Homeowners can apply for exemptions online
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi announced that property-tax-saving exemptions for the 2021 tax year are now available online in a new, streamlined application. Friday, August 26, 2022, is the deadline for homeowners to apply for the property tax exemptions.
Exemptions are savings that contribute to lowering a homeowner’s property tax bill. The most common is the Homeowner Exemption, which saves a Cook County property owner an average of $973 dollars each year.
“My goal is to ensure that homeowners receive all the money-saving exemptions to which they are entitled,” Assessor Kaegi said. “Homeowners can visit our website to apply online for exemptions they may be eligible to receive or check the status of their auto-renewed exemptions for this year.”
Many exemptions automatically renew this year due to COVID-19. New homeowners and those that need to reapply can do so by completing the online application.
Assessor Kaegi sent notices in April to hundreds of thousands of households notifying them that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Illinois legislature has allowed for the automatic renewal of many exemptions. For most property owners there is no need to reapply. State law requires an audit of auto-renewed exemptions. Any households selected for audit were mailed forms that allow them to re-verify their exemptions online or by mail.
However, if a homeowner is uncertain, they can check the Cook County Portal website, then review the Exemption History and Status section to determine which exemptions they received last year and if they will auto-renew this year.
The following exemptions will automatically renew for homeowners who received them last year (tax year 2020) and remained eligible this year (tax year 2021).
- Homeowner Exemption (annual auto-renewal)
- Senior Exemption (annual auto-renewal)
- Senior Freeze Exemption (2021 auto-renewal)
- Persons with Disabilities Exemption (2021 auto-renewal)
- Veterans with Disabilities Exemption (2021 auto-renewal)
Note: Longtime and Returning Veterans Exemptions will not auto-renew this year. To explain the recent changes and improvements to the exemption application process, the “We continue to expand our outreach efforts so that we can reach homeowners across the county, making them aware of everything they need to know with regards to their exemptions and assessments,” Assessor Kaegi said.
Resources for Homeowners
- Apply for exemptions: cookcountyassessor.com/exemptions
- View guides on exemptions in multiple languages: cookcountyassessor.com/guide- property-tax-savings
- Check to see which exemptions have been applied: cookcountyassessor.com/address- search#address
- Upcoming virtual workshops and assistance: cookcountyassessor.com/event-list
How to contact our office: Phone: (312) 443-7550, Message, Facebook Message.
