Senior Exemption vs Senior Freeze

The short answer

The Senior Exemption takes a fixed $8,000 off the equalized assessed value (EAV) of your home. It depends on age, not income, and once it is on your bill it renews by itself, according to the Assessor's Senior Exemption page.

The Senior Freeze (the Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze) holds your home's EAV at a base amount. It has a household income limit and, the Assessor's Senior Freeze page says, you must apply for it every year.

The Assessor says neither one is the dollar amount your bill goes down. Both work on EAV, and your bill is EAV after exemptions times your local tax rate.

Side by side

From the Cook County Assessor's exemption pages and 35 ILCS 200/15-170 and 15-172, checked October 9, 2026.

Senior Exemption: who qualifies and what it is worth

For tax year 2025 the Assessor lists three conditions: you were born in 1960 or earlier, you own the home (or have a lease or contract that makes you responsible for its taxes), and it was your principal residence in 2025. The state law, 35 ILCS 200/15-170, says a person who turns 65 during the year can apply for that year.

The same law sets the amount at $8,000 of EAV for tax years 2023 and later in counties of 3,000,000 or more people, which includes Cook. For tax years 2019 and later in those counties, someone who already has it does not need to reapply.

To turn it into dollars, multiply by your tax rate. Tax code 76001 in the City of Chicago had a 2025 composite rate of 6.853152% in the Cook County Clerk's rate file, so $8,000 of EAV is about $548 a year there (our calculation). Your rate depends on your tax code.

The Assessor also says seniors who receive the Senior Exemption automatically qualify for the Homeowner Exemption and do not apply for it separately. If you move during the year, a prorated Senior Exemption may apply.

Senior Freeze: the income limit

For tax year 2025, the Assessor's page says you qualify if you meet the age rule and your total household income was $65,000 or less in calendar year 2024. You must also have owned and lived in the home as your principal residence on January 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025, and be liable for the 2024 and 2025 taxes.

2026 change. The current text of 35 ILCS 200/15-172, as amended by Public Act 104-452 (effective December 12, 2025), raises the maximum income limitation to $75,000 for tax year 2026, $77,000 for tax year 2027 and $79,000 for tax year 2028 and later. The law defines household income as income for the calendar year before the tax year, so tax year 2026 looks at 2025 income.

As of October 9, 2026, the Assessor's Senior Freeze page still describes the tax year 2025 rules. Check the 2026 application when it opens for the exact limit it uses.

If you were enrolled in 2024 in SNAP, LIHEAP, Aid to the Aged, Blind or Disabled, the Benefit Access Program or the Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program, the Assessor accepts proof of enrollment instead of the income section.

Senior Freeze: what actually gets frozen

Under 15-172, your base year is the year before the first year you qualify and apply. In Cook County the exemption equals your EAV for the current year minus the base amount, which is your base-year EAV plus the first-year EAV of any later improvements that added value.

Two more rules from the same section:

• In counties of 3,000,000 or more, the exemption is never less than $2,000 of EAV.
• If your EAV in a later qualifying year is lower than in the base year, that lower year becomes your new base year. A temporary drop from a temporary irregularity in the property does not count.

The Assessor stresses that the freeze holds EAV, not the bill. Tax rates are set each year and can change, so your bill can still go up or down.

Can you get both?

Yes. The Assessor's exemptions page says most homeowners are eligible for the Senior Freeze if they meet the requirements for the Senior Exemption and the income limit, and its Senior Exemption page points seniors to the Senior Freeze as an additional saving.

So a qualifying senior can have three exemptions on the same bill: Homeowner, Senior and Senior Freeze. Each lowers EAV. The Assessor's property details page shows which ones were applied in each year under Exemption History and Status.

How to apply, renew and check

• Senior Exemption: apply once. The Assessor renews it each year.
• Senior Freeze: apply every year. The Assessor's FAQ says this is done during the normal filing period in spring. If you had it last year, there is a shorter renewal application.

You can apply online through the Assessor's filing site or mail a paper form to 118 North Clark St., Room 320, Chicago, IL 60602. You need your PIN and a photo ID from the Assessor's list (Illinois driver's license or ID, Matrícula Consular or City of Chicago ID) with an occupancy affidavit. If the ID shows another address, the Assessor lists other documents that can be used instead. If you are on the recorded deed, staff can verify that for you. The Senior Freeze also asks for household income for every member of the household.

Exemptions show up on the second installment bill. For tax year 2025, the Assessor says second installment bills were mailed September 1, 2026 and due October 1, 2026. For tax year 2025, the normal filing period has ended and new applications are processed as Certificates of Error.

Missed a year? Certificate of Error

If you qualified but the exemption was not on your bill, the Assessor's Certificate of Error page offers a refund route. It currently lists tax years 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021 for homestead exemptions, including the Senior and Senior Freeze exemptions.

The property must have been eligible in each tax year you claim, and you need a photo ID plus the documents that show eligibility for that year. Because it has to be filed every year, a skipped renewal is the first thing to look for in your exemption history.

If approved, the Treasurer's Office mails a refund check. If the Board of Review already reviewed that year's assessment, the Board must approve the Certificate of Error too. Applications can be denied. See our guide to getting a missed exemption back.

How the exemptions work with an appeal

An appeal and an exemption change different numbers. An appeal asks the Assessor or the Board of Review to lower your assessed value. That value is multiplied by the state equalizer to get EAV, and exemptions come off EAV after that.

• Homeowner and Senior Exemptions are fixed amounts. A lower assessed value still means a lower EAV, and the same fixed amounts still come off it.
• Senior Freeze is different. By our reading of the 15-172 formula, while your current EAV is above your base amount, a lower EAV mostly makes the freeze exemption smaller by the same amount, so your taxable value stays close to the base. An appeal matters most if it brings EAV below your base amount, which then becomes your new base year, or for a year when you may not qualify for the freeze.

The Assessor and the Board of Review calculate the actual amounts. If you are not sure your assessed value is in line with similar homes, you can check your home free. Appeals can fail, and an exemption you are entitled to is often the simpler first step. For dates, see the appeal deadlines by township and our step-by-step appeal guide.