The Cook County Assessor’s Office is in the midst of their annual exemption season. Exemptions will result in savings applied to second installment property tax bills issued this summer.
Many exemptions auto-renew this year
This year, many property tax exemptions renew automatically. Along with the homeowner and senior citizen exemptions which already renew each year, the Illinois state legislature passed a law to make the senior freeze, veterans with disabilities, and people with disabilities exemptions renew automatically for Tax Year 2020 for homeowners who had them in Tax Year 2020 and remained eligible. This law is an effort to ease the burden on the most vulnerable to COVID-19.
New and re-certification applications are in the mail
Many residents will have received, or soon will receive, paper applications in the mail if they are newly qualified to receive the homeowner or senior exemptions.
Also, as part of the audit requirements of the auto-renewal law passed by the Illinois legislature, some seniors will receive paper applications asking them to re-certify their qualifications for the senior and senior freeze exemptions. Assessor Kaegi wants to ensure that every household is receiving all eligible exemptions they are legally qualified for. Seniors can re-certify their exemptions using the mailed applications or by doing so online—whichever is easiest for them. New and re-certification applications for exemptions must be filed by March 31, 2021.
Online applications for exemptions
To ensure timely processing of exemption applications, the Assessor’s Office request that exemption applications and supporting documents be submitted via Docusign, whenever possible, at: https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/exemptions
