Full Text of SB1894 98th General Assembly
SB1894enr 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SB1894 Enrolled | | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
|
| 1 | | AN ACT concerning revenue.
| 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 | | Sections 15-170 and 15-175 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
| 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
| 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,
| 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 |
| | | SB1894 Enrolled | - 2 - | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
|
| 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 and, for taxable years 2008 | 4 | | through 2011 and thereafter , the maximum reduction is $4,000 in | 5 | | all counties.
For taxable year 2012, the maximum reduction is | 6 | | $5,000 in counties with
3,000,000 or more inhabitants and | 7 | | $4,000 in all other counties. For taxable years 2013 and | 8 | | thereafter, the maximum reduction is $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
| 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
| 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 |
| | | SB1894 Enrolled | - 3 - | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
|
| 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
| 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, or the ID/DD Community Care | 15 | | Act, the exemption shall continue so long as the residence
| 16 | | continues to be occupied by the qualifying person's spouse if | 17 | | the spouse is 65
years of age or older, or if the residence | 18 | | remains unoccupied but is still
owned by the person qualified | 19 | | 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 |
| | | SB1894 Enrolled | - 4 - | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
|
| 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
| 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 |
| | | SB1894 Enrolled | - 5 - | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
|
| 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
| 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
| 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 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 |
| | | SB1894 Enrolled | - 6 - | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
|
| 1 | | exemption. | 2 | | 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
| 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 | | Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates Act, | 17 | | no
reimbursement by the State is required for the | 18 | | implementation of any mandate
created by this Section. | 19 | | (Source: P.A. 96-339, eff. 7-1-10; 96-355, eff. 1-1-10; | 20 | | 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 96-1418, eff. 8-2-10; 97-38, eff. | 21 | | 6-28-11; 97-227, eff. 1-1-12; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12.)
| 22 | | (35 ILCS 200/15-175)
| 23 | | Sec. 15-175. General homestead exemption. | 24 | | (a) Except as provided in Sections 15-176 and 15-177, | 25 | | homestead
property is
entitled to an annual homestead exemption |
| | | SB1894 Enrolled | - 7 - | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
|
| 1 | | limited, except as described here
with relation to | 2 | | cooperatives, to a reduction in the equalized assessed value
of | 3 | | homestead property equal to the increase in equalized assessed | 4 | | value for the
current assessment year above the equalized | 5 | | assessed value of the property for
1977, up to the maximum | 6 | | reduction set forth below. If however, the 1977
equalized | 7 | | assessed value upon which taxes were paid is subsequently | 8 | | determined
by local assessing officials, the Property Tax | 9 | | Appeal Board, or a court to have
been excessive, the equalized | 10 | | assessed value which should have been placed on
the property | 11 | | for 1977 shall be used to determine the amount of the | 12 | | exemption.
| 13 | | (b) Except as provided in Section 15-176, the maximum | 14 | | reduction before taxable year 2004 shall be
$4,500 in counties | 15 | | with 3,000,000 or more
inhabitants
and $3,500 in all other | 16 | | counties. Except as provided in Sections 15-176 and 15-177, for | 17 | | taxable years 2004 through 2007, the maximum reduction shall be | 18 | | $5,000, for taxable year 2008, the maximum reduction is $5,500, | 19 | | and, for taxable years 2009 through 2011 and thereafter , the | 20 | | maximum reduction is $6,000 in all counties. For taxable years | 21 | | 2012 and thereafter, the maximum reduction is $7,000 in | 22 | | counties with 3,000,000 or more
inhabitants
and $6,000 in all | 23 | | other counties. If a county has elected to subject itself to | 24 | | the provisions of Section 15-176 as provided in subsection (k) | 25 | | of that Section, then, for the first taxable year only after | 26 | | the provisions of Section 15-176 no longer apply, for owners |
| | | SB1894 Enrolled | - 8 - | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
|
| 1 | | who, for the taxable year, have not been granted a senior | 2 | | citizens assessment freeze homestead exemption under Section | 3 | | 15-172 or a long-time occupant homestead exemption under | 4 | | Section 15-177, there shall be an additional exemption of | 5 | | $5,000 for owners with a household income of $30,000 or less.
