Bill Text: IL HB1334 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Property Tax Code. In provisions concerning the homestead exemption for persons with disabilities, provides that, if the person with a disability is eligible to receive disability benefits under the federal Social Security Act, then the property is exempt from taxation under this Code. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-28 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB1334 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB1334-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB1334 Introduced , by Rep. Paul Jacobs SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
35 ILCS 200/15-168
Amends the Property Tax Code. In provisions concerning the homestead exemption for persons with disabilities, provides that, if the person with a disability is eligible to receive disability benefits under the federal Social Security Act, then the property is exempt from taxation under this Code. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning revenue.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
Section 15-168 as follows:
(35 ILCS 200/15-168)
Sec. 15-168. Homestead exemption for persons with
disabilities.
(a) Beginning with taxable year 2007, an annual homestead
exemption is granted to persons with disabilities in the
amount of $2,000, except as provided in subsection (c), to be
deducted from the property's value as equalized or assessed by
the Department of Revenue. The person with a disability shall
receive the homestead exemption upon meeting the following
requirements:
(1) The property must be occupied as the primary
residence by the person with a disability.
(2) The person with a disability must be liable for
paying the real estate taxes on the property.
(3) The person with a disability must be an owner of
record of the property or have a legal or equitable
interest in the property as evidenced by a written
instrument. In the case of a leasehold interest in

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property, the lease must be for a single family residence.
A person who has a disability during the taxable year is
eligible to apply for this homestead exemption during that
taxable year. Application must be made during the application
period in effect for the county of residence. If a homestead
exemption has been granted under this Section and the person
awarded the exemption subsequently becomes a resident of a
facility licensed under the Nursing Home Care Act, the
Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the
ID/DD Community Care Act, or the MC/DD Act, then the exemption
shall continue (i) so long as the residence continues to be
occupied by the qualifying person's spouse or (ii) if the
residence remains unoccupied but is still owned by the person
qualified for the homestead exemption.
(b) For the purposes of this Section, "person with a
disability" means a person unable to engage in any substantial
gainful activity by reason of a medically determinable
physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result
in death or has lasted or can be expected to last for a
continuous period of not less than 12 months. Persons with
disabilities filing claims under this Act shall submit proof
of disability in such form and manner as the Department shall
by rule and regulation prescribe. Proof that a claimant is
eligible to receive disability benefits under the Federal
Social Security Act shall constitute proof of disability for
purposes of this Act. Issuance of an Illinois Person with a

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Disability Identification Card stating that the claimant is
under a Class 2 disability, as defined in Section 4A of the
Illinois Identification Card Act, shall constitute proof that
the person named thereon is a person with a disability for
purposes of this Act. A person with a disability not covered
under the Federal Social Security Act and not presenting an
Illinois Person with a Disability Identification Card stating
that the claimant is under a Class 2 disability shall be
examined by a physician, optometrist (if the person qualifies
because of a visual disability), advanced practice registered
nurse, or physician assistant designated by the Department,
and his status as a person with a disability determined using
the same standards as used by the Social Security
Administration. The costs of any required examination shall be
borne by the claimant.
(c) For land improved with (i) an apartment building owned
and operated as a cooperative or (ii) a life care facility as
defined under Section 2 of the Life Care Facilities Act that is
considered to be a cooperative, the maximum reduction from the
value of the property, as equalized or assessed by the
Department, shall be multiplied by the number of apartments or
units occupied by a person with a disability. The person with a
disability shall receive the homestead exemption upon meeting
the following requirements:
(1) The property must be occupied as the primary
residence by the person with a disability.

