Taxpayers all across Illinois are under siege. While Cook County and Chicago are certainly grabbing headlines with a property tax catastrophe, the entire state now has the highest property taxes in the nation. With legislative solutions seemingly going nowhere, the people of Illinois are facing an uphill battle. There have been some victories, however, including a federal court ruling that property tax sales in Cook County are unconstitutional, and taxpayers are learning to defend themselves using property tax appeals.
One group of taxpayers that received a significant boost at the close of 2025 was seniors, who saw a recent expansion of property tax protections signed into law by the governor. Senate Bill 642 represents some of the first property tax relief achieved legislatively in some time. These legal changes will allow more seniors the opportunity to stay in their homes, providing protection that can last a lifetime. In this article, we will provide a quick overview of senior property tax benefits and how the new law will allow you to secure your property. To qualify for senior benefits, you must be 65 or older by June 1, 2026.
What SB 642 Does
In essence, SB 642 allows a larger base of seniors to participate in existing property tax breaks, while also strengthening them. Starting in 2026, if you qualify, you can begin to benefit from these changes right away, so it is important to sign up as soon as possible. While the standard senior homestead exemption has not changed, most other protections have been enhanced. The Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption (or senior tax freeze) and Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Act both saw their income caps greatly expanded, which will continue to grow in the future. In addition, a payment plan for property taxes was approved, which could be a gamechanger if you are struggling with large bills. As before, these protections currently work for homeowners 65 or older.
The Senior Tax Freeze
Despite its name, the senior tax freeze does not freeze your taxes, but rather your assessed value. Since tax bills are predicated on the value of your home, when it rises in value, your taxes tend to do so as well. Property values in Illinois have been shooting up in general and Cook County in particular. With every assessment raising the value of your home, the senior freeze is vital to protecting your home. The freeze locks in the appraised value of your home to the year that you applied for it. This means that your home will stay at this value for the rest of your life, protecting you from skyrocketing increases, even in the hottest of housing markets. Only rent-controlled apartments in New York City are a better deal when it comes to keeping a home affordable.
There have always been stringent restrictions on who can qualify for this excellent exemption, an issue that the new law addresses. The toughest to meet was the income cap of $65,000. This had not kept up with inflation and was preventing many seniors from obtaining or retaining the exemption. The new law expanded this to $75,000 in 2026, but will continue to grow, reaching $77,000 in 2027 and $79,000 in 2028. This should greatly expand eligibility for more seniors across the state. It can also be combined with the senior homestead exemption to further amplify the savings.
Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Act
Property tax deferment has been around for a while and offers excellent protection as well. This allows you to defer your property taxes to a later date, usually when you sell your home, or when it passes to your heirs. This means that you will pay reduced taxes as long as you stay in your home, possibly no taxes at all. You can defer up to $7,500 per year in taxes, up to 80% of your home’s equity, whichever is lower. Like the senior freeze, tax deferrals will see an expanded income cap. This change mirrors that of the freeze, starting with $75,000 in 2026 and going up to $79,000 in 2028. You can benefit from the senior homestead exemption and the freeze while deferring taxes. You must keep valid insurance and have no delinquent taxes to enter the program.
Property Tax Payment Plans
The final advantage added by SB 642 is the possible addition of payment plans for delinquent taxes, which will break up taxes into more manageable payments. The new law allows townships to set up payment plans, though it does not require it, so you will want to check with your local assessor. Under this plan, you can pay back delinquent taxes at a lower interest rate, only 0.75%, which is half the typical interest rate. A similar payment plan has been opened to all homeowners in Cook County, with no age requirements. This offers seniors yet another way to stay in their homes and preserve them for future generations.
Property Tax Appeals Can Augment These Changes
While it is nice for taxpayers to finally see some legislative relief, you can still build upon these reductions by using property tax appeals. If you do not qualify for these programs, then you can use appeals to enhance your senior homestead exemption, lowering your taxable value. Appeals pair well with exemptions of any kind, and can grant you bonus savings every year as long as they are successful. With homes being overvalued every assessment cycle, deploying appeals is vital to ensuring you are only being taxed on what your home is worth, nothing more.
O’Connor is Here to Help
Whether you qualify under the new rules or not, we at O’Connor can help you deal with increasing taxes and values. We can analyze your assessment and look for any missed exemptions or errors that are costing you money by inflating your assessed value. For over 50 years, we have helped property owners with our analysis and information gathering. We also excel at finding evidence for appeals. The evidence required by the Board of Review (BOR) is quite strict and often requires in-depth information on comparable homes or home sales.
Illinois law requires that an attorney represents you at appeal hearings. We will engage with qualified attorneys to coordinate your appeal. We will provide you and your legal team with all of the evidence and analysis required . With this evidence on your side, you and your attorney will be equipped to get the best possible reduction. There is no upfront cost to you, and you will only pay for this evidence and analysis if you are able to lower your taxes. There is no risk to appealing, while there is much to gain. This is especially true if you do not qualify for one or more of the new protections. We will analyze your assessment every year, ensuring that you never miss a deadline or fail to use an exemption.
