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90_SB0157eng
30 ILCS 805/8.21 new
35 ILCS 200/15-172
Amends the Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead
Exemption in the Property Tax Code. Allows counties, by
ordinance, to establish a date for the submission of
applications that is different (now earlier) than July 1.
LRB9000976DNsb
SB157 Engrossed LRB9000976DNsb
1 AN ACT concerning property taxes.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
5 Section 8.21 as follows:
6 (30 ILCS 805/8.21 new)
7 Sec. 8.21. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6
8 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required
9 for the implementation of any mandate created by this
10 amendatory Act of 1997.
11 Section 10. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
12 Section 15-172 as follows:
13 (35 ILCS 200/15-172)
14 Sec. 15-172. Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead
15 Exemption.
16 (a) This Section may be cited as the Senior Citizens
17 Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption.
18 (b) As used in this Section:
19 "Applicant" means an individual who has filed an
20 application under this Section.
21 "Base amount" means the base year equalized assessed
22 value of the residence plus the first year's equalized
23 assessed value of any added improvements which increased the
24 assessed value of the residence after the base year.
25 "Base year" means the taxable year prior to the taxable
26 year for which the applicant first qualifies and applies for
27 the exemption provided that in the prior taxable year the
28 property was improved with a permanent structure that was
29 occupied as a residence by the applicant who was liable for
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1 paying real property taxes on the property and who was either
2 (i) an owner of record of the property or had legal or
3 equitable interest in the property as evidenced by a written
4 instrument or (ii) had a legal or equitable interest as a
5 lessee in the parcel of property that was single family
6 residence.
7 "Chief County Assessment Officer" means the County
8 Assessor or Supervisor of Assessments of the county in which
9 the property is located.
10 "Equalized assessed value" means the assessed value as
11 equalized by the Illinois Department of Revenue.
12 "Household" means the applicant, the spouse of the
13 applicant, and all persons using the residence of the
14 applicant as their principal place of residence.
15 "Household income" means the combined income of the
16 members of a household for the calendar year preceding the
17 taxable year.
18 "Income" has the same meaning as provided in Section 3.07
19 of the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax
20 Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act.
21 "Internal Revenue Code of 1986" means the United States
22 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor law or laws
23 relating to federal income taxes in effect for the year
24 preceding the taxable year.
25 "Life care facility that qualifies as a cooperative"
26 means a facility as defined in Section 2 of the Life Care
27 Facilities Act.
28 "Residence" means the principal dwelling place and
29 appurtenant structures used for residential purposes in this
30 State occupied on January 1 of the taxable year by a
31 household and so much of the surrounding land, constituting
32 the parcel upon which the dwelling place is situated, as is
33 used for residential purposes. If the Chief County Assessment
34 Officer has established a specific legal description for a
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1 portion of property constituting the residence, then that
2 portion of property shall be deemed the residence for the
3 purposes of this Section.
4 "Taxable year" means the calendar year during which ad
5 valorem property taxes payable in the next succeeding year
6 are levied.
7 (c) Beginning in taxable year 1994, a senior citizens
8 assessment freeze homestead exemption is granted for real
9 property that is improved with a permanent structure that is
10 occupied as a residence by an applicant who (i) is 65 years
11 of age or older during the taxable year, (ii) has a household
12 income of $35,000 or less, (iii) is liable for paying real
13 property taxes on the property, and (iv) is an owner of
14 record of the property or has a legal or equitable interest
15 in the property as evidenced by a written instrument. This
16 homestead exemption shall also apply to a leasehold interest
17 in a parcel of property improved with a permanent structure
18 that is a single family residence that is occupied as a
19 residence by a person who (i) is 65 years of age or older
20 during the taxable year, (ii) has a household income of
21 $35,000 or less, (iii) has a legal or equitable ownership
22 interest in the property as lessee, and (iv) is liable for
23 the payment of real property taxes on that property.
24 The amount of this exemption shall be the equalized
25 assessed value of the residence in the taxable year for which
26 application is made minus the base amount.
27 When the applicant is a surviving spouse of an applicant
28 for a prior year for the same residence for which an
29 exemption under this Section has been granted, the base year
30 and base amount for that residence are the same as for the
31 applicant for the prior year.
32 Each year at the time the assessment books are certified
33 to the County Clerk, the Board of Review or Board of Appeals
34 shall give to the County Clerk a list of the assessed values
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1 of improvements on each parcel qualifying for this exemption
2 that were added after the base year for this parcel and that
3 increased the assessed value of the property.
4 In the case of land improved with an apartment building
5 owned and operated as a cooperative or a building that is a
6 life care facility that qualifies as a cooperative, the
7 maximum reduction from the equalized assessed value of the
8 property is limited to the sum of the reductions calculated
9 for each unit occupied as a residence by a person or persons
10 65 years of age or older with a household income of $35,000
11 or less who is liable, by contract with the owner or owners
12 of record, for paying real property taxes on the property and
13 who is an owner of record of a legal or equitable interest in
14 the cooperative apartment building, other than a leasehold
15 interest. In the instance of a cooperative where a homestead
16 exemption has been granted under this Section, the
17 cooperative association or its management firm shall credit
18 the savings resulting from that exemption only to the
19 apportioned tax liability of the owner who qualified for the
20 exemption. Any person who willfully refuses to credit that
21 savings to an owner who qualifies for the exemption is guilty
22 of a Class B misdemeanor.
