Full Text of HB3559 097th General Assembly
HB3559 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012 HB3559 Introduced 2/24/2011, by Rep. John D. Cavaletto SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Property Tax Code. Decreases the age limit to qualify for the Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption from 65 years of age to 55 years of age. 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.
| 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 |
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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
| 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.
| 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.
| 3 | | "Equalized assessed value" means the assessed value as | 4 | | equalized by the
Illinois Department of Revenue.
| 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.
| 8 | | "Household income" means the combined income of the members | 9 | | of a household
for the calendar year preceding the taxable | 10 | | year.
| 11 | | "Income" has the same meaning as provided in Section 3.07 | 12 | | of the Senior
Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief | 13 | | and Pharmaceutical Assistance
Act, except that, beginning in | 14 | | assessment year 2001, "income" does not
include veteran's | 15 | | benefits.
| 16 | | "Internal Revenue Code of 1986" means the United States | 17 | | Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 or any successor law or laws | 18 | | relating to federal income taxes in effect
for the year | 19 | | preceding the taxable year.
| 20 | | "Life care facility that qualifies as a cooperative" means | 21 | | a facility as
defined in Section 2 of the Life Care Facilities | 22 | | Act.
| 23 | | "Maximum income limitation" means: | 24 | | (1) $35,000 prior
to taxable year 1999; | 25 | | (2) $40,000 in taxable years 1999 through 2003; | 26 | | (3) $45,000 in taxable years 2004 through 2005; |
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| 1 | | (4) $50,000 in taxable years 2006 and 2007; and | 2 | | (5) $55,000 in taxable year 2008 and thereafter.
| 3 | | "Residence" means the principal dwelling place and | 4 | | appurtenant structures
used for residential purposes in this | 5 | | State occupied on January 1 of the
taxable year by a household | 6 | | and so much of the surrounding land, constituting
the parcel | 7 | | upon which the dwelling place is situated, as is used for
| 8 | | residential purposes. If the Chief County Assessment Officer | 9 | | has established a
specific legal description for a portion of | 10 | | property constituting the
residence, then that portion of | 11 | | property shall be deemed the residence for the
purposes of this | 12 | | Section.
| 13 | | "Taxable year" means the calendar year during which ad | 14 | | valorem property taxes
payable in the next succeeding year are | 15 | | levied.
| 16 | | (c) Beginning in taxable year 1994, a senior citizens | 17 | | assessment freeze
homestead exemption is granted for real | 18 | | property that is improved with a
permanent structure that is | 19 | | occupied as a residence by an applicant who (i) is
55 65 years | 20 | | of age or older during the taxable year, (ii) has a household | 21 | | income that does not exceed the maximum income limitation, | 22 | | (iii) is liable for paying real property taxes on
the
property, | 23 | | and (iv) is an owner of record of the property or has a legal or
| 24 | | equitable interest in the property as evidenced by a written | 25 | | instrument. This
homestead exemption shall also apply to a | 26 | | leasehold interest in a parcel of
property improved with a |
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| 1 | | permanent structure that is a single family residence
that is | 2 | | occupied as a residence by a person who (i) is 55 65 years of | 3 | | age or older
during the taxable year, (ii) has a household | 4 | | income that does not exceed the maximum income limitation,
| 5 | | (iii)
has a legal or equitable ownership interest in the | 6 | | property as lessee, and (iv)
is liable for the payment of real | 7 | | property taxes on that property.
