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Oak Park area seniors must apply to renew tax exemptions
Updated: February 19, 2013 12:00PM
Oak Park area seniors received renewal applications for senior citizen property tax exemptions in early January and will have until Feb. 6 to return them to the Cook County Assessor’s office.
Under current law, senior exemptions must be renewed every year. In the past, it was not necessary to file annual renewals after a senior qualified for the exemption for the first time. Two years ago, however, the law changed.
Eligibility for Senior Citizen Exemptions:
1) The senior exemption, available to all seniors regardless of income, reduces property taxes by about $400. It is available to any owner-occupied residential property whose owner was born in 1947 or earlier.
2) The senior freeze provides some seniors with additional savings if the combined income of all occupants in a senior’s household is less than $55,000, and if the senior has been an owner-occupant of the house since Jan. 1, 2011.
The applications are for 2012 property taxes, (paid in calendar year 2013) and the savings from the exemptions will appear on the second installment tax bills that will likely be mailed in July.
Information for seniors not receiving mailings:
Homeowners who were born in 1947 turned 65 in 2012, and thus are likely to be eligible for one of the senior exemptions for the first time.
The forms are also available online at www.CookCountyAssessor.com.
For help with the forms, residents are encouraged to call the Oak Park Township Assessor’s office at (708) 383-8005.