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(2) The person with a disability must be liable by
contract with the owner or owners of record for paying the
apportioned property taxes on the property of the
cooperative or life care facility. In the case of a life
care facility, the person with a disability must be liable
for paying the apportioned property taxes under a life
care contract as defined in Section 2 of the Life Care
Facilities Act.
(3) The person with a disability must be an owner of
record of a legal or equitable interest in the cooperative
apartment building. A leasehold interest does not meet
this requirement.
If a homestead exemption is granted under this subsection, the
cooperative association or management firm shall credit the
savings resulting from the exemption to the apportioned tax
liability of the qualifying person with a disability. The
chief county assessment officer may request reasonable proof
that the association or firm has properly credited the
exemption. A person who willfully refuses to credit an
exemption to the qualified person with a disability is guilty
of a Class B misdemeanor.
(c-5) Beginning with taxable year 2026, if the person with
a disability is eligible to receive disability benefits under
the federal Social Security Act, then the property is exempt
from taxation under this Code.
(d) The chief county assessment officer shall determine

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the eligibility of property to receive the homestead exemption
according to guidelines established by the Department. After a
person has received an exemption under this Section, an annual
verification of eligibility for the exemption shall be mailed
to the taxpayer.
In counties with fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants, the
chief county assessment officer shall provide to each person
granted a homestead exemption under this Section a form to
designate any other person to receive a duplicate of any
notice of delinquency in the payment of taxes assessed and
levied under this Code on the person's qualifying property.
The duplicate notice shall be in addition to the notice
required to be provided to the person receiving the exemption
and shall be given in the manner required by this Code. The
person filing the request for the duplicate notice shall pay
an administrative fee of $5 to the chief county assessment
officer. The assessment officer shall then file the executed
designation with the county collector, who shall issue the
duplicate notices as indicated by the designation. A
designation may be rescinded by the person with a disability
in the manner required by the chief county assessment officer.
(d-5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each
chief county assessment officer may approve this exemption for
the 2020 taxable year, without application, for any property
that was approved for this exemption for the 2019 taxable
year, provided that:

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(1) the county board has declared a local disaster as
provided in the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act
related to the COVID-19 public health emergency;
(2) the owner of record of the property as of January
1, 2020 is the same as the owner of record of the property
as of January 1, 2019;
(3) the exemption for the 2019 taxable year has not
been determined to be an erroneous exemption as defined by
this Code; and
(4) the applicant for the 2019 taxable year has not
asked for the exemption to be removed for the 2019 or 2020
taxable years.
(d-10) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each
chief county assessment officer may approve this exemption for
the 2021 taxable year, without application, for any property
that was approved for this exemption for the 2020 taxable
year, if:
(1) the county board has declared a local disaster as
provided in the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act
related to the COVID-19 public health emergency;
(2) the owner of record of the property as of January
1, 2021 is the same as the owner of record of the property
as of January 1, 2020;
(3) the exemption for the 2020 taxable year has not
been determined to be an erroneous exemption as defined by
this Code; and

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(4) the taxpayer for the 2020 taxable year has not
asked for the exemption to be removed for the 2020 or 2021
taxable years.
(d-15) For taxable years 2022 through 2027, in any county
of more than 3,000,000 residents, and in any other county
where the county board has authorized such action by ordinance
or resolution, a chief county assessment officer may renew
this exemption for any person who applied for the exemption
and presented proof of eligibility, as described in subsection
(b), without an annual application as required under
subsection (d). A chief county assessment officer shall not
automatically renew an exemption under this subsection if: the
physician, advanced practice registered nurse, optometrist, or
physician assistant who examined the claimant determined that
the disability is not expected to continue for 12 months or
more; the exemption has been deemed erroneous since the last
application; or the claimant has reported their ineligibility
to receive the exemption. A chief county assessment officer
who automatically renews an exemption under this subsection
shall notify a person of a subsequent determination not to
automatically renew that person's exemption and shall provide
that person with an application to renew the exemption.
(e) A taxpayer who claims an exemption under Section
15-165 or 15-169 may not claim an exemption under this
Section.
(Source: P.A. 102-136, eff. 7-23-21; 102-895, eff. 5-23-22;

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103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)