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| | 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016 HB2454 Introduced 2/17/2015, by Rep. Dwight Kay SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Property Tax Code. Beginning in taxable year 2015, increases the maximum income limitation under the Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption from $55,000 to $75,000 for applicants who have occupied the residence for 5 years or more. Indexes the maximum income 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 |
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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 15-172 as follows:
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6 | | (35 ILCS 200/15-172)
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7 | | Sec. 15-172. Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead |
8 | | Exemption.
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9 | | (a) This Section may be cited as the Senior Citizens |
10 | | Assessment
Freeze Homestead Exemption.
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11 | | (b) As used in this Section:
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12 | | "Applicant" means an individual who has filed an |
13 | | application under this
Section.
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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.
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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 |
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1 | | (i) an owner of record of the
property or had legal or |
2 | | equitable interest in the property as evidenced by a
written |
3 | | instrument or (ii) had a legal or equitable interest as a |
4 | | lessee in the
parcel of property that was single family |
5 | | residence.
If in any subsequent taxable year for which the |
6 | | applicant applies and
qualifies for the exemption the equalized |
7 | | assessed value of the residence is
less than the equalized |
8 | | assessed value in the existing base year
(provided that such |
9 | | equalized assessed value is not
based
on an
assessed value that |
10 | | results from a temporary irregularity in the property that
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11 | | reduces the
assessed value for one or more taxable years), then |
12 | | that
subsequent taxable year shall become the base year until a |
13 | | new base year is
established under the terms of this paragraph. |
14 | | For taxable year 1999 only, the
Chief County Assessment Officer |
15 | | shall review (i) all taxable years for which
the
applicant |
16 | | applied and qualified for the exemption and (ii) the existing |
17 | | base
year.
The assessment officer shall select as the new base |
18 | | year the year with the
lowest equalized assessed value.
An |
19 | | equalized assessed value that is based on an assessed value |
20 | | that results
from a
temporary irregularity in the property that |
21 | | reduces the assessed value for one
or more
taxable years shall |
22 | | not be considered the lowest equalized assessed value.
The |
23 | | selected year shall be the base year for
taxable year 1999 and |
24 | | thereafter until a new base year is established under the
terms |
25 | | of this paragraph.
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26 | | "Chief County Assessment Officer" means the County |
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1 | | Assessor or Supervisor of
Assessments of the county in which |
2 | | the property is located.
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3 | | "Equalized assessed value" means the assessed value as |
4 | | equalized by the
Illinois Department of Revenue.
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5 | | "Household" means the applicant, the spouse of the |
6 | | applicant, and all persons
using the residence of the applicant |
7 | | as their principal place of residence.
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8 | | "Household income" means the combined income of the members |
9 | | of a household
for the calendar year preceding the taxable |
10 | | year.
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11 | | "Income" has the same meaning as provided in Section 3.07 |
12 | | of the Senior
Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief
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13 | | Act, except that, beginning in assessment year 2001, "income" |
14 | | does not
include veteran's benefits.
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15 | | "Internal Revenue Code of 1986" means the United States |
16 | | Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 or any successor law or laws |
17 | | relating to federal income taxes in effect
for the year |
18 | | preceding the taxable year.
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19 | | "Life care facility that qualifies as a cooperative" means |
20 | | a facility as
defined in Section 2 of the Life Care Facilities |
21 | | Act.
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22 | | "Maximum income limitation" means: |
23 | | (1) $35,000 prior
to taxable year 1999; |
24 | | (2) $40,000 in taxable years 1999 through 2003; |
25 | | (3) $45,000 in taxable years 2004 through 2005; |
26 | | (4) $50,000 in taxable years 2006 and 2007; and |
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1 | | (5) $55,000 in taxable years year 2008 through 2014; |
2 | | and thereafter.