| 6 | | (c) In counties with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if, | 7 | | based on the most
recent assessment, the equalized assessed | 8 | | value of
the homestead property for the current assessment year | 9 | | is greater than the
equalized assessed value of the property | 10 | | for 1977, the owner of the property
shall automatically receive | 11 | | the exemption granted under this Section in an
amount equal to | 12 | | the increase over the 1977 assessment up to the maximum
| 13 | | reduction set forth in this Section.
| 14 | | (d) If in any assessment year beginning with the 2000 | 15 | | assessment year,
homestead property has a pro-rata valuation | 16 | | under
Section 9-180 resulting in an increase in the assessed | 17 | | valuation, a reduction
in equalized assessed valuation equal to | 18 | | the increase in equalized assessed
value of the property for | 19 | | the year of the pro-rata valuation above the
equalized assessed | 20 | | value of the property for 1977 shall be applied to the
property | 21 | | on a proportionate basis for the period the property qualified | 22 | | as
homestead property during the assessment year. The maximum | 23 | | proportionate
homestead exemption shall not exceed the maximum | 24 | | homestead exemption allowed in
the county under this Section | 25 | | divided by 365 and multiplied by the number of
days the | 26 | | property qualified as homestead property.
|
| | | SB1894 Enrolled | - 9 - | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
|
| 1 | | (e) The chief county assessment officer may, when | 2 | | considering whether to grant a leasehold exemption under this | 3 | | Section, require the following conditions to be met: | 4 | | (1) that a notarized application for the exemption, | 5 | | signed by both the owner and the lessee of the property, | 6 | | must be submitted each year during the application period | 7 | | in effect for the county in which the property is located; | 8 | | (2) that a copy of the lease must be filed with the | 9 | | chief county assessment officer by the owner of the | 10 | | property at the time the notarized application is | 11 | | submitted; | 12 | | (3) that the lease must expressly state that the lessee | 13 | | is liable for the payment of property taxes; and | 14 | | (4) that the lease must include the following language | 15 | | in substantially the following form: | 16 | | "Lessee shall be liable for the payment of real | 17 | | estate taxes with respect to the residence in | 18 | | accordance with the terms and conditions of Section | 19 | | 15-175 of the Property Tax Code ( 35 ILCS 200/15-175 ) . | 20 | | The permanent real estate index number for the premises | 21 | | is (insert number), and, according to the most recent | 22 | | property tax bill, the current amount of real estate | 23 | | taxes associated with the premises is (insert amount) | 24 | | per year. The parties agree that the monthly rent set | 25 | | forth above shall be increased or decreased pro rata | 26 | | (effective January 1 of each calendar year) to reflect |
| | | SB1894 Enrolled | - 10 - | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
|
| 1 | | any increase or decrease in real estate taxes. Lessee | 2 | | shall be deemed to be satisfying Lessee's liability for | 3 | | the above mentioned real estate taxes with the monthly | 4 | | rent payments as set forth above (or increased or | 5 | | decreased as set forth herein)." . | 6 | | In addition, if there is a change in lessee, or if the | 7 | | lessee vacates the property, then the chief county assessment | 8 | | officer may require the owner of the property to notify the | 9 | | chief county assessment officer of that change. | 10 | | This subsection (e) does not apply to leasehold interests | 11 | | in property owned by a municipality. | 12 | | (f) "Homestead property" under this Section includes | 13 | | residential property that is
occupied by its owner or owners as | 14 | | his or their principal dwelling place, or
that is a leasehold | 15 | | interest on which a single family residence is situated,
which | 16 | | is occupied as a residence by a person who has an ownership | 17 | | interest
therein, legal or equitable or as a lessee, and on | 18 | | which the person is
liable for the payment of property taxes. | 19 | | For land improved with
an apartment building owned and operated | 20 | | as a cooperative or a building which
is a life care facility as | 21 | | defined in Section 15-170 and considered to
be a cooperative | 22 | | under Section 15-170, the maximum reduction from the equalized
| 23 | | assessed value shall be limited to the increase in the value | 24 | | above the
equalized assessed value of the property for 1977, up | 25 | | to
the maximum reduction set forth above, multiplied by the | 26 | | number of apartments
or units occupied by a person or persons |
| | | SB1894 Enrolled | - 11 - | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
|
| 1 | | who is liable, by contract with the
owner or owners of record, | 2 | | for paying property taxes on the property and is an
owner of | 3 | | record of a legal or equitable interest in the cooperative
| 4 | | apartment building, other than a leasehold interest. For | 5 | | purposes of this
Section, the term "life care facility" has the | 6 | | meaning stated in Section
15-170.
