PROP TX-SENIOR EXEMPTION

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB2701

Introduced 10/14/2025, by Sen. Chris Balkema

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

35 ILCS 200/15-170

Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that, for taxable years 2026
and thereafter, in all counties, a taxpayer who has been granted a senior
citizens homestead exemption need not reapply for that exemption.
Effective immediately.
LRB104 15288 HLH 28442 b

A BILL FOR

SB2701
LRB104 15288 HLH 28442 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
Section 15-170 as follows:

6

(35 ILCS 200/15-170)
7

Sec. 15-170.
Senior citizens homestead exemption.

8

(a) An annual homestead exemption limited, except as
9
described here with relation to cooperatives or life care
10
facilities, to a maximum reduction set forth below from the
11
property's value, as equalized or assessed by the Department,
12
is granted for property that is occupied as a residence by a
13
person 65 years of age or older who is liable for paying real
14
estate taxes on the property and is an owner of record of the
15
property or has a legal or equitable interest therein as
16
evidenced by a written instrument, except for a leasehold
17
interest, other than a leasehold interest of land on which a
18
single family residence is located, which is occupied as a
19
residence by a person 65 years or older who has an ownership
20
interest therein, legal, equitable or as a lessee, and on
21
which he or she is liable for the payment of property taxes.
22
Before taxable year 2004, the maximum reduction shall be
23
$2,500 in counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants and

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LRB104 15288 HLH 28442 b
1
$2,000 in all other counties. For taxable years 2004 through
2
2005, the maximum reduction shall be $3,000 in all counties.
3
For taxable years 2006 and 2007, the maximum reduction shall
4
be $3,500. For taxable years 2008 through 2011, the maximum
5
reduction is $4,000 in all counties. For taxable year 2012,
6
the maximum reduction is $5,000 in counties with 3,000,000 or
7
more inhabitants and $4,000 in all other counties. For taxable
8
years 2013 through 2016, the maximum reduction is $5,000 in
9
all counties. For taxable years 2017 through 2022, the maximum
10
reduction is $8,000 in counties with 3,000,000 or more
11
inhabitants and $5,000 in all other counties. For taxable
12
years 2023 and thereafter, the maximum reduction is $8,000 in
13
counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants and counties that
14
are contiguous to a county of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants
15
and $5,000 in all other counties.
16

(b) For land improved with an apartment building owned and
17
operated as a cooperative, the maximum reduction from the
18
value of the property, as equalized by the Department, shall
19
be multiplied by the number of apartments or units occupied by
20
a person 65 years of age or older who is liable, by contract
21
with the owner or owners of record, for paying property taxes
22
on the property and is an owner of record of a legal or
23
equitable interest in the cooperative apartment building,
24
other than a leasehold interest. For land improved with a life
25
care facility, the maximum reduction from the value of the
26
property, as equalized by the Department, shall be multiplied

SB2701
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LRB104 15288 HLH 28442 b
1
by the number of apartments or units occupied by persons 65
2
years of age or older, irrespective of any legal, equitable,
3
or leasehold interest in the facility, who are liable, under a
4
contract with the owner or owners of record of the facility,
5
for paying property taxes on the property. In a cooperative or
6
a life care facility where a homestead exemption has been
7
granted, the cooperative association or the management firm of
8
the cooperative or facility shall credit the savings resulting
9
from that exemption only to the apportioned tax liability of
10
the owner or resident who qualified for the exemption. Any
11
person who willfully refuses to so credit the savings shall be
12
guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. Under this Section and
13
Sections 15-175, 15-176, and 15-177, "life care facility"
14
means a facility, as defined in Section 2 of the Life Care
15
Facilities Act, with which the applicant for the homestead
16
exemption has a life care contract as defined in that Act.
17

(c) When a homestead exemption has been granted under this
18
Section and the person qualifying subsequently becomes a
19
resident of a facility licensed under the Assisted Living and
20
Shared Housing Act, the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized
21
Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the ID/DD Community
22
Care Act, or the MC/DD Act, the exemption shall continue so
23
long as the residence continues to be occupied by the
24
qualifying person's spouse if the spouse is 65 years of age or
25
older, or if the residence remains unoccupied but is still
26
owned by the person qualified for the homestead exemption.

SB2701
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LRB104 15288 HLH 28442 b
1

(d) A person who will be 65 years of age during the current
2
assessment year shall be eligible to apply for the homestead
3
exemption during that assessment year. Application shall be
4
made during the application period in effect for the county of
5
his residence.
6

(e) Beginning with assessment year 2003, for taxes payable
7
in 2004, property that is first occupied as a residence after
8
January 1 of any assessment year by a person who is eligible
9
for the senior citizens homestead exemption under this Section
10
must be granted a pro-rata exemption for the assessment year.
11
The amount of the pro-rata exemption is the exemption allowed
12
in the county under this Section divided by 365 and multiplied
13
by the number of days during the assessment year the property
14
is occupied as a residence by a person eligible for the
15
exemption under this Section. The chief county assessment
16
officer must adopt reasonable procedures to establish
17
eligibility for this pro-rata exemption.
18

(f) The assessor or chief county assessment officer may
19
determine the eligibility of a life care facility to receive
20
the benefits provided by this Section, by affidavit,
21
application, visual inspection, questionnaire or other
22
reasonable methods in order to ensure that the tax savings
23
resulting from the exemption are credited by the management
24
firm to the apportioned tax liability of each qualifying
25
resident. The assessor may request reasonable proof that the
26
management firm has so credited the exemption.