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3 | | (6) in taxable year 2015: (A) $55,000 for applicants |
4 | | who have occupied the residence for less than 5 years and |
5 | | (B) $75,000 for applicants who have occupied the residence |
6 | | for 5 or more years; and |
7 | | (7) in taxable year 2016 and thereafter: (A) for |
8 | | applicants who have occupied the residence for less than 5 |
9 | | years, an amount equal to the maximum income limitation for |
10 | | the immediately prior taxable year for applicants who have |
11 | | occupied the residence for less than 5 years, increased by |
12 | | the lesser of (i) 2% or (ii) the percentage increase during |
13 | | the immediately prior taxable year in the Consumer Price |
14 | | Index for All Urban
Consumers for all items published by |
15 | | the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor |
16 | | Statistics; and (B) for applicants who have occupied the |
17 | | residence for 5 or more years, an amount equal to the |
18 | | maximum income limitation for the immediately prior |
19 | | taxable year for applicants who have occupied the residence |
20 | | for 5 or more years, increased by the lesser of (i) 2% or |
21 | | (ii) the percentage increase during the immediately prior |
22 | | taxable year in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
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23 | | Consumers for all items published by the United States |
24 | | Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. |
25 | | "Residence" means the principal dwelling place and |
26 | | appurtenant structures
used for residential purposes in this |
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1 | | State occupied on January 1 of the
taxable year by a household |
2 | | and so much of the surrounding land, constituting
the parcel |
3 | | upon which the dwelling place is situated, as is used for
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4 | | residential purposes. If the Chief County Assessment Officer |
5 | | has established a
specific legal description for a portion of |
6 | | property constituting the
residence, then that portion of |
7 | | property shall be deemed the residence for the
purposes of this |
8 | | Section.
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9 | | "Taxable year" means the calendar year during which ad |
10 | | valorem property taxes
payable in the next succeeding year are |
11 | | levied.
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12 | | (c) Beginning in taxable year 1994, a senior citizens |
13 | | assessment freeze
homestead exemption is granted for real |
14 | | property that is improved with a
permanent structure that is |
15 | | occupied as a residence by an applicant who (i) is
65 years of |
16 | | age or older during the taxable year, (ii) has a household |
17 | | income that does not exceed the maximum income limitation, |
18 | | (iii) is liable for paying real property taxes on
the
property, |
19 | | and (iv) is an owner of record of the property or has a legal or
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20 | | equitable interest in the property as evidenced by a written |
21 | | instrument. This
homestead exemption shall also apply to a |
22 | | leasehold interest in a parcel of
property improved with a |
23 | | permanent structure that is a single family residence
that is |
24 | | occupied as a residence by a person who (i) is 65 years of age |
25 | | or older
during the taxable year, (ii) has a household income |
26 | | that does not exceed the maximum income limitation,
(iii)
has a |
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1 | | legal or equitable ownership interest in the property as |
2 | | lessee, and (iv)
is liable for the payment of real property |
3 | | taxes on that property.
