CHECK YOUR TAX BILL FOR EXEMPTIONS AND SAVE ON YOUR PROPERTY TAXES

by Judi Strauss-Lipkin

The first installment of your 2021 property tax bill is due by March 1, 2022. It is 55 percent of your 2020 total tax bill. You can see the 55 percent tax calculator on the left-hand side of the bill about 2/3 of the way down. You can also view it online at www.cookcounty treasurer.com.

However, this new tax bill DOES NOT show some especially important exemption information - which you can find on your second tax bill from 2020 and your next, second bill for 2021.

You might be eligible for three exemptions, which will reduce your taxes:

• Homeowner’s Exemption: you must live and own at this address on January 1

• Senior Exemption: you must be 65 years or older (one of a couple)

• Senior Freeze Exemption: you must have total household income under $65,000.

These exemptions can add up. On a $7,046.87 tax bill for a property near the lakefront on the North Side, for example, the Homeowner Exemption amounted to $691.10 and the Senior Exemption to $552.88. That’s a 17 percent savings for those two exemptions alone. These first two exemptions continue each year, and you only apply once.

The Senior Freeze, however, is a year-by-year exemption depending on your total income on your tax return. It is important to apply for the Senior Freeze each year. When tax professionals prepare income taxes for clients, especially seniors, they should check the exemptions; if they have not been done, they can download the forms from the website of Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi (https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/exemptions). You will also need supporting documentation.

For the Homeowners Exemption, you will need: the Homeowners Exemption Form, the DocuSign Occupancy affidavit that the property was/is your principal residence, and a scanned copy of your Driver’s License or ID card.

Here's an example of a second installment tax bill, with major exemptions applied. These exemptions are only listed on the second installment bill, due in the fall.

For the Senior Exemption, you will need: Senior Exemption application form, proof of age and identity and occupancy in 2021; a copy of one photo ID, (usually an IL Driver’s License or ID Card), along with an Occupancy Affidavit (which is provided within the online application). They may also require a utility bill or bank statement showing your address. The name and property address must match the application, and the date of issue must verify that you occupied this property in 2021.

For the Senior Freeze Exemption, you will need: Senior Freeze Form and all the above, including documentation of each item of income from your tax return.

You can submit the applications online and upload all supporting documents, you can mail it or you can submit it in person to the Cook County Assessor’s Office at 118 N. Clark St., Room 320, Chicago, IL 60602. The assessor’s office website suggests an appointment – the best option – so they can review your forms and documentation.

There are also exemptions for veterans and people who are disabled. You can submit a Certificate of Error for the tax years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 and eventually get a refund - these are also online or can be printed and then submitted with proper documentation.

Please review your second tax bill for the summer of 2021 as well as prior years' real estate tax bills to see if you are receiving these exemptions. Check again when you are preparing your 2021 income tax. A press release from Kaegi’s office on Aug. 24, 2021 showed how the three exemptions reduced a sample tax bill by $1598 – from $2372 to $774!

The office of Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas estimates that there are over $34 million in unclaimed exemptions over the last four years!

Dr. Judi Strauss-Lipkin is an enrolled agent and was a professor of management at Benedictine University and George Williams College. She was president of the Phi Beta Kappa Association of Chicago and treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Chicago.