SB2701
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LRB104 15288 HLH 28442 b
1

(g) The chief county assessment officer of each county
2
with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants shall provide to each
3
person allowed a homestead exemption under this Section a form
4
to designate any other person to receive a duplicate of any
5
notice of delinquency in the payment of taxes assessed and
6
levied under this Code on the property of the person receiving
7
the exemption. The duplicate notice shall be in addition to
8
the notice required to be provided to the person receiving the
9
exemption, and shall be given in the manner required by this
10
Code. The person filing the request for the duplicate notice
11
shall pay a fee of $5 to cover administrative costs to the
12
supervisor of assessments, who shall then file the executed
13
designation with the county collector. Notwithstanding any
14
other provision of this Code to the contrary, the filing of
15
such an executed designation requires the county collector to
16
provide duplicate notices as indicated by the designation. A
17
designation may be rescinded by the person who executed such
18
designation at any time, in the manner and form required by the
19
chief county assessment officer.
20

(h) The assessor or chief county assessment officer may
21
determine the eligibility of residential property to receive
22
the homestead exemption provided by this Section by
23
application, visual inspection, questionnaire or other
24
reasonable methods. The determination shall be made in
25
accordance with guidelines established by the Department.
26

(i) In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, for

SB2701
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LRB104 15288 HLH 28442 b
1
taxable years 2010 through 2018, each taxpayer who has been
2
granted an exemption under this Section must reapply on an
3
annual basis.
4

If a reapplication is required, then the chief county
5
assessment officer shall mail the application to the taxpayer
6
at least 60 days prior to the last day of the application
7
period for the county.
8

For taxable years 2019 and thereafter, in counties with
9
3,000,000 or more inhabitants, a taxpayer who has been granted
10
an exemption under this Section need not reapply.
For taxable
11
years 2026 and thereafter, in all counties, a taxpayer who has
12
been granted an exemption under this Section need not reapply
13
for the exemption under this Section. If

However, if
the
14
property ceases to be qualified for the exemption under this
15
Section in any year for which a reapplication is not required
16
under this Section, then the owner of record of the property
17
shall notify the chief county assessment officer that the
18
property is no longer qualified. In addition,
each

for taxable
19
years 2019 and thereafter, the
chief county assessment officer
20
of a county with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants
shall enter
21
into an intergovernmental agreement with the county clerk of
22
the

that
county
in which the chief county assessment officer
23
serves
and the Department of Public Health, as well as any
24
other appropriate governmental agency, to obtain information
25
that documents the death of a taxpayer who has been granted an
26
exemption under this Section. Notwithstanding any other

SB2701
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LRB104 15288 HLH 28442 b
1
provision of law, the county clerk and the Department of
2
Public Health shall provide that information to the chief
3
county assessment officer. The Department of Public Health
4
shall supply this information no less frequently than every
5
calendar quarter. Information concerning the death of a
6
taxpayer may be shared with the county treasurer. The chief
7
county assessment officer shall also enter into a data
8
exchange agreement with the Social Security Administration or
9
its agent to obtain access to the information regarding deaths
10
in possession of the Social Security Administration. The chief
11
county assessment officer shall, subject to the notice
12
requirements under subsection (m) of Section 9-275, terminate
13
the exemption under this Section if the information obtained
14
indicates that the property is no longer qualified for the
15
exemption.
The

In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants,
16
the
assessor and the county clerk shall establish policies and
17
practices for the regular exchange of information for the
18
purpose of alerting the assessor whenever the transfer of
19
ownership of any property receiving an exemption under this
20
Section has occurred. When such a transfer occurs, the
21
assessor shall mail a notice to the new owner of the property
22
(i) informing the new owner that the exemption will remain in
23
place through the year of the transfer, after which it will be
24
canceled, and (ii) providing information pertaining to the
25
rules for reapplying for the exemption if the owner qualifies.
26
The

In counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, the
chief

SB2701
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LRB104 15288 HLH 28442 b
1
county assessment official shall conduct, by no later than
2
December 31 of the first year of each reassessment cycle, as
3
determined by Section 9-220, a review of all exemptions
4
granted under this Section for the preceding reassessment
5
cycle under this Section. The review shall be designed to
6
ascertain whether any senior homestead exemptions have been
7
granted erroneously. If it is determined that a senior
8
homestead exemption has been erroneously applied to a
9
property, the chief county assessment officer shall make use
10
of the appropriate provisions of Section 9-275 in relation to
11
the property that received the erroneous homestead exemption.
12

(j)
(Blank).

In counties with less than 3,000,000
13
inhabitants, the county board may by resolution provide that
14
if a person has been granted a homestead exemption under this
15
Section, the person qualifying need not reapply for the
16
exemption. In counties in which the county board passes such a
17
resolution, the chief county assessment official shall, prior
18
to the submission of the final abstract for the first year of
19
each reassessment cycle, as determined by Section 9-215,
20
review all exemptions granted for the preceding reassessment
21
cycle under this Section. The review shall be designed to
22
ascertain whether any senior homestead exemptions have been
23
granted erroneously.

24

In counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if the
25
assessor or chief county assessment officer requires annual
26
application for verification of eligibility for an exemption

SB2701
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LRB104 15288 HLH 28442 b
1
once granted under this Section, the application shall be
2
mailed to the taxpayer.
3

(l) The assessor or chief county assessment officer shall
4
notify each person who qualifies for an exemption under this
5
Section that the person may also qualify for deferral of real
6
estate taxes under the Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax
7
Deferral Act. The notice shall set forth the qualifications
8
needed for deferral of real estate taxes, the address and
9
telephone number of county collector, and a statement that
10
applications for deferral of real estate taxes may be obtained
11
from the county collector.
12

(m) Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates
13
Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the
14
implementation of any mandate created by this Section.
15
(Source: P.A. 102-895, eff. 5-23-22; 103-592, eff. 1-1-25
.)

16

Section 99.
Effective date.
This Act takes effect upon
17
becoming law.

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