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4 | | In counties of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, the amount of |
5 | | the exemption for all taxable years is the equalized assessed |
6 | | value of the
residence in the taxable year for which |
7 | | application is made minus the base
amount. In all other |
8 | | counties, the amount of the exemption is as follows: (i) |
9 | | through taxable year 2005 and for taxable year 2007 and |
10 | | thereafter, the amount of this exemption shall be the equalized |
11 | | assessed value of the
residence in the taxable year for which |
12 | | application is made minus the base
amount; and (ii) for
taxable |
13 | | year 2006, the amount of the exemption is as follows:
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14 | | (1) For an applicant who has a household income of |
15 | | $45,000 or less, the amount of the exemption is the |
16 | | equalized assessed value of the
residence in the taxable |
17 | | year for which application is made minus the base
amount. |
18 | | (2) For an applicant who has a household income |
19 | | exceeding $45,000 but not exceeding $46,250, the amount of |
20 | | the exemption is (i) the equalized assessed value of the
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21 | | residence in the taxable year for which application is made |
22 | | minus the base
amount (ii) multiplied by 0.8. |
23 | | (3) For an applicant who has a household income |
24 | | exceeding $46,250 but not exceeding $47,500, the amount of |
25 | | the exemption is (i) the equalized assessed value of the
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26 | | residence in the taxable year for which application is made |
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1 | | minus the base
amount (ii) multiplied by 0.6. |
2 | | (4) For an applicant who has a household income |
3 | | exceeding $47,500 but not exceeding $48,750, the amount of |
4 | | the exemption is (i) the equalized assessed value of the
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5 | | residence in the taxable year for which application is made |
6 | | minus the base
amount (ii) multiplied by 0.4. |
7 | | (5) For an applicant who has a household income |
8 | | exceeding $48,750 but not exceeding $50,000, the amount of |
9 | | the exemption is (i) the equalized assessed value of the
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10 | | residence in the taxable year for which application is made |
11 | | minus the base
amount (ii) multiplied by 0.2.
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12 | | When the applicant is a surviving spouse of an applicant |
13 | | for a prior year for
the same residence for which an exemption |
14 | | under this Section has been granted,
the base year and base |
15 | | amount for that residence are the same as for the
applicant for |
16 | | the prior year.
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17 | | Each year at the time the assessment books are certified to |
18 | | the County Clerk,
the Board of Review or Board of Appeals shall |
19 | | give to the County Clerk a list
of the assessed values of |
20 | | improvements on each parcel qualifying for this
exemption that |
21 | | were added after the base year for this parcel and that
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22 | | increased the assessed value of the property.
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23 | | In the case of land improved with an apartment building |
24 | | owned and operated as
a cooperative or a building that is a |
25 | | life care facility that qualifies as a
cooperative, the maximum |
26 | | reduction from the equalized assessed value of the
property is |
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1 | | limited to the sum of the reductions calculated for each unit
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2 | | occupied as a residence by a person or persons (i) 65 years of |
3 | | age or older, (ii) with a
household income that does not exceed |
4 | | the maximum income limitation, (iii) who is liable, by contract |
5 | | with the
owner
or owners of record, for paying real property |
6 | | taxes on the property, and (iv) who is
an owner of record of a |
7 | | legal or equitable interest in the cooperative
apartment |
8 | | building, other than a leasehold interest. In the instance of a
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9 | | cooperative where a homestead exemption has been granted under |
10 | | this Section,
the cooperative association or its management |
11 | | firm shall credit the savings
resulting from that exemption |
12 | | only to the apportioned tax liability of the
owner who |
13 | | qualified for the exemption. Any person who willfully refuses |
14 | | to
credit that savings to an owner who qualifies for the |
15 | | exemption is guilty of a
Class B misdemeanor.
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16 | | When a homestead exemption has been granted under this |
17 | | Section and an
applicant then becomes a resident of a facility |
18 | | licensed under the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act, the |
19 | | Nursing Home
Care Act, the Specialized Mental Health |
20 | | Rehabilitation Act of 2013, or the ID/DD Community Care Act, |
21 | | the exemption shall be granted in subsequent years so long as |
22 | | the
residence (i) continues to be occupied by the qualified |
23 | | applicant's spouse or
(ii) if remaining unoccupied, is still |
24 | | owned by the qualified applicant for the
homestead exemption.
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25 | | Beginning January 1, 1997, when an individual dies who |
26 | | would have qualified
for an exemption under this Section, and |
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1 | | the surviving spouse does not
independently qualify for this |
2 | | exemption because of age, the exemption under
this Section |
3 | | shall be granted to the surviving spouse for the taxable year
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4 | | preceding and the taxable
year of the death, provided that, |
5 | | except for age, the surviving spouse meets
all
other |
6 | | qualifications for the granting of this exemption for those |
7 | | years.