| 8 | | In counties of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, the amount of | 9 | | the exemption for all taxable years is the equalized assessed | 10 | | value of the
residence in the taxable year for which | 11 | | application is made minus the base
amount. In all other | 12 | | counties, the amount of the exemption is as follows: (i) | 13 | | through taxable year 2005 and for taxable year 2007 and | 14 | | thereafter, the amount of this exemption shall be the equalized | 15 | | assessed value of the
residence in the taxable year for which | 16 | | application is made minus the base
amount; and (ii) for
taxable | 17 | | year 2006, the amount of the exemption is as follows:
| 18 | | (1) For an applicant who has a household income of | 19 | | $45,000 or less, the amount of the exemption is the | 20 | | equalized assessed value of the
residence in the taxable | 21 | | year for which application is made minus the base
amount. | 22 | | (2) For an applicant who has a household income | 23 | | exceeding $45,000 but not exceeding $46,250, the amount of | 24 | | the exemption is (i) the equalized assessed value of the
| 25 | | residence in the taxable year for which application is made | 26 | | minus the base
amount (ii) multiplied by 0.8. |
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| 1 | | (3) For an applicant who has a household income | 2 | | exceeding $46,250 but not exceeding $47,500, the amount of | 3 | | the exemption is (i) the equalized assessed value of the
| 4 | | residence in the taxable year for which application is made | 5 | | minus the base
amount (ii) multiplied by 0.6. | 6 | | (4) For an applicant who has a household income | 7 | | exceeding $47,500 but not exceeding $48,750, the amount of | 8 | | the exemption is (i) the equalized assessed value of the
| 9 | | residence in the taxable year for which application is made | 10 | | minus the base
amount (ii) multiplied by 0.4. | 11 | | (5) For an applicant who has a household income | 12 | | exceeding $48,750 but not exceeding $50,000, the amount of | 13 | | the exemption is (i) the equalized assessed value of the
| 14 | | residence in the taxable year for which application is made | 15 | | minus the base
amount (ii) multiplied by 0.2.
| 16 | | When the applicant is a surviving spouse of an applicant | 17 | | for a prior year for
the same residence for which an exemption | 18 | | under this Section has been granted,
the base year and base | 19 | | amount for that residence are the same as for the
applicant for | 20 | | the prior year.
| 21 | | Each year at the time the assessment books are certified to | 22 | | the County Clerk,
the Board of Review or Board of Appeals shall | 23 | | give to the County Clerk a list
of the assessed values of | 24 | | improvements on each parcel qualifying for this
exemption that | 25 | | were added after the base year for this parcel and that
| 26 | | increased the assessed value of the property.
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| 1 | | In the case of land improved with an apartment building | 2 | | owned and operated as
a cooperative or a building that is a | 3 | | life care facility that qualifies as a
cooperative, the maximum | 4 | | reduction from the equalized assessed value of the
property is | 5 | | limited to the sum of the reductions calculated for each unit
| 6 | | occupied as a residence by a person or persons (i) 55 65 years | 7 | | of age or older, (ii) with a
household income that does not | 8 | | exceed the maximum income limitation, (iii) who is liable, by | 9 | | contract with the
owner
or owners of record, for paying real | 10 | | property taxes on the property, and (iv) who is
an owner of | 11 | | record of a legal or equitable interest in the cooperative
| 12 | | apartment building, other than a leasehold interest. In the | 13 | | instance of a
cooperative where a homestead exemption has been | 14 | | granted under this Section,
the cooperative association or its | 15 | | management firm shall credit the savings
resulting from that | 16 | | exemption only to the apportioned tax liability of the
owner | 17 | | who qualified for the exemption. Any person who willfully | 18 | | refuses to
credit that savings to an owner who qualifies for | 19 | | the exemption is guilty of a
Class B misdemeanor.
| 20 | | When a homestead exemption has been granted under this | 21 | | Section and an
applicant then becomes a resident of a facility | 22 | | licensed under the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act, the | 23 | | Nursing Home
Care Act, or the MR/DD Community Care Act, the | 24 | | exemption shall be granted in subsequent years so long as the
| 25 | | residence (i) continues to be occupied by the qualified | 26 | | applicant's spouse or
(ii) if remaining unoccupied, is still |
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| 1 | | owned by the qualified applicant for the
homestead exemption.
| 2 | | Beginning January 1, 1997, when an individual dies who | 3 | | would have qualified
for an exemption under this Section, and | 4 | | the surviving spouse does not
independently qualify for this | 5 | | exemption because of age, the exemption under
this Section | 6 | | shall be granted to the surviving spouse for the taxable year
| 7 | | preceding and the taxable
year of the death, provided that, | 8 | | except for age, the surviving spouse meets
all
other | 9 | | qualifications for the granting of this exemption for those | 10 | | years.
