Reboletti Advocates for Senior Property Tax Relief
March 20. 2008

Springfield …To ensure that seniors are not forced from their homes due to soaring property tax bills, State Representative Dennis Reboletti (R-Elmhurst) is co-sponsoring legislation which would provide property tax relief for senior and disabled citizens.

“One of my top priorities is to advocate for property tax relief for all residents,” said Representative Reboletti. “You have retired seniors who are living on a fixed income and are paying more every year in property taxes. It’s completely unfathomable to force seniors to move out of a home they have lived in for 20 or 30 years because they can’t afford their property taxes. This legislation is at least the first step in solving this major crisis.”

The senior citizen assessment freeze currently freezes the equalized assessed value of your property – meaning, if your property was assessed at $100,000, the boom in the housing market would not increase your home’s assessment. To be eligible for this program, one must be 65 years of age, have a household income of $55,000 or less, use the property as the primary residence and have paid the taxes in the prior two tax years.

House Bill 4916 would change the following eligibility requirements for the senior citizen assessment freeze:

• Raise the maximum income limitation from $55,000 to $75,000 for homeowners who have lived in their homes for five or more years.
• Decrease the age eligibility to 55 years for the Senior Citizen Assessment Freeze.
• Exclude social security income when determining eligibility for the Senior Citizen Assessment Freeze.

Additional property tax relief measures include:

• Increase the Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption from $4000 to $5500.
• Grant disabled homeowners the opportunity to receive the Senior Citizen Assessment Freeze.

“My hope is that the legislature passes this legislation and we start the process of finding responsible solutions to our soaring property tax bills,” said Reboletti.

To learn more about HB 4916 and other pieces of property tax relief legislation, feel free to join Representative Reboletti at his legislative property tax forum starting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25th. The forum will take place at the Village of Addison – Council Chambers.

Additional questions can be directed to Reboletti’s office at (630) 530-2730.

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