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8 | | When married persons maintain separate residences, the |
9 | | exemption provided for
in this Section may be claimed by only |
10 | | one of such persons and for only one
residence.
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11 | | For taxable year 1994 only, in counties having less than |
12 | | 3,000,000
inhabitants, to receive the exemption, a person shall |
13 | | submit an application by
February 15, 1995 to the Chief County |
14 | | Assessment Officer
of the county in which the property is |
15 | | located. In counties having 3,000,000
or more inhabitants, for |
16 | | taxable year 1994 and all subsequent taxable years, to
receive |
17 | | the exemption, a person
may submit an application to the Chief |
18 | | County
Assessment Officer of the county in which the property |
19 | | is located during such
period as may be specified by the Chief |
20 | | County Assessment Officer. The Chief
County Assessment Officer |
21 | | in counties of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants shall
annually |
22 | | give notice of the application period by mail or by |
23 | | publication. In
counties having less than 3,000,000 |
24 | | inhabitants, beginning with taxable year
1995 and thereafter, |
25 | | to receive the exemption, a person
shall
submit an
application |
26 | | by July 1 of each taxable year to the Chief County Assessment
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1 | | Officer of the county in which the property is located. A |
2 | | county may, by
ordinance, establish a date for submission of |
3 | | applications that is
different than
July 1.
The applicant shall |
4 | | submit with the
application an affidavit of the applicant's |
5 | | total household income, age,
marital status (and if married the |
6 | | name and address of the applicant's spouse,
if known), and |
7 | | principal dwelling place of members of the household on January
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8 | | 1 of the taxable year. The Department shall establish, by rule, |
9 | | a method for
verifying the accuracy of affidavits filed by |
10 | | applicants under this Section, and the Chief County Assessment |
11 | | Officer may conduct audits of any taxpayer claiming an |
12 | | exemption under this Section to verify that the taxpayer is |
13 | | eligible to receive the exemption. Each application shall |
14 | | contain or be verified by a written declaration that it is made |
15 | | under the penalties of perjury. A taxpayer's signing a |
16 | | fraudulent application under this Act is perjury, as defined in |
17 | | Section 32-2 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
The applications |
18 | | shall be clearly marked as applications for the Senior
Citizens |
19 | | Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption and must contain a notice |
20 | | that any taxpayer who receives the exemption is subject to an |
21 | | audit by the Chief County Assessment Officer.
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22 | | Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, in |
23 | | counties having fewer
than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an |
24 | | applicant fails
to file the application required by this |
25 | | Section in a timely manner and this
failure to file is due to a |
26 | | mental or physical condition sufficiently severe so
as to |
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1 | | render the applicant incapable of filing the application in a |
2 | | timely
manner, the Chief County Assessment Officer may extend |
3 | | the filing deadline for
a period of 30 days after the applicant |
4 | | regains the capability to file the
application, but in no case |
5 | | may the filing deadline be extended beyond 3
months of the |
6 | | original filing deadline. In order to receive the extension
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7 | | provided in this paragraph, the applicant shall provide the |
8 | | Chief County
Assessment Officer with a signed statement from |
9 | | the applicant's physician
stating the nature and extent of the |
10 | | condition, that, in the
physician's opinion, the condition was |
11 | | so severe that it rendered the applicant
incapable of filing |
12 | | the application in a timely manner, and the date on which
the |
13 | | applicant regained the capability to file the application.
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14 | | Beginning January 1, 1998, notwithstanding any other |
15 | | provision to the
contrary, in counties having fewer than |
16 | | 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an applicant
fails to file the |
17 | | application required by this Section in a timely manner and
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18 | | this failure to file is due to a mental or physical condition |
19 | | sufficiently
severe so as to render the applicant incapable of |
20 | | filing the application in a
timely manner, the Chief County |
21 | | Assessment Officer may extend the filing
deadline for a period |
22 | | of 3 months. In order to receive the extension provided
in this |
23 | | paragraph, the applicant shall provide the Chief County |
24 | | Assessment
Officer with a signed statement from the applicant's |
25 | | physician stating the
nature and extent of the condition, and |
26 | | that, in the physician's opinion, the
condition was so severe |
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1 | | that it rendered the applicant incapable of filing the
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2 | | application in a timely manner.