23 When a homestead exemption has been granted under this
24 Section and an applicant then becomes a resident of a
25 facility licensed under the Nursing Home Care Act, the
26 exemption shall be granted in subsequent years so long as the
27 residence (i) continues to be occupied by the qualified
28 applicant's spouse or (ii) if remaining unoccupied, is still
29 owned by the qualified applicant for the homestead exemption.
30 Beginning January 1, 1997, when an individual dies who
31 would have qualified for an exemption under this Section, and
32 the surviving spouse does not independently qualify for this
33 exemption because of age, the exemption under this Section
34 shall be granted to the surviving spouse for the taxable year
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1 preceding and the taxable year of the death, provided that,
2 except for age, the surviving spouse meets all other
3 qualifications for the granting of this exemption for those
4 years.
5 When married persons maintain separate residences, the
6 exemption provided for in this Section may be claimed by only
7 one of such persons and for only one residence.
8 For taxable year 1994 only, in counties having less than
9 3,000,000 inhabitants, to receive the exemption, a person
10 shall submit an application by February 15, 1995 to the Chief
11 County Assessment Officer of the county in which the property
12 is located. In counties having 3,000,000 or more
13 inhabitants, for taxable year 1994 and all subsequent taxable
14 years, to receive the exemption, a person may submit an
15 application to the Chief County Assessment Officer of the
16 county in which the property is located during such period as
17 may be specified by the Chief County Assessment Officer. The
18 Chief County Assessment Officer in counties of 3,000,000 or
19 more inhabitants shall annually give notice of the
20 application period by mail or by publication. In counties
21 having less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, beginning with
22 taxable year 1995 and thereafter, to receive the exemption, a
23 person shall submit an application by July 1 of each taxable
24 year to the Chief County Assessment Officer of the county in
25 which the property is located. A county may, by ordinance,
26 establish a date for submission of applications that is
27 different earlier than July 1, but in no event shall a county
28 establish a date for submission of applications that is later
29 than July 1. The applicant shall submit with the application
30 an affidavit of the applicant's total household income, age,
31 marital status (and if married the name and address of the
32 applicant's spouse, if known), and principal dwelling place
33 of members of the household on January 1 of the taxable year.
34 The Department shall establish, by rule, a method for
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1 verifying the accuracy of affidavits filed by applicants
2 under this Section. The applications shall be clearly marked
3 as applications for the Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze
4 Homestead Exemption.
5 In counties having less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an
6 applicant was denied an exemption in taxable year 1994 and
7 the denial occurred due to an error on the part of an
8 assessment official, or his or her agent or employee, then
9 beginning in taxable year 1997 the applicant's base year, for
10 purposes of determining the amount of the exemption, shall be
11 1993 rather than 1994. In addition, in taxable year 1997, the
12 applicant's exemption shall also include an amount equal to
13 (i) the amount of any exemption denied to the applicant in
14 taxable year 1995 as a result of using 1994, rather than
15 1993, as the base year, (ii) the amount of any exemption
16 denied to the applicant in taxable year 1996 as a result of
17 using 1994, rather than 1993, as the base year, and (iii) the
18 amount of the exemption erroneously denied for taxable year
19 1994.
20 For purposes of this Section, a person who will be 65
21 years of age during the current taxable year shall be
22 eligible to apply for the homestead exemption during that
23 taxable year. Application shall be made during the
24 application period in effect for the county of his or her
25 residence.
26 The Chief County Assessment Officer may determine the
27 eligibility of a life care facility that qualifies as a
28 cooperative to receive the benefits provided by this Section
29 by use of an affidavit, application, visual inspection,
30 questionnaire, or other reasonable method in order to insure
31 that the tax savings resulting from the exemption are
32 credited by the management firm to the apportioned tax
33 liability of each qualifying resident. The Chief County
34 Assessment Officer may request reasonable proof that the
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1 management firm has so credited that exemption.
2 Except as provided in this Section, all information
3 received by the chief county assessment officer or the
4 Department from applications filed under this Section, or
5 from any investigation conducted under the provisions of this
6 Section, shall be confidential, except for official purposes
7 or pursuant to official procedures for collection of any
8 State or local tax or enforcement of any civil or criminal
9 penalty or sanction imposed by this Act or by any statute or
10 ordinance imposing a State or local tax. Any person who
11 divulges any such information in any manner, except in
12 accordance with a proper judicial order, is guilty of a Class
13 A misdemeanor.
14 Nothing contained in this Section shall prevent the
15 Director or chief county assessment officer from publishing
16 or making available reasonable statistics concerning the
17 operation of the exemption contained in this Section in which
18 the contents of claims are grouped into aggregates in such a
19 way that information contained in any individual claim shall
20 not be disclosed.
21 (Source: P.A. 88-669, eff. 11-29-94; 88-682, eff. 1-13-95;
22 89-62, eff. 1-1-96; 89-426, eff. 6-1-96; 89-557, eff. 1-1-97;
23 89-581, eff. 1-1-97; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96; revised 9-3-96.)
24 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
25 becoming law.