1 | to receive the exemption, a person shall submit an
application | ||||||
2 | by July 1 of each taxable year to the Chief County Assessment
| ||||||
3 | Officer of the county in which the property is located. A | ||||||
4 | county may, by
ordinance, establish a date for submission of | ||||||
5 | applications that is
different than
July 1.
The applicant shall | ||||||
6 | submit with the
application an affidavit of the applicant's | ||||||
7 | total household income, age,
marital status (and if married the | ||||||
8 | name and address of the applicant's spouse,
if known), and | ||||||
9 | principal dwelling place of members of the household on January
| ||||||
10 | 1 of the taxable year. The Department shall establish, by rule, | ||||||
11 | a method for
verifying the accuracy of affidavits filed by | ||||||
12 | applicants under this Section.
The applications shall be | ||||||
13 | clearly marked as applications for the Senior
Citizens | ||||||
14 | Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption.
| ||||||
15 | Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, in | ||||||
16 | counties having fewer
than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an | ||||||
17 | applicant fails
to file the application required by this | ||||||
18 | Section in a timely manner and this
failure to file is due to a | ||||||
19 | mental or physical condition sufficiently severe so
as to | ||||||
20 | render the applicant incapable of filing the application in a | ||||||
21 | timely
manner, the Chief County Assessment Officer may extend | ||||||
22 | the filing deadline for
a period of 30 days after the applicant | ||||||
23 | regains the capability to file the
application, but in no case | ||||||
24 | may the filing deadline be extended beyond 3
months of the | ||||||
25 | original filing deadline. In order to receive the extension
| ||||||
26 | provided in this paragraph, the applicant shall provide the | ||||||
27 | Chief County
Assessment Officer with a signed statement from | ||||||
28 | the applicant's physician
stating the nature and extent of the | ||||||
29 | condition, that, in the
physician's opinion, the condition was | ||||||
30 | so severe that it rendered the applicant
incapable of filing | ||||||
31 | the application in a timely manner, and the date on which
the | ||||||
32 | applicant regained the capability to file the application.
| ||||||
33 | Beginning January 1, 1998, notwithstanding any other | ||||||
34 | provision to the
contrary, in counties having fewer than | ||||||
35 | 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an applicant
fails to file the | ||||||
36 | application required by this Section in a timely manner and
|
| |||||||
|
|||||||
1 | this failure to file is due to a mental or physical condition | ||||||
2 | sufficiently
severe so as to render the applicant incapable of | ||||||
3 | filing the application in a
timely manner, the Chief County | ||||||
4 | Assessment Officer may extend the filing
deadline for a period | ||||||
5 | of 3 months. In order to receive the extension provided
in this | ||||||
6 | paragraph, the applicant shall provide the Chief County | ||||||
7 | Assessment
Officer with a signed statement from the applicant's | ||||||
8 | physician stating the
nature and extent of the condition, and | ||||||
9 | that, in the physician's opinion, the
condition was so severe | ||||||
10 | that it rendered the applicant incapable of filing the
| ||||||
11 | application in a timely manner.
| ||||||
12 | In counties having less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an | ||||||
13 | applicant was
denied an exemption in taxable year 1994 and the | ||||||
14 | denial occurred due to an
error on the part of an assessment
| ||||||
15 | official, or his or her agent or employee, then beginning in | ||||||
16 | taxable year 1997
the
applicant's base year, for purposes of | ||||||
17 | determining the amount of the exemption,
shall be 1993 rather | ||||||
18 | than 1994. In addition, in taxable year 1997, the
applicant's | ||||||
19 | exemption shall also include an amount equal to (i) the amount | ||||||
20 | of
any exemption denied to the applicant in taxable year 1995 | ||||||
21 | as a result of using
1994, rather than 1993, as the base year, | ||||||
22 | (ii) the amount of any exemption
denied to the applicant in | ||||||
23 | taxable year 1996 as a result of using 1994, rather
than 1993, | ||||||
24 | as the base year, and (iii) the amount of the exemption | ||||||
25 | erroneously
denied for taxable year 1994.
| ||||||
26 | For purposes of this Section, a person who will be 65 years | ||||||
27 | of age during the
current taxable year shall be eligible to | ||||||
28 | apply for the homestead exemption
during that taxable year. | ||||||
29 | Application shall be made during the application
period in | ||||||
30 | effect for the county of his or her residence.
| ||||||
31 | The Chief County Assessment Officer may determine the | ||||||
32 | eligibility of a life
care facility that qualifies as a | ||||||
33 | cooperative to receive the benefits
provided by this Section by | ||||||
34 | use of an affidavit, application, visual
inspection, | ||||||
35 | questionnaire, or other reasonable method in order to insure | ||||||
36 | that
the tax savings resulting from the exemption are credited |
| |||||||
|
|||||||
1 | by the management
firm to the apportioned tax liability of each | ||||||
2 | qualifying resident. The Chief
County Assessment Officer may | ||||||
3 | request reasonable proof that the management firm
has so | ||||||
4 | credited that exemption.
| ||||||
5 | Except as provided in this Section, all information | ||||||
6 | received by the chief
county assessment officer or the | ||||||
7 | Department from applications filed under this
Section, or from | ||||||
8 | any investigation conducted under the provisions of this
| ||||||
9 | Section, shall be confidential, except for official purposes or
| ||||||
10 | pursuant to official procedures for collection of any State or | ||||||
11 | local tax or
enforcement of any civil or criminal penalty or | ||||||
12 | sanction imposed by this Act or
by any statute or ordinance | ||||||
13 | imposing a State or local tax. Any person who
divulges any such | ||||||
14 | information in any manner, except in accordance with a proper
| ||||||
15 | judicial order, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
| ||||||
16 | Nothing contained in this Section shall prevent the | ||||||
17 | Director or chief county
assessment officer from publishing or | ||||||
18 | making available reasonable statistics
concerning the | ||||||
19 | operation of the exemption contained in this Section in which
| ||||||
20 | the contents of claims are grouped into aggregates in such a | ||||||
21 | way that
information contained in any individual claim shall | ||||||
22 | not be disclosed.
| ||||||
23 | (d) Each Chief County Assessment Officer shall annually | ||||||
24 | publish a notice
of availability of the exemption provided | ||||||
25 | under this Section. The notice
shall be published at least 60 | ||||||
26 | days but no more than 75 days prior to the date
on which the | ||||||
27 | application must be submitted to the Chief County Assessment
| ||||||
28 | Officer of the county in which the property is located. The | ||||||
29 | notice shall
appear in a newspaper of general circulation in | ||||||
30 | the county.
| ||||||
31 | (e) Each county may opt to increase the income eligibility | ||||||
32 | limits for the
exemption under this Section beginning
with
| ||||||
33 | taxable year 2004. To increase the income eligibility limit for | ||||||
34 | taxable year 2004 and thereafter, the corporate authorities
of | ||||||
35 | the
county must adopt an ordinance or resolution, as | ||||||
36 | appropriate, approving the
increased
income eligibility limits |
| |||||||
|
|||||||
1 | for the senior citizens assessment freeze homestead
exemption
| ||||||
2 | program in that county.
| ||||||
3 | (Source: P.A. 90-14, eff. 7-1-97; 90-204, eff. 7-25-97; 90-523, | ||||||
4 | eff.
11-13-97; 90-524, eff. 1-1-98; 90-531, eff. 1-1-98; | ||||||
5 | 90-655, eff. 7-30-98;
91-45, eff. 6-30-99; 91-56, eff. 6-30-99; | ||||||
6 | 91-819, eff. 6-13-00.)
| ||||||
7 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
8 | becoming law. |