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3 | | In counties having less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an |
4 | | applicant was
denied an exemption in taxable year 1994 and the |
5 | | denial occurred due to an
error on the part of an assessment
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6 | | official, or his or her agent or employee, then beginning in |
7 | | taxable year 1997
the
applicant's base year, for purposes of |
8 | | determining the amount of the exemption,
shall be 1993 rather |
9 | | than 1994. In addition, in taxable year 1997, the
applicant's |
10 | | exemption shall also include an amount equal to (i) the amount |
11 | | of
any exemption denied to the applicant in taxable year 1995 |
12 | | as a result of using
1994, rather than 1993, as the base year, |
13 | | (ii) the amount of any exemption
denied to the applicant in |
14 | | taxable year 1996 as a result of using 1994, rather
than 1993, |
15 | | as the base year, and (iii) the amount of the exemption |
16 | | erroneously
denied for taxable year 1994.
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17 | | For purposes of this Section, a person who will be 65 years |
18 | | of age during the
current taxable year shall be eligible to |
19 | | apply for the homestead exemption
during that taxable year. |
20 | | Application shall be made during the application
period in |
21 | | effect for the county of his or her residence.
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22 | | The Chief County Assessment Officer may determine the |
23 | | eligibility of a life
care facility that qualifies as a |
24 | | cooperative to receive the benefits
provided by this Section by |
25 | | use of an affidavit, application, visual
inspection, |
26 | | questionnaire, or other reasonable method in order to insure |
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1 | | that
the tax savings resulting from the exemption are credited |
2 | | by the management
firm to the apportioned tax liability of each |
3 | | qualifying resident. The Chief
County Assessment Officer may |
4 | | request reasonable proof that the management firm
has so |
5 | | credited that exemption.
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6 | | Except as provided in this Section, all information |
7 | | received by the chief
county assessment officer or the |
8 | | Department from applications filed under this
Section, or from |
9 | | any investigation conducted under the provisions of this
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10 | | Section, shall be confidential, except for official purposes or
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11 | | pursuant to official procedures for collection of any State or |
12 | | local tax or
enforcement of any civil or criminal penalty or |
13 | | sanction imposed by this Act or
by any statute or ordinance |
14 | | imposing a State or local tax. Any person who
divulges any such |
15 | | information in any manner, except in accordance with a proper
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16 | | judicial order, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
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17 | | Nothing contained in this Section shall prevent the |
18 | | Director or chief county
assessment officer from publishing or |
19 | | making available reasonable statistics
concerning the |
20 | | operation of the exemption contained in this Section in which
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21 | | the contents of claims are grouped into aggregates in such a |
22 | | way that
information contained in any individual claim shall |
23 | | not be disclosed.
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24 | | (d) Each Chief County Assessment Officer shall annually |
25 | | publish a notice
of availability of the exemption provided |
26 | | under this Section. The notice
shall be published at least 60 |
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1 | | days but no more than 75 days prior to the date
on which the |
2 | | application must be submitted to the Chief County Assessment
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3 | | Officer of the county in which the property is located. The |
4 | | notice shall
appear in a newspaper of general circulation in |
5 | | the county.
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6 | | Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates Act, |
7 | | no reimbursement by the State is required for the |
8 | | implementation of any mandate created by this Section.
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9 | | (Source: P.A. 97-38, eff. 6-28-11; 97-227, eff. 1-1-12; 97-689, |
10 | | eff. 6-14-12; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13; |
11 | | 98-104, eff. 7-22-13.)
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12 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
13 | | becoming law.
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