Property owners throughout Cook County should be receiving the 2015 Homeowner’s Exemption Booklet in their mailboxes this week.  The mailing includes an application for the the three most common Cook County property tax exemptions: the Homeowner Exemption, Senior Homeowner Exemption, and the Senior Freeze Exemption.  (Property owners seeking to obtain a Disabled Persons Exemption, Disabled Veterans Exemption, or Returning Veterans Exemption will need to access the Assessor’s website separately and those seeking a Home Improvement Exemption need to call the Assessor at 312-443-7550.)  The applications must be completed and returned to the Cook County Assessor on or before March 16, 2016.

The “booklet” consists of four pages. The first is a letter from the Assessor explaining the booklet and warning property owners of the dangers (back tax liens, penalties, and interest) of claiming an exemption that should not apply (like failing to report a homeowner’s death or a change in the owner of the property).  The booklet continues with instructions for how to fill out the Senior Freeze Exemption portion of the application.  Finally, the booklet contains the two page application which deal with the three exemptions.

This is the first of two pages of the 2015 exemption application