Property Tax Freeze for Seniors in Illinois: Eligibility and Filing

The Illinois senior property tax freeze, formally the Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption, locks the equalized assessed value (EAV) of a qualifying senior’s home at a base-year level so future property tax bills are calculated on that older value rather than the home’s rising market valuation. For the 2026 tax year, you qualify if you are 65 or older, owned and lived in the home as your principal residence on January 1 of both 2025 and 2026, are personally liable for the property taxes, and your 2025 household income was $75,000 or less. The income cap rises to $77,000 for 2027 and $79,000 for 2028 and later years.1Illinois General Assembly. 35 ILCS 200/15-172 – Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption

Who Qualifies in 2026

Four conditions have to be true at the same time under 35 ILCS 200/15-172:

The home has to be a permanent structure used as your residence. Vacation homes, rentals, and commercial buildings don’t qualify. The freeze covers only the assessed value; it does not cap the tax rate itself. Local taxing districts still set rates each year based on their budgets, so a rate increase can still raise your bill even while your assessed value stays flat.

What Counts as Household Income

Household income is the combined income of everyone who lives in the home as their principal residence. That means a spouse, an adult child sharing the address, or any other resident, not just the applicant.3Illinois General Assembly. 35 ILCS 200/15-172 – Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption This is where most people either qualify or don’t.

Start with your federal adjusted gross income, then add back items that federal tax rules may exclude:

Several common sources do not count toward the limit, and these exclusions decide the outcome for a lot of borderline applicants:

  • Veterans’ benefits
  • Reverse mortgage payments
  • Cash gifts and inheritances received as lump sums
  • Life insurance proceeds
  • Child support and COBRA subsidy payments
  • IRA rollovers into other retirement accounts, unless rolled into a Roth IRA
  • Federal income tax refunds
  • Energy assistance payments and Foster Grandparent stipends

A senior who received a $15,000 inheritance and $8,000 in VA disability benefits during the year might assume their income is over the cap when neither amount actually counts.2LaSalle County. PTAX-340 2026 Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption Application and Affidavit

How the Freeze Reduces Your Tax Bill

Your base year is the tax year immediately before the first year you qualify and apply.1Illinois General Assembly. 35 ILCS 200/15-172 – Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption If 2026 is your first year of eligibility, your base year EAV is the 2025 figure.

Every year after, the assessor compares your current EAV to the base year figure. The difference is your exemption. Say your base year EAV is $50,000 and the current EAV has climbed to $65,000. You get a $15,000 reduction in assessed value, and your taxes are calculated on $50,000. If the market falls and your current EAV drops below the base year figure, you’re taxed on the lower current value instead.

Home improvements adjust the math. Add a room or build a garage, and the added value gets folded into your base year EAV. The freeze still shelters you from general market appreciation, not from value you added by choice.1Illinois General Assembly. 35 ILCS 200/15-172 – Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption

How to Apply

The application is Form PTAX-340, available from your county assessor’s office or website. It asks for your property index number (PIN), which is on your most recent tax bill, and proof of age such as an Illinois driver’s license, state ID, or birth certificate.2LaSalle County. PTAX-340 2026 Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption Application and Affidavit

Income documentation is the heaviest part. The form walks you through a line-by-line household income calculation, including the add-backs for tax-exempt interest and Social Security. The assessor’s office may request your federal tax return, Social Security benefit statements (Form SSA-1099), bank interest statements, and a recorded deed to verify ownership. You sign the form under penalty of perjury, so the numbers need to match your records.

Submit the completed application to your Chief County Assessment Officer. Most counties accept it by mail, in person, or through an online portal.

Deadlines and Annual Renewal

Filing deadlines are set by each county. Winnebago County, for example, requires the 2026 application by July 1, 2026.4Winnebago County. Property Tax Exemptions – Section: 2026 Updates Page two of the PTAX-340 prints the due date for your county, and your assessor’s office can confirm it.

The freeze is not a one-time filing. You have to submit Form PTAX-340 every year and meet the qualifications for that year to keep receiving the exemption.5Illinois Department of Revenue. Property Tax Relief – Homestead Exemptions, PTELL, and Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program Most offices mail a renewal to approved homeowners, but relying on that and then setting it aside is how the exemption gets lost. Miss the deadline and you lose the freeze for that tax cycle.

What Happens When the Owner Dies

If the qualifying homeowner dies during the tax year, the property still gets the freeze for that year as long as the owner was alive and living in the home on January 1.6Cook County Assessor’s Office. Low-Income Senior Freeze Exemption

A surviving spouse who is 65 or older can apply in their own name the following year if they meet the standard requirements. If the qualifying spouse died during 2026, the surviving spouse may still be eligible for that year even if not yet 65, by applying on behalf of the deceased homeowner with a copy of the death certificate.2LaSalle County. PTAX-340 2026 Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption Application and Affidavit Other heirs who inherit the home but don’t meet age and income rules will not qualify, and the property returns to its current market-based EAV.

Penalties for Claiming the Freeze Incorrectly

PTAX-340 is signed under penalty of perjury. Knowingly misstating income or residency to receive the exemption can carry criminal liability.

On the financial side, counties that opt in to enforcement can look back three years to recover taxes owed from one or two erroneous exemptions. If more than two fraudulent exemptions were claimed, the lookback extends to six years. If the homeowner doesn’t pay within 30 days of being billed, the county can place a lien on the property for the amount owed.

Other Senior Programs That Stack With the Freeze

Qualifying for the freeze does not disqualify you from either of the other two main senior property tax programs.

Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption

A flat reduction in EAV for any homeowner 65 or older, with no income test. The reduction is $8,000 in Cook County and the counties that border it, and $5,000 elsewhere in Illinois.7Illinois General Assembly. 35 ILCS 200/15-170 – Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption Seniors over the freeze income cap can still claim it. Apply through the same county assessor’s office.

Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program

The deferral works like a low-interest state loan: Illinois pays all or part of your property tax bill, and you repay the deferred amount plus 3% simple interest when you sell the home or after death. The maximum deferral is $7,500 per year, and the total deferred balance including interest and lien fees cannot exceed 80% of your equity in the property.8Illinois Department of Revenue. Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program (PIO-64)

For 2026, the household income cap for the deferral program is $77,000. The application window runs January 1 through March 1 each year, earlier than the freeze deadline. A surviving spouse who is at least 55 can continue the deferral within six months of the taxpayer’s death. Otherwise, the deferred amount is due when the property is sold or transferred, or within one year of the owner’s death.8Illinois Department of Revenue. Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program (PIO-64)