If you are 65 or over, you will qualify for this exemption in your name. Please notify the Taxpayer Services Department and we will send you the proper application forms. Otherwise, your property will receive the exemption for the remainder of the year of your spouse’s death. You will then have to apply when you turn 65. For more information, you may contact our Taxpayer Services Department at (312) 443-7550.

The Assessor's Office will notify you when your application is approved.

If you apply in person at the Assessor's Office, your documents will be reviewed and returned to you while you wait.

If you apply by mail, do not send originals of the above documents. Please send copies because the documents cannot be returned to you.

Owners of cooperative apartments must also submit a stock certificate, occupancy agreement, or trust agreement, along with their application.

Application Procedures

1. If you are eligible for the exemption, please complete and sign the Senior Citizen Exemption Application Form. Information pertaining to Permanent Index Number and township can be found on your real estate tax bill.
2. You must also provide the following information:

Recent Real Estate Tax Bill For Your Home

To qualify for the Senior Citizen Exemption the property owner must be:

• using the property as their principal place of residence,
• 65 years of age or older during the tax year for which they are applying, and
• owner of the property or have a lease or contract which makes them responsible for the real estate taxes.

No. This is a recent change. Until 2019, state law required that senior citizens reapply annually for the Senior Exemption. The law changed on August 26, 2019 with the signing into law of HB 833. The bill, championed by Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi and Illinois House Assistant Majority Leader Fred Crespo, amends the Illinois Property Tax Code to allow for the automatic renewal of the Senior Citizen Exemption for persons who had received this exemption in the year prior.

No. Senior Citizens receiving the Senior Citizen Exemption automatically qualify for the Homeowner Exemption and do not have to apply for it separately.

The Senior Citizen Exemption provides tax relief by reducing the equalized assessed value (EAV) of an eligible residence by $8,000. The amount your tax bill is reduced depends on your home's EAV and your local tax rate. This savings is in the form of a deduction on the second-installment real estate tax bill.