| 11 | | When married persons maintain separate residences, the | 12 | | exemption provided for
in this Section may be claimed by only | 13 | | one of such persons and for only one
residence.
| 14 | | For taxable year 1994 only, in counties having less than | 15 | | 3,000,000
inhabitants, to receive the exemption, a person shall | 16 | | submit an application by
February 15, 1995 to the Chief County | 17 | | Assessment Officer
of the county in which the property is | 18 | | located. In counties having 3,000,000
or more inhabitants, for | 19 | | taxable year 1994 and all subsequent taxable years, to
receive | 20 | | the exemption, a person
may submit an application to the Chief | 21 | | County
Assessment Officer of the county in which the property | 22 | | is located during such
period as may be specified by the Chief | 23 | | County Assessment Officer. The Chief
County Assessment Officer | 24 | | in counties of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants shall
annually | 25 | | give notice of the application period by mail or by | 26 | | publication. In
counties having less than 3,000,000 |
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| 1 | | inhabitants, beginning with taxable year
1995 and thereafter, | 2 | | to receive the exemption, a person
shall
submit an
application | 3 | | by July 1 of each taxable year to the Chief County Assessment
| 4 | | Officer of the county in which the property is located. A | 5 | | county may, by
ordinance, establish a date for submission of | 6 | | applications that is
different than
July 1.
The applicant shall | 7 | | submit with the
application an affidavit of the applicant's | 8 | | total household income, age,
marital status (and if married the | 9 | | name and address of the applicant's spouse,
if known), and | 10 | | principal dwelling place of members of the household on January
| 11 | | 1 of the taxable year. The Department shall establish, by rule, | 12 | | a method for
verifying the accuracy of affidavits filed by | 13 | | applicants under this Section, and the Chief County Assessment | 14 | | Officer may conduct audits of any taxpayer claiming an | 15 | | exemption under this Section to verify that the taxpayer is | 16 | | eligible to receive the exemption. Each application shall | 17 | | contain or be verified by a written declaration that it is made | 18 | | under the penalties of perjury. A taxpayer's signing a | 19 | | fraudulent application under this Act is perjury, as defined in | 20 | | Section 32-2 of the Criminal Code of 1961.
The applications | 21 | | shall be clearly marked as applications for the Senior
Citizens | 22 | | Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption and must contain a notice | 23 | | that any taxpayer who receives the exemption is subject to an | 24 | | audit by the Chief County Assessment Officer.
| 25 | | Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, in | 26 | | counties having fewer
than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an |
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| 1 | | applicant fails
to file the application required by this | 2 | | Section in a timely manner and this
failure to file is due to a | 3 | | mental or physical condition sufficiently severe so
as to | 4 | | render the applicant incapable of filing the application in a | 5 | | timely
manner, the Chief County Assessment Officer may extend | 6 | | the filing deadline for
a period of 30 days after the applicant | 7 | | regains the capability to file the
application, but in no case | 8 | | may the filing deadline be extended beyond 3
months of the | 9 | | original filing deadline. In order to receive the extension
| 10 | | provided in this paragraph, the applicant shall provide the | 11 | | Chief County
Assessment Officer with a signed statement from | 12 | | the applicant's physician
stating the nature and extent of the | 13 | | condition, that, in the
physician's opinion, the condition was | 14 | | so severe that it rendered the applicant
incapable of filing | 15 | | the application in a timely manner, and the date on which
the | 16 | | applicant regained the capability to file the application.
