Senior Citizen Property Tax Reduction Applications Due February 8
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS - Evanston residents age 65 years or older should have
recently received 2016 Senior and Senior Freeze Property Tax Exemption renewal
applications in the mail, and must file them by Wednesday, February 8, 2017.
Illinois law requires seniors to reapply annually. Local seniors are encouraged
to call Evanston's Property Tax Assessment Review office at 847-448-8168 for
help completing the forms.
The recently mailed senior applications are for 2016
property taxes, which are paid in calendar year 2017. The savings from these
exemptions will appear on the 2017 Second Installment Property Tax Bills that
will be mailed in late June and will
be due on August 1, 2017.
There are two Senior Tax Exemptions:
The Senior Exemption is available to property
owners born in 1951 or prior, with no income restrictions. This is available to
property owners or renters responsible for paying the real estate taxes, if
they used the property as their primary residence in 2016.
The Senior Freeze Exemption is available to
property owners born in 1951 or prior, with a total household income of $55,000
or less during income tax year 2015. The applicant must have owned and lived in
the property as of January 1, 2015 and January 1, 2016, and have been liable
for the property tax bill payments for 2015 and 2016.
"If you don't qualify for the Senior Freeze Exemption
because you exceed the income level, this does not mean you will not be eligible
for the Senior Exemption,” said Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios. “The
Senior Exemption has no income restrictions and I'm concerned that seniors
might discard the entire booklet and not receive the Senior Exemption savings
to which they are entitled."
Seniors receiving the Senior Citizen Exemption automatically
receive the Homeowner Exemption. Seniors receiving the Senior Freeze Exemption
automatically receive both the Homeowner and Senior Citizen Exemptions.
Information for
Seniors Who Did Not Receive Mailings or First-time Applicants
Homeowners who were born in 1951 turned age 65 in 2016, and thus are likely
to be eligible for one of the senior exemptions for the first time. Taxpayers
who recently turned 65 may not have received applications when the senior
renewal forms were mailed. Such individuals are encouraged to go to the Cook
County Assessor’s website, cookcountyassessor.com,
to download Homeowner,
Senior and Senior Freeze Exemption applications, or call the Property Tax Assessment Review Office
at 847-448-8168 to obtain the forms and information necessary to complete the
applications.
Residents with questions about eligibility for senior and
other exemptions should call Mitzi Gibbs, Tax Assessment Reviewer, at
847-448-8168, or email mgibbs@cityofevanston.org. The Tax Assessment Review Office is now located in Room G551 of the Morton Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave., in Evanston.