| 7 | | "Household", as used in this Section,
means the owner, the | 8 | | spouse of the owner, and all persons using
the
residence of the | 9 | | owner as their principal place of residence.
| 10 | | "Household income", as used in this Section,
means the | 11 | | combined income of the members of a household
for the calendar | 12 | | year preceding the taxable year.
| 13 | | "Income", as used in this Section,
has the same meaning as | 14 | | provided in Section 3.07 of the Senior
Citizens
and Disabled | 15 | | Persons Property Tax Relief Act,
except that
"income" does not | 16 | | include veteran's benefits.
| 17 | | (g) In a cooperative where a homestead exemption has been | 18 | | granted, the
cooperative association or its management firm | 19 | | shall credit the savings
resulting from that exemption only to | 20 | | the apportioned tax liability of the
owner who qualified for | 21 | | the exemption. Any person who willfully refuses to so
credit | 22 | | the savings shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
| 23 | | (h) Where married persons maintain and reside in separate | 24 | | residences qualifying
as homestead property, each residence | 25 | | shall receive 50% of the total reduction
in equalized assessed | 26 | | valuation provided by this Section.
|
| | | SB1894 Enrolled | - 12 - | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
|
| 1 | | (i) In all counties, the assessor
or chief county | 2 | | assessment officer may determine the
eligibility of | 3 | | residential property to receive the homestead exemption and the | 4 | | amount of the exemption by
application, visual inspection, | 5 | | questionnaire or other reasonable methods. The
determination | 6 | | shall be made in accordance with guidelines established by the
| 7 | | Department, provided that the taxpayer applying for an | 8 | | additional general exemption under this Section shall submit to | 9 | | the chief county assessment officer an application with an | 10 | | affidavit of the applicant's total household income, age, | 11 | | marital status (and, if married, the name and address of the | 12 | | applicant's spouse, if known), and principal dwelling place of | 13 | | members of the household on January 1 of the taxable year. The | 14 | | Department shall issue guidelines establishing a method for | 15 | | verifying the accuracy of the affidavits filed by applicants | 16 | | under this paragraph. The applications shall be clearly marked | 17 | | as applications for the Additional General Homestead | 18 | | Exemption.
| 19 | | (j) In counties with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants, in | 20 | | the event of a sale
of
homestead property the homestead | 21 | | exemption shall remain in effect for the
remainder of the | 22 | | assessment year of the sale. The assessor or chief county
| 23 | | assessment officer may require the new
owner of the property to | 24 | | apply for the homestead exemption for the following
assessment | 25 | | year.
| 26 | | (k) Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates |
| | | SB1894 Enrolled | - 13 - | LRB098 09919 HLH 40077 b |
|
| 1 | | Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the | 2 | | implementation of any mandate created by this Section.
| 3 | | (Source: P.A. 97-689, eff. 6-14-12; 97-1125, eff. 8-28-12; | 4 | | revised 9-20-12.)
| 5 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 6 | | becoming law. |
|