Bill Text: IL HB4004 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Property Tax Code. With respect to the homestead exemption for persons with disabilities, provides that the property is exempt from taxation if the person with a disability is 55 years of age or older at any point during the taxable year.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-23 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4004 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HB4004-Introduced.html

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101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 HB4004 Introduced , by Rep. Rita Mayfield SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
35 ILCS 200/15-168
Amends the Property Tax Code. With respect to the homestead exemption for persons with disabilities, provides that the property is exempt from taxation if the person with a disability is 55 years of age or older at any point during the taxable year.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
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. For taxable year 2020 and thereafter, if
the person with a disability is 55 years of age or older at any
point during the taxable year, then the property is exempt from
taxation under this Code. 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

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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
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

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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 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, 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

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residence by the person with a disability.
(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.
(d) The chief county assessment officer shall determine 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

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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.
(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. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15; 99-180, eff. 7-29-15;
99-581, eff. 1-1-17; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16; 100-513, eff.
1-1-18.)