Property tax relief for seniors in Illinois

Who qualifies

For all three, you must own the home and live in it as your main home.

The income limits are going up:

What counts as income

Both income-based programs use total household income. For the deferral, the Illinois Department of Revenue lists:

• Wages
• Social Security
• The taxable part of pensions and IRA payments
• Rental and business income
• Unemployment compensation

The Department of Revenue's tax relief page does not list what counts for the freeze. Ask your county assessment office what to include.

Each program explained

Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption

This exemption cuts your home's equalized assessed value (the value your tax is figured on). The cut is up to $8,000 in Cook County and the counties next to it, and up to $5,000 in other counties. There is no income limit. You must be 65 or older and be the one who pays the property tax.

Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze

This exemption freezes your home's assessed value at the level of the year you first qualify (the base year). Each year after that, any rise in value is taken off. Your tax bill can still go up if tax rates rise or if you add on to the home.

Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral

The state pays your property tax now, and you pay it back later.

• How much: up to $7,500 a year. The total you owe, with interest and lien fees, cannot be more than 80% of your equity in the home.
• Interest: 3% simple interest a year, for tax year 2023 and later.
• Lien: the state files a lien on your home.
• Other rules: you must have owned and lived in the home (or another Illinois home) for at least the last three years. A stay in a licensed care facility usually does not break this. There can be no unpaid property taxes on the home, and it must be insured against fire and casualty loss.

When you must repay:

• When you sell or transfer the home. The sale cannot close until the deferred taxes are paid.
• Within one year after you die. A surviving spouse who is at least 55 can keep the deferral by applying within six months.
• Within 90 days after the home stops qualifying.

You can pay back part or all of it at any time. Use Form PTAX-1306 to ask the county collector for a payoff amount.

How to apply

Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption

Rules differ by county. Some counties use Form PTAX-324 the first time and Form PTAX-329 each year after. In Cook County, apply every year with the Cook County Assessor's Office. Call your county assessment office to ask what it needs.

Assessment Freeze

File Form PTAX-340 with your Chief County Assessment Office every year. Ask your county for its deadline.

Tax Deferral

1. Get Forms IL-1017 (Application for Deferral) and IL-1018 (Deferral and Recovery Agreement) from your county collector. They are available after January 1.
2. File them between January 1 and March 1 each year.
3. Keep your copy of Form IL-1018. It sets your deferral limit, interest rate and repayment terms.
4. You can apply again each year for that year's taxes.

After you apply

• Refile on time. The freeze must be filed every year. Cook County also needs a senior exemption filing every year. The deferral is a yearly application.
• Check your tax bill to make sure each exemption was applied.
• Questions or disagreements: contact your Chief County Assessment Office (in Cook County, the Cook County Assessor's Office).

Things people miss

• The senior exemption has no income limit. Everyone 65 and over who owns and lives in their home can get it.
• The freeze limit is rising. It goes up for tax year 2027 and again for 2028. If your income was too high before, check again.
• The deferral was expanded by a new state law announced in December 2025. The interest rate for tax year 2023 and later is also lower than for earlier years.
• People with disabilities and veterans have separate exemptions. Ask your county.

Free help

• Your Chief County Assessment Office: for the senior exemption and the freeze.
• Your County Treasurer (collector): for the tax deferral.
• Illinois Department on Aging Senior HelpLine: 1-800-252-8966 (711 TRS), for help finding other benefits.

For other programs, see all benefits in Illinois.

Phone numbers: Free help lines for Illinois agencies

Check what you may qualify for