| 17 | | Beginning January 1, 1998, notwithstanding any other | 18 | | provision to the
contrary, in counties having fewer than | 19 | | 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an applicant
fails to file the | 20 | | application required by this Section in a timely manner and
| 21 | | this failure to file is due to a mental or physical condition | 22 | | sufficiently
severe so as to render the applicant incapable of | 23 | | filing the application in a
timely manner, the Chief County | 24 | | Assessment Officer may extend the filing
deadline for a period | 25 | | of 3 months. In order to receive the extension provided
in this | 26 | | paragraph, the applicant shall provide the Chief County |
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| 1 | | Assessment
Officer with a signed statement from the applicant's | 2 | | physician stating the
nature and extent of the condition, and | 3 | | that, in the physician's opinion, the
condition was so severe | 4 | | that it rendered the applicant incapable of filing the
| 5 | | application in a timely manner.
| 6 | | In counties having less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an | 7 | | applicant was
denied an exemption in taxable year 1994 and the | 8 | | denial occurred due to an
error on the part of an assessment
| 9 | | official, or his or her agent or employee, then beginning in | 10 | | taxable year 1997
the
applicant's base year, for purposes of | 11 | | determining the amount of the exemption,
shall be 1993 rather | 12 | | than 1994. In addition, in taxable year 1997, the
applicant's | 13 | | exemption shall also include an amount equal to (i) the amount | 14 | | of
any exemption denied to the applicant in taxable year 1995 | 15 | | as a result of using
1994, rather than 1993, as the base year, | 16 | | (ii) the amount of any exemption
denied to the applicant in | 17 | | taxable year 1996 as a result of using 1994, rather
than 1993, | 18 | | as the base year, and (iii) the amount of the exemption | 19 | | erroneously
denied for taxable year 1994.
| 20 | | For purposes of this Section, a person who will be 55 65 | 21 | | years of age during the
current taxable year shall be eligible | 22 | | to apply for the homestead exemption
during that taxable year. | 23 | | Application shall be made during the application
period in | 24 | | effect for the county of his or her residence.
| 25 | | The Chief County Assessment Officer may determine the | 26 | | eligibility of a life
care facility that qualifies as a |
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| 1 | | cooperative to receive the benefits
provided by this Section by | 2 | | use of an affidavit, application, visual
inspection, | 3 | | questionnaire, or other reasonable method in order to insure | 4 | | that
the tax savings resulting from the exemption are credited | 5 | | by the management
firm to the apportioned tax liability of each | 6 | | qualifying resident. The Chief
County Assessment Officer may | 7 | | request reasonable proof that the management firm
has so | 8 | | credited that exemption.
| 9 | | Except as provided in this Section, all information | 10 | | received by the chief
county assessment officer or the | 11 | | Department from applications filed under this
Section, or from | 12 | | any investigation conducted under the provisions of this
| 13 | | Section, shall be confidential, except for official purposes or
| 14 | | pursuant to official procedures for collection of any State or | 15 | | local tax or
enforcement of any civil or criminal penalty or | 16 | | sanction imposed by this Act or
by any statute or ordinance | 17 | | imposing a State or local tax. Any person who
divulges any such | 18 | | information in any manner, except in accordance with a proper
| 19 | | judicial order, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
| 20 | | Nothing contained in this Section shall prevent the | 21 | | Director or chief county
assessment officer from publishing or | 22 | | making available reasonable statistics
concerning the | 23 | | operation of the exemption contained in this Section in which
| 24 | | the contents of claims are grouped into aggregates in such a | 25 | | way that
information contained in any individual claim shall | 26 | | not be disclosed.
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| 1 | | (d) Each Chief County Assessment Officer shall annually | 2 | | publish a notice
of availability of the exemption provided | 3 | | under this Section. The notice
shall be published at least 60 | 4 | | days but no more than 75 days prior to the date
on which the | 5 | | application must be submitted to the Chief County Assessment
| 6 | | Officer of the county in which the property is located. The | 7 | | notice shall
appear in a newspaper of general circulation in | 8 | | the county.
| 9 | | Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates Act, | 10 | | no reimbursement by the State is required for the | 11 | | implementation of any mandate created by this Section.
| 12 | | (Source: P.A. 95-644, eff. 10-12-07; 96-339, eff. 7-1-10; | 13 | | 96-355, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)
| 14 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 15 | | becoming law.
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