Cook County Senior Freeze: Eligibility, Income Limits, and Filing

The Cook County Senior Freeze is a homestead exemption that locks the equalized assessed value (EAV) of your home at a base-year level, so rising assessments stop pushing up your property tax bill. To qualify for tax year 2026, you must be 65 or older, use the property as your primary residence, and have total household income of $75,000 or less. You apply through the Cook County Assessor’s Office using Form PTAX-340, and you have to reapply every year.

What the Freeze Actually Does

The base year is typically the year before you first qualify and apply. If you first apply for tax year 2026, your home’s EAV gets frozen at its 2025 level. Each year you renew, the county compares your current EAV to the base-year EAV, and the exemption equals the difference. In Cook County you receive the greater of that difference or $2,000, so even in a flat assessment year you still get a meaningful reduction.¹

Freezing your EAV does not freeze your tax bill. Your bill is your EAV (after exemptions) multiplied by the combined rate of every taxing district that covers your property: schools, the county, park districts, and others. If those districts raise their levies, your bill can still go up. What the freeze removes is the assessment side of that equation, which is often the biggest driver of year-over-year increases.

One thing the freeze does not cover: if you add an improvement like a new room or finished basement, the added value from that construction gets included in your assessment on top of the frozen base-year amount.²

Who Qualifies

Illinois law sets five conditions, and you must meet all of them every year you apply.

You must be 65 or older during the tax year for which you’re applying.²
You must own the property or hold a legal or equitable interest, such as through a trust, contract for deed, or lease of a single-family home.³
The home must be your principal residence, and you must have lived there on January 1 of both the current tax year and the preceding year.²
You must be responsible for paying the property taxes on the home.
Your total household income for the calendar year before the tax year cannot exceed $75,000 for tax year 2026 (payable in 2027). The threshold rises to $77,000 for tax year 2027 and $79,000 for 2028 and beyond.⁴

Property held in a living trust still qualifies. When you apply, provide the trust agreement as proof of your equitable interest rather than a recorded deed.³

What Counts as Household Income

This is where more applicants trip up than anywhere else. “Household income” means the combined income of every person who lived in the home during the calendar year before the tax year, not just the homeowner’s income. If your adult child or anyone else lives with you, their earnings count toward the limit.²

The calculation starts with the adjusted gross income from everyone’s federal tax return and adds back non-taxable income that doesn’t appear on the return: the non-taxable portion of Social Security benefits, tax-exempt interest from municipal bonds, and certain retirement distributions. Veterans’ benefits are not counted.⁵

For tax year 2026, you’re reporting 2025 household income against the $75,000 limit. If you’re close to the threshold, look at whether a household member’s seasonal job, pension distribution, or investment income might push the total over.

How to Apply

You apply through the Cook County Assessor’s Office using Form PTAX-340, either online or on paper. There are separate tracks for first-time applicants and for returning participants renewing from a prior year.³ The online portal gives you immediate confirmation that the office received your application. Paper applications go to the Cook County Assessor’s Office at 118 N. Clark Street, Room 320, Chicago, IL 60602.⁶

Documents You’ll Need

Proof of identity, age, and occupancy comes first: an Illinois driver’s license or state ID showing your name, date of birth, and the property address. A Matrícula Consular ID or City of Chicago ID also works. If the address on your photo ID doesn’t match the property, you’ll need a second form of ID plus an occupancy document like a bank statement, utility bill, or Social Security award letter from the relevant year.³

For proof of property tax liability, Assessor’s staff can verify your name on the recorded deed through the Cook County Clerk’s Office. If you’re not on the recorded deed, bring a trust agreement, contract for deed, lease, or stock certificate (for co-op owners).³

For income verification, you’ll generally need federal tax returns or Social Security statements for every household member. If anyone in the home was enrolled in certain government assistance programs during the preceding year, proof of that enrollment can substitute for detailed income documentation.

Filing Deadline and Annual Renewal

The exemption does not auto-renew. You must file every single year and show you still meet the income, age, and residency requirements for that year.³ The Assessor’s Office typically mails renewal forms early in the year, but receiving the form is a prompt to act, not a guarantee of continued enrollment.

For tax year 2025 (property taxes payable in 2026), the filing period opens March 9, 2026.³ Cook County sets its own filing window each year rather than following the July 1 deadline used in smaller Illinois counties, so watch for Assessor’s announcements or check the website for the closing date.

Missing the deadline is unforgiving. If you don’t file in time, your property reverts to its current market-level assessment for that tax year. You lose the frozen base-year value for that cycle, which can mean hundreds or thousands of dollars in higher taxes on a single bill. You can reapply the following year, but you won’t recover the savings you missed.

When a Qualifying Homeowner Dies

The freeze doesn’t automatically end when the qualifying homeowner dies, and it doesn’t automatically continue either. A surviving spouse or child may receive the exemption for the tax year in which the homeowner died, as long as the homeowner was alive and living in the home on January 1 of that year.³

The surviving family member signs the deceased homeowner’s name on the application, notes “deceased” in parentheses, and writes their own name underneath. They also complete an Affidavit of Person Claiming Senior Citizens Freeze Exemption Due to a Deceased Taxpayer, provide a copy of the death certificate, and submit copies of both the deceased’s and their own photo ID. If the property was held in trust, successor trustee documentation is also required.³

Going forward, the surviving family member must independently qualify in their own right, meeting the age, income, residency, and ownership requirements. If the property passes to an heir who doesn’t meet those criteria, the frozen assessment ends.

Other Senior Tax Programs You Can Combine

The Senior Freeze can be stacked with other Cook County programs. The Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption is separate from the freeze and reduces your EAV by a fixed amount regardless of income. Combined with the general Homeowner Exemption, it can save up to roughly $750 per year.⁷

Seniors who still struggle with the remaining bill may qualify for the Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program. It works like a loan from the state: you can defer up to $5,000 of your annual property taxes, which the state pays on your behalf. The deferred amount accrues 6% annual interest and becomes due when the home is sold or the taxpayer dies. The household income limit for the deferral program is $55,000. To apply, contact the Cook County Treasurer’s Office at 312-443-5100.⁷

1
Cook County Assessor’s Office. Senior Freeze General Information
2
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 35 ILCS 200/15-172 – Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption
3
Cook County Assessor’s Office. Low-Income Senior Freeze Exemption
4
Illinois Department of Revenue. Property Tax Relief – Exemption Information
5
Findlaw. Illinois Statutes Chapter 35 Revenue 200/15-172
6
Cook County Assessor’s Office. Assessor’s Office Locations
7
Cook County Treasurer. Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption