Exemptions

Homestead Exemptions Available to DeKalb County Residents

Below is a brief description of the exemptions available through the DeKalb County Supervisor of Assessments Office. Contact our office for more details.

All of these exemptions may be filed anytime during the assessment year as applicable.

• Owner Occupied General Homestead Exemption: Is an exemption of up to $6,000 off the assessed value of your property. To qualify, you must live in, and own or have a legal interest in, your property as of January 1 of any given year. This is a one-time application and does not need to be renewed annually. For new construction property the exemption may be pro-rated if not receiving elsewhere.

• Home Improvement Exemption: Is available for an added improvement (i.e. new garage, deck, central air, room addition, etc.), not general home maintenance, to an owner-occupied property for up to $25,000 off the increased assessed value for up to four years. This exemption is automatically granted upon certification by the township assessor as to the assessed value and kind of improvement. Contact your Township Assessor to see if you qualify. No application is necessary.

• Improvements to Residential Property Accessibility: Accessibility improvements (including, but not limited to the installation of ramps and grab-bars, widening door-ways, and other changes to enhance the independence of a disabled or elderly individual) made to residential property shall not increase the assessed valuation of the property for a period of 7 years after the improvements are completed.

• Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption: Is an exemption available to all senior citizens, (65 years of age and older) that live in, and own or have a legal interest in, their home. This exemption is $5,000 off the assessed value of the property. You may file for this exemption anytime during the year you turn 65. This is a one-time application and does not need to be renewed annually. This exemption may be pro-rated from the date of occupancy if not receiving elsewhere.

• Senior Citizen Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption: Allows qualified senior citizens to freeze the equalized assessed value of their property for tax purposes. Property taxes will be calculated against the frozen value each qualifying year for the exemption. The frozen value is established at the time of initial application. To qualify, you must be 65 years of age or older, have owned and lived in your home for at least the prior two January firsts, and have a total household income of $75,000 or less. Income includes all taxable income listed on the Federal Tax Return, plus total Social Security (as shown on Form SSA-1099) earned the year prior to application by ALL individuals living in the household. Beginning 2023, if the homeowner is enrolled in any of the following programs, may be presumed to have household income that does not exceed the maximum income limitation, to which, proof of program is required: Aid to the Aged, Blind or Disabled Program (AABD), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or the Benefit Access Program. After the initial application is filed, a renewal application will be mailed and MUST be renewed annually. Senior citizens filing for this exemption are required to bring in their documentation of earnings for verification with their renewal application annually. There is no repayment of saved dollars when the exemption expires.

• Homestead Exemption for Persons’ with Disability: Is an exemption of $2,000 off the assessed value of your property. You must own, and live in, your property January 1 of the current assessment year, and have a qualified disability. Contact our office for required documentation to apply. REQUIRES ANNUAL RENEWAL</U.

• ANNUAL RENEWAL – Homestead Exemption for Persons with Disabilities

• The following is a state program in which senior citizens may participate if certain qualifications are met.
  
  THIS IS NOT AN EXEMPTION. THIS IS A LOAN.
  
  Senior Citizen Real Estate Tax Deferral Program: Provides tax relief to senior citizens with a qualifying household income by allowing them to defer all or part of their property tax and special assessment payments on their principal residences. Deferred amounts are “borrowed” from the State of Illinois, who pays the tax bill. To ensure repayment, a three percent simple interest rate is charged on the deferred amounts and a lien is filed on the property. The three percent interest is charged for each year that the deferred amount is carried. Deferred amounts must be repaid immediately upon the sale or transfer of the property, or within one year of the taxpayer’s death. Please contact the DeKalb County Treasurer’s office for more information at 815-895-7112.Note: For tax years 2022 and prior, interest continues to accrue at a rate of six percent. The three percent interest rate applies to the 2023 tax year and any tax year thereafter.
  
  The Circuit Breaker Program name has been changed to the Benefit Access Program. A Benefit Access Application may be obtained from the website: www.state.il.us/aging.

• Natural Disaster Homestead Exemption: Is on homestead property for a rebuilt residential structure following a natural disaster occurring in the taxable year 2013 (property taxes payable 2014) or any taxable year thereafter. The amount of the exemption is the reduction in EAV of the residence in the first taxable year for which the taxpayer applies for an exemption minus the EAV of the residence for the taxable year prior to the taxable year in which the natural disaster occurred. The exemption continues at the same amount until the taxable year in which the property is sold or transferred. The initial application Form PTAX-327, Application for Natural Disaster Homestead Exemption must be filed with the Chief County Assessment Office no later than July 1 of the first taxable year after the residential structure is rebuilt or the filing date set by your county. The PTAX-327 Form must be filed each year to continue to receive the exemption.

• Disabled Veterans’ Standard Homestead Exemption: Is an exemption that provides an annual reduction in the equalized assessed value (EAV) of a primary residence occupied by a veteran with a service-connected disability, or the veterans qualifying un-remarried, surviving spouse. To qualify, veteran must be an Illinois resident who served as a member of the U.S. Armed forces on active duty or state active duty, Illinois National Guard, or U.S. Reserve Forces, have at least 30 percent service-connected disability certified by the U.S. Dept. of Veterans’ Affairs and receive disability compensation, have been a member of the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, regardless of any disability rating or receipt of disability compensation, AND own and occupy the property as the primary residence during all or a portion of the assessment year or lease and occupy a single-family residence during all or a portion of the assessment year, in which applying, and be liable for the payment of the property taxes to the county. Exemption amount received per service-connected disability rating: 30% – 49% is $2,500; 50% – 69% is $5,000; 70% and above is tax exempt. Contact our office for required documentation to apply. REQUIRES ANNUAL RENEWAL.

• ANNUAL RENEWAL – Homestead Exemption for Veterans with Disabilities

• Returning Veterans’ Homestead Exemption: Is an exemption of $5,000 off the assessed value of your property. You must own and live in your property (or have had the intention of doing so) January 1 of the current assessment year, and have returned home from active duty. The exemption is awarded for the year in which you return home from active duty and the following year. If you did not own a residence January 1 of the year you returned home, but purchased one during that year, you will be awarded the exemption for the year following your return home. Contact our office for required documentation to apply.

• Disabled Veteran Exemption: Is an exemption of up to $100,000 of the assessed value for certain types of housing owned and used by a disabled veteran or his or her un-remarried surviving spouse, in which federal funds have been used for the purchase or construction of specially adapted housing. This exemption is also available on a mobile home owned and used exclusively by a disabled veteran or their spouse. For a single tax year, the property cannot receive this exemption and the Disabled Persons’ Homestead Exemption or Disabled Veterans’ Standard Homestead Exemption. This exemption must be reestablished annually. Contact the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs to determine eligibility for this exemption.

• Leasehold Homestead Exemption – Is an exemption of up to $6000 off of the equalized assessed value of a property where a person(s) holds a legal Leasehold interest and occupancy.

Exemption forms can be submitted by mail, email or in person at the DeKalb County Chief County Assessment Office 110 E. Sycamore St., Sycamore, IL 60178 or emailCCAO@dekalbcounty.org

Effect of Exemptions on a Tax Bill