Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB2609
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Full Text of HB2609  100th General Assembly

HB2609 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  

 


 
100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB2609

 

Introduced , by Rep. Sonya M. Harper

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
35 ILCS 200/15-172.5 new

    Amends the Property Tax Code. Creates a resident low-income assessment freeze homestead exemption. Provides that the maximum income limitation is $75,000 for applicants who have occupied the residence in a low-income area 5 years or more. Indexes the maximum limitation to the Consumer Price Index. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2609LRB100 11066 HLH 21308 b

1    AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by adding
5Section 15-172.5 as follows:
 
6    (35 ILCS 200/15-172.5 new)
7    Sec. 15-172.5. Resident Low-Income Assessment Freeze
8Homestead Exemption.
9    (a) This Section may be cited as the Resident Low-Income
10Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption.
11    (b) As used in this Section:
12    "Applicant" means an individual who has filed an
13application under this Section.
14    "Base amount" means the base year equalized assessed value
15of the residence plus the first year's equalized assessed value
16of any added improvements which increased the assessed value of
17the residence after the base year.
18    "Base year" means the taxable year prior to the taxable
19year for which the applicant first qualifies and applies for
20the exemption, provided that, in the prior taxable year, the
21property was improved with a permanent structure that was
22occupied as a residence by the applicant who was liable for
23paying real property taxes on the property and who was either

 

 

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1(i) an owner of record of the property or had legal or
2equitable interest in the property as evidenced by a written
3instrument or (ii) had a legal or equitable interest as a
4lessee in the parcel of property that was single family
5residence.
6    "Chief County Assessment Officer" means the County
7Assessor or Supervisor of Assessments of the county in which
8the property is located.
9    "Equalized assessed value" means the assessed value of the
10property as equalized by the Department of Revenue.
11    "Household" means the applicant, the spouse of the
12applicant, and all persons using the residence of the applicant
13as their principal place of residence.
14    "Household income" means the combined income of the members
15of a household for the calendar year preceding the taxable
16year.
17    "Income" has the same meaning as provided in Section 3.07
18of the Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities Property
19Tax Relief Act, but does not include veteran's benefits.
20    "Internal Revenue Code of 1986" means the United States
21Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor law or laws
22relating to federal income taxes in effect for the year
23preceding the taxable year.
24    "Life care facility that qualifies as a cooperative" means
25a facility as defined in Section 2 of the Life Care Facilities
26Act.

 

 

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1    "Low-income area" means a census tract with a median income
2at or below the Federal Poverty Level, issued by the United
3States Department of Health and Human Services.
4    "Maximum income limitation" means:
5        (1) in taxable year 2017, (A) $50,000 for applicants
6    who have occupied the residence for less than 5 years and
7    (B) $75,000 for applicants who have occupied the residence
8    for 5 or more years; and
9        (2) in taxable year 2018 and thereafter, (A) for
10    applicants who have occupied the residence for less than 5
11    years, an amount equal to the maximum income limitation for
12    the immediately prior taxable year for applicants who have
13    occupied the residence for less than 5 years increased by
14    the lesser of (i) 2% or (ii) the percentage increase during
15    the immediately prior taxable year in the Consumer Price
16    Index for All Urban Consumers for all items published by
17    the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor
18    Statistics and (B) for applicants who have occupied the
19    residence for 5 or more years, an amount equal to the
20    maximum income limitation for the immediately prior
21    taxable year for applicants who have occupied the residence
22    for 5 or more years increased by the lesser of (i) 2% or
23    (ii) the percentage increase during the immediately prior
24    taxable year in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
25    Consumers for all items published by the United States
26    Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

 

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1    "Residence" means the principal dwelling place and
2appurtenant structures used for residential purposes in this
3State occupied on January 1 of the taxable year by a household
4and so much of the surrounding land, constituting the parcel
5upon which the dwelling place is situated, as is used for
6residential purposes. If the chief county assessment officer
7has established a specific legal description for a portion of
8property constituting the residence, then that portion of
9property shall be deemed the residence for the purposes of this
10Section.
11    "Taxable year" means the calendar year during which ad
12valorem property taxes payable in the next succeeding year are
13levied.
14    (c) Beginning in taxable year 2017, an assessment freeze
15homestead exemption is granted for real property that is
16improved with a permanent structure that is occupied as a
17residence by an applicant who (i) resides in a low-income area,
18(ii) has a household income that does not exceed the maximum
19income limitation, (iii) is liable for paying real property
20taxes on the property, (iv) is an owner of record of the
21property or has a legal or equitable interest in the property
22as evidenced by a written instrument, and (v) who has occupied
23the residence for 5 years or more. This homestead exemption
24shall also apply to a leasehold interest in a parcel of
25property improved with a permanent structure that is a single
26family residence that is occupied as a residence by a person

 

 

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1who (i) resides in a low-income area, (ii) has a household
2income that does not exceed the maximum income limitation,
3(iii) has a legal or equitable ownership interest in the
4property as lessee, (iv) is liable for the payment of real
5property taxes on that property, and (v) who has occupied this
6residence for 5 years or more.
7    The amount of the exemption is the equalized assessed value
8of the residence in the taxable year for which application is
9made minus the base amount.
10    When the applicant is a surviving spouse of an applicant
11for a prior year for the same residence for which an exemption
12under this Section has been granted, the base year and base
13amount for that residence are the same as for the applicant for
14the prior year.
15    Each year at the time the assessment books are certified to
16the County Clerk, the Board of Review or Board of Appeals shall
17give to the County Clerk a list of the assessed values of
18improvements on each parcel qualifying for this exemption that
19were added after the base year for this parcel and that
20increased the assessed value of the property.
21    In the case of land improved with an apartment building
22owned and operated as a cooperative or a building that is a
23life care facility that qualifies as a cooperative, the maximum
24reduction from the equalized assessed value of the property is
25limited to the sum of the reductions calculated for each unit
26occupied as a residence by a person or persons (i) residing in

