Cook County exemptions: what you may be missing

How an exemption saves you money

Most Cook County exemptions take a fixed amount off your home's equalized assessed value (EAV). EAV is the partial value your local tax rate is applied to. The Assessor's Office stresses that the exemption amount is not the dollar amount your bill goes down.

To estimate the dollar effect, multiply the exemption by your tax rate. For example, tax code 76001 in the City of Chicago had a 2025 composite rate of 6.853152% in the Cook County Clerk's 2025 rate file.

At that rate, $10,000 of EAV off is about $685 a year (our calculation). Rates vary by tax code, so your number will differ.

Exemptions show up on the second installment tax bill, according to the Assessor's exemption pages.

The exemptions at a glance

Amounts and renewal rules from the Cook County Assessor's exemption pages, checked October 2026.

Homeowner Exemption

Most owners qualify if they own the home (or are responsible for its taxes under a lease or contract) and live there as their principal residence on January 1 of the tax year. It reduces EAV by $10,000.

Once applied, it renews automatically as long as your residency stays the same. If you bought a newly built home that was not ready until after January 1, the exemption may be prorated.

If you sold, moved or rent the home out, the Assessor has an Exemption Removal Waiver to opt out.

Senior Exemption

For tax year 2025, you qualify if you were born in 1960 or earlier and own and occupy the home as your principal residence. It reduces EAV by $8,000, on top of the Homeowner Exemption.

You apply once and it renews automatically. The Assessor notes that seniors receiving the Senior Exemption automatically qualify for the Homeowner Exemption and do not need to apply for it separately.

Senior Freeze (Low-Income Senior Assessment Freeze)

This one is for seniors who meet the Senior Exemption rules and had a total household income of $65,000 or less. For tax year 2025, the income year is calendar 2024.

It freezes your home's EAV at a base amount. It does not freeze your bill: tax rates can still change each year. Under the state law (35 ILCS 200/15-172), in Cook County the exemption is at least $2,000 of EAV.

• You must apply every year. If you had it last year, the Assessor offers a shorter renewal application.
• If you were enrolled in 2024 in programs such as SNAP, LIHEAP, AABD, the Benefit Access Program or the Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program, you can show proof of enrollment instead of completing the income section.

Because it needs a new filing every year, it is easy to miss a year of the Senior Freeze.

Persons with Disabilities Exemption

This exemption reduces EAV by $2,000 each year. You must be disabled (or have become disabled during the tax year), live in the home as your principal residence on January 1, and be liable for its taxes.

Accepted proof includes a Class 2 Disabled Person Illinois ID card, a Social Security disability award or verification letter, or certain VA, railroad, civil service or pension proof. If you have none of these, the IDOR Form PTAX 343-A physician's statement can be used.

Thanks to new state legislation, people who received it last year are renewed automatically. It cannot be combined with the Veterans with Disabilities Exemption.

Veterans with Disabilities Exemption

For veterans with a service-connected disability of at least 30% certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, who own and live in the home. The EAV reduction depends on the rating:

• 30–49%: $2,500
• 50–69%: $5,000
• 70% or more: $250,000, which the Assessor says can make the home totally exempt

Most applicants must reapply every year. Veterans rated 100% and "permanently and totally disabled" by the VA are now renewed automatically. A non-remarried surviving spouse may also qualify, and starting in tax year 2023 that includes a spouse of a veteran who never claimed it.

In a two-to-six unit building, the exemption only applies to the unit you live in, not units rented for more than six months. It cannot be combined with the Persons with Disabilities or Returning Veterans exemptions.

Returning Veterans Exemption

Illinois residents who served in the U.S. Armed Forces, Illinois National Guard or Reserves and returned from active duty in an armed conflict can get $5,000 off EAV, but only for the tax year in which they returned.

It must be filed for that year. You will need a certified DD Form 214, or military orders and a travel voucher if you are still on active duty.

Longtime Homeowner and Home Improvement

Longtime Homeowner. This expands the Homeowner Exemption with no maximum amount, but the Assessor says only about 11,000 properties qualified, fewer than 2% of homeowners.

You need 10 years of ownership and occupancy, household income of $100,000 or less, and large yearly EAV increases: 7% a year if income is $75,000 or less, 10% a year if it is $75,001 to $100,000. The increases do not have to be consecutive.

The Assessor mails applications to properties it identifies. For 2026, it says these were mailed in April and due May 15, 2026, with later ones processed as a Certificate of Error. If you think you qualify but got nothing, the Assessor asks you to call 312-443-7550.

Home Improvement. If you add value to a class 2 home you live in, for example by adding square footage, up to $75,000 of the added value is not taxed for up to four years.

There is no application: the Assessor applies it after a field check of your building permit. Routine maintenance such as a new roof, furnace or kitchen cabinets does not count.

How to check what you are getting

1. Find your property on the Assessor's address search.
2. Open the property details and look at the Exemption History and Status section for each year.
3. Compare it with your second installment bill, which lists the exemptions applied.

If an exemption you qualified for is missing, the normal filing period for tax year 2025 has ended. The Assessor now processes those applications as Certificates of Error, and its pages currently list tax years 2025 through 2021 for most homestead exemptions. See our guide to getting a missed exemption back.

What to have ready when you apply

• Your PIN, the 14-digit property number on your bill or assessment notice.
• A photo ID showing the property address, such as an Illinois driver's license or ID, a Matrícula Consular, or a City of Chicago ID. If the address does not match, you need another ID plus a document like a bank statement or utility bill showing you lived there that year.
• Proof you are liable for the taxes. If you are on the recorded deed, the Assessor can verify that for you. Otherwise, a deed, contract, trust agreement or similar document.
• Extra proof for some exemptions: income for the Senior Freeze, disability proof, or VA letters and a DD Form 214 for veterans.

You file yourself, through the Assessor's online filing system or by paper form mailed to 118 North Clark St., Room 320, Chicago, IL 60602.

Exemptions are not the same as an appeal

An exemption reduces EAV after your home is valued. An appeal asks whether the value itself is right. You can do both, and a correct value plus every exemption you qualify for is what keeps your share of the bill fair.

If you are not sure your assessment is in line with similar homes nearby, you can check your home free. Appeals can fail, and an exemption you are entitled to is often the simpler first step. For deadlines by township, see the appeal deadlines page.