Cook County Senior Homeowners Beware!

Up until now, in most situations, senior citizens who received a senior citizen’s exemption on their real estate taxed continued to receive it annually. However, a new law signed last week changes that. Effective fall of 2011, the senior citizen’s exemption in Cook County will not renew automatically. Rather, seniors age 65 and older will have to reapply on an annual basis.

How do you apply for the senior exemption? You should receive your application in the mail, which you will have to complete and send back to the Cook County Assessor along with copies of your driver’s license and property tax bill. If, for some reason, you do not receive the form in the mail, you will have to contact the Cook County Assessor’s office to request a copy of the form.

Approximately 280,000 seniors will be affected by this change. Last year, the savings received by seniors for the senior exemption ranged from approximately $150 to $850. If you are eligible for the senior exemption, make sure you remember to apply for it, or you could face higher tax bills in the years to come!