 

 

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1a low-income area, (ii) with a household income that does not
2exceed the maximum income limitation, (iii) who are liable, by
3contract with the owner or owners of record, for paying real
4property taxes on the property, (iv) who is an owner of record
5of a legal or equitable interest in the cooperative apartment
6building, other than a leasehold interest, and (v) who have
7occupied the residence for 5 years or more. In the instance of
8a cooperative where a homestead exemption has been granted
9under this Section, the cooperative association or its
10management firm shall credit the savings resulting from that
11exemption only to the apportioned tax liability of the owner
12who qualified for the exemption. Any person who willfully
13refuses to credit that savings to an owner who qualifies for
14the exemption is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
15    When a homestead exemption has been granted under this
16Section and an applicant then becomes a resident of a facility
17licensed under the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act, the
18Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized Mental Health
19Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the ID/DD Community Care Act, or
20the MC/DD Act, the exemption shall be granted in subsequent
21years so long as the residence (i) continues to be occupied by
22the qualified applicant's spouse or (ii) if remaining
23unoccupied, is still owned by the qualified applicant for the
24homestead exemption.
25    When married persons maintain separate residences, the
26exemption provided for in this Section may be claimed by only

 

 

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1one of such persons and for only one residence.
2    In counties having 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, to
3receive the exemption, a person may submit an application to
4the chief county assessment officer of the county in which the
5property is located during such period as may be specified by
6the chief county assessment officer. The chief county
7assessment officer in counties of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants
8shall annually give notice of the application period by mail or
9by publication. In counties having less than 3,000,000
10inhabitants, to receive the exemption, a person shall submit an
11application by July 1 of each taxable year to the chief county
12assessment officer of the county in which the property is
13located. A county having less than 3,000,000 inhabitants may,
14by ordinance, establish a date for submission of applications
15that is different than July 1. The applicant shall submit with
16the application an affidavit verifying the applicant's
17qualifications for the exemption under this Section. The
18Department shall establish, by rule, a method for verifying the
19accuracy of such affidavits, and the chief county assessment
20officer may conduct audits of any taxpayer claiming an
21exemption under this Section to verify that the taxpayer is
22eligible to receive the exemption. Each application shall
23contain or be verified by a written declaration that it is made
24under the penalties of perjury. A taxpayer's signing a
25fraudulent application under this Act is perjury, as defined in
26Section 32-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012. The applications

 

 

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1shall be clearly marked as applications for the Resident
2Low-Income Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption and must
3contain a notice that any taxpayer who receives the exemption
4is subject to an audit by the chief county assessment officer.
5    If an applicant fails to file the application required by
6this Section in a timely manner and this failure to file is due
7to a mental or physical condition sufficiently severe so as to
8render the applicant incapable of filing the application in a
9timely manner, the chief county assessment officer may extend
10the filing deadline for a period of 30 days after the applicant
11regains the capability to file the application, but in no case
12may the filing deadline be extended beyond 3 months of the
13original filing deadline. In order to receive the extension
14provided in this paragraph, the applicant shall provide the
15chief county assessment officer with a signed statement from
16the applicant's physician, advanced practice nurse, or
17physician assistant stating the nature and extent of the
18condition, that, in the physician's, advanced practice
19nurse's, or physician assistant's opinion, the condition was so
20severe that it rendered the applicant incapable of filing the
21application in a timely manner, and the date on which the
22applicant regained the capability to file the application.
23    The chief county assessment officer may determine the
24eligibility of a life care facility that qualifies as a
25cooperative to receive the benefits provided by this Section by
26use of an affidavit, application, visual inspection,

 

 

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1questionnaire, or other reasonable method in order to insure
2that the tax savings resulting from the exemption are credited
3by the management firm to the apportioned tax liability of each
4qualifying resident. The chief county assessment officer may
5request reasonable proof that the management firm has so
6credited that exemption.
7    Except as provided in this Section, all information
8received by the chief county assessment officer or the
9Department from applications filed under this Section, or from
10any investigation conducted under the provisions of this
11Section, shall be confidential, except for official purposes or
12pursuant to official procedures for collection of any State or
13local tax or enforcement of any civil or criminal penalty or
14sanction imposed by this Act or by any statute or ordinance
15imposing a State or local tax. Any person who divulges any such
16information in any manner, except in accordance with a proper
17judicial order, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
18    Nothing contained in this Section shall prevent the
19Director or chief county assessment officer from publishing or
20making available reasonable statistics concerning the
21operation of the exemption contained in this Section in which
22the contents of claims are grouped into aggregates in such a
23way that information contained in any individual claim shall
24not be disclosed.
25    (d) Each Chief County Assessment Officer shall annually
26publish a notice of availability of the exemption provided

 

 

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1under this Section. The notice shall be published at least 60
2days but no more than 75 days prior to the date on which the
3application must be submitted to the Chief County Assessment
4Officer of the county in which the property is located. The
5notice shall appear in a newspaper of general circulation in
6the county.
7    Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates Act,
8no reimbursement by the State is required for the
9implementation of any mandate created by this Section.
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11becoming law.