Cook County Senior Exemption: Eligibility, Documents, and Filing

The Cook County Senior Exemption lowers a qualifying homeowner’s equalized assessed value (EAV) by up to $8,000, which reduces the yearly property tax bill.¹ To qualify for tax year 2025, you need to have been born in 1960 or earlier, own and live in the home, and be responsible for its taxes. You apply once through the Cook County Assessor’s Office, and the exemption renews automatically every year after approval.

What the Exemption Is Worth

The $8,000 is a reduction in assessed value, not a reduction in your tax bill. The actual dollar savings depend on the composite tax rate where your home sits. At a 10% local rate, an $8,000 EAV reduction trims roughly $800 off the yearly bill. In parts of Cook County with higher rates, the savings run higher.²

Who Qualifies

You must meet all of these conditions during the tax year you’re applying for:²

You turn 65 or older at some point during that tax year. You can apply in the year you turn 65, not just afterward.
You are an owner of record or hold a legal or equitable interest in the property. Properties held in trust qualify as long as you are a beneficiary of the trust.
The property is your principal residence. Vacation homes and rentals don’t count.
You are liable for paying the property taxes on the home.

Single-family homes, condominiums, and cooperative apartments are all eligible property types.²

Documents to Have Ready

The Assessor’s Office asks for proof of two things: identity and occupancy, and tax liability.¹

Identity and Occupancy

The easiest route is a photo ID whose address already matches the property. Accepted photo IDs include an Illinois Driver’s License or State ID, a Matrícula Consular ID, or a City of Chicago ID card. If the address matches, that one document covers both identity and occupancy. The online application has a built-in Occupancy Affidavit for you to sign.¹

If the address on your photo ID doesn’t match the property, you need two additional items. One is a document from the broader photo ID list (which adds passports, permanent resident cards, and similar federal IDs) proving identity and date of birth. The other is a separate document showing you lived at the property during the tax year: a bank statement, a utility or internet bill, a pay stub, a Social Security award letter, or a 2025 voting record from the Cook County Clerk’s office all work.¹

Tax Liability

If your name is on the recorded deed at the Cook County Clerk’s Office, the Assessor’s staff verifies that internally and you don’t submit anything extra. If your name isn’t on the recorded deed, provide a document showing you’re responsible for the taxes: an unrecorded deed, a contract for deed, a lease, a trust agreement, a stock certificate for co-ops, or an occupancy agreement.¹

Your Property Index Number

Every Cook County property has a 14-digit Property Index Number (PIN) that appears on the application. You can find your PIN on your tax bill, your deed, your property closing documents, or any assessment notice from the Assessor’s Office.³ If none of those are handy, look it up by address at the Cook County Property Tax Portal.⁴

How to File

The filing period for tax year 2025 exemptions opened on March 9, 2026.⁵ The Assessor’s Office accepts applications three ways.

Online through the Assessor’s filing portal, where you upload documents and track your application status. This is the fastest option.¹
By mail to 118 North Clark St., Room 320, Chicago, IL 60602. Certified mail gives you a delivery receipt.
In person at the downtown Chicago office or at branch offices in Skokie (5600 W. Old Orchard Rd., Room 149), Bridgeview (10200 S. 76th Ave., Room 237), or Markham (16501 S. Kedzie Ave., Room 237). Township assessor offices outside Chicago may also offer help.⁶

Paper forms are available for download on the Cook County Assessor’s website in English, Spanish, and Polish.¹

Once your application is approved, the exemption appears on your second-installment property tax bill. If that bill has already gone out, you’ll get an adjusted bill reflecting the reduction.¹

Automatic Renewal, and When It Stops

Under a 2019 change in Illinois law (HB 833), the Senior Exemption renews automatically after your first approval. You don’t refile each year. If the exemption appeared on your second-installment bill, it carries forward to the next year on its own.⁷

Automatic renewal can stop when something about the property changes. A deed transfer, a change in ownership structure, or moving the property into a different trust will likely require you to reapply and submit fresh documentation. If the home is no longer your principal residence, the exemption no longer applies.

If You Missed Earlier Years

If you were eligible in past years but didn’t apply, you can recover the missed savings through a Certificate of Error. The Assessor’s Office currently allows corrections going back to tax years 2021 through 2024.⁸ Each year requires its own request, so four missed years means four separate applications.⁹

The math is worth the paperwork. At a 10% tax rate, four years of missed $8,000 EAV reductions comes to roughly $3,200. The application is on the Assessor’s website. Once the Certificate of Error is processed and approved, the Cook County Treasurer issues a refund for the overpaid taxes.

A Separate Program You May Also Qualify For

The Senior Exemption is often confused with the Senior Freeze Exemption, and many Cook County seniors qualify for both. They work differently and stack.

The Senior Freeze doesn’t take a dollar amount off your EAV. It locks the EAV at the level it was the year you first qualified, so later assessment increases don’t raise your tax bill. Your taxes can still go up from higher tax rates or home improvements, but the assessed value portion stays frozen.¹⁰

Eligibility is tighter:

65 or older during the tax year.
Total household income for the prior calendar year at or below the statutory maximum, which for tax year 2026 is $75,000.¹¹
Owned and occupied the home as of January 1 of the tax year.¹⁰

Unlike the Senior Exemption, the Senior Freeze does not auto-renew. You reapply every year and verify your income each time.⁵ Enrollment in SNAP, LIHEAP, or the Benefit Access Program can serve as automatic proof that your income falls below the threshold, which saves you from having to document income separately.¹¹

If You Pay Through a Mortgage Escrow

When your mortgage servicer collects property taxes monthly through escrow, the exemption won’t put money in your hand right away. The reduction shows up when the actual tax bill comes in lower than what was escrowed, which creates a surplus in your escrow account.

Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, your servicer runs an annual escrow analysis. If that analysis finds a surplus of $50 or more, the servicer must refund it to you within 30 days. Surpluses under $50 can be credited toward the following year instead.¹²

Your monthly mortgage payment should also drop after the next escrow analysis, because the servicer now projects a lower annual tax obligation. If no refund arrives and your payment doesn’t change after the exemption hits your bill, call your servicer and ask for an escrow reanalysis. You don’t have to wait for the next scheduled review.

1
Cook County Assessor’s Office. Senior Exemption
2
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 35 ILCS 200/15-170 – Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption
3
Cook County Assessor’s Office. Where Do I Find My PIN
4
Cook County Property Tax Portal. Cook County Property Tax Portal
5
Cook County Assessor’s Office. Low-Income Senior Freeze Exemption
6
Cook County. Assessor
7
Cook County Assessor. I Received the Senior Exemption on My Tax Bill Last Year Do I Have to Reapply for the Senior Exemption This Year
8
Cook County Assessor’s Office. Certificates of Error
9
Cook County Assessor. What Is a Certificate of Error and How Can I Apply for One
10
Cook County Treasurer’s Office. Senior Citizen Assessment Freeze Exemption
11
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 35 ILCS 200/15-172 – Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption
12
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Escrow Accounts