The Longtime Occupant Homeowner Exemption enables property owners to receive an expanded Homeowner Exemption with no maximum exemption amount. Of the 1.5 million residential properties in Cook County, fewer than two percent qualified for the Longtime Occupant Homeowner Exemption last year. This is due to the way the state legislature wrote the provision and the requirements they put in place in order to qualify.
The Cook County Assessor's Office automatically detects which properties qualify based on assessment increases. Simply put, would-be savings from the Longtime Occupant Homeowner Exemption would have to exceed the savings from the standard Homeowner Exemption. This does not happen for more than 98% of residences in Cook County.
? Reminder: Exemptions appear on your second installment tax bill issued in the summer. To learn more about how the property tax system works, click here.