6 Senior Freeze Requirements Illinois Homeowners Have to Meet Every Single Year

Property tax bills don’t get easier to open as the years go by.

For older Illinois homeowners, the senior freeze can help, but only if you keep up with it.

Here’s what you’ll need to meet each year to keep the break.

Note: This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Assessment rules and exemption amounts are subject to change, so confirm the current details with your county assessment office.

1. Annual Application

The senior freeze depends on an application you file every year.

The Illinois Department of Revenue says applicants must file Form PTAX-340, the application and affidavit, with the chief county assessment office each year.

Cook County’s assessor answers the auto-renewal question with a no, and Rock Island County says the exemption must be renewed annually.

Your home’s equalized assessed value doesn’t increase as long as your qualification for the exemption continues.

DuPage County’s assessor mails renewal applications to seniors with an approved freeze on their current bill.

Winnebago County sends renewal forms to properties that currently receive the exemption, while Effingham County mails them to everyone who applied or renewed the year before.

A mailed form still has to come back.

2. Illinois Senior Freeze Income Limit

The senior freeze income limit was $65,000 for assessment year 2025, according to Lake County’s assessor.

Public Act 104-0452 raised the cap.

The Department of Revenue lists $75,000 for 2026, $77,000 for 2027 and $79,000 for 2028 and after.

Winnebago County’s assessor defines household income as the combined income of you, your spouse and everyone using your home as their primary residence on January 1.

That includes a spouse who lives elsewhere.

Edgar County’s assessor says household income means the combined income for the calendar year before the taxable year.

So each application is measured against the year before it.

3. January 1 Occupancy

The senior freeze tests your home on January 1.

Winnebago County’s assessor says you must have owned and occupied the property as your primary residence on January 1 of both the application year and the year before.

Rock Island County calls it two consecutive years.

Lake County’s assessor words it as owning and living in the home as your principal residence on Jan. 1 of the past two years.

Each filing tests two Januarys.

4. Sworn Affidavit

The senior freeze comes with an affidavit you sign every year.

Form PTAX-340 says you must file it every year and meet that year's qualifications to continue receiving the exemption.

In it, you swear that you're liable for paying the property taxes on your home.

DuPage County's assessor lists the same liability as a requirement.

For tax year 2025, Cook County's assessor listed liability for the 2024 and 2025 property taxes.

You also swear that your reported household income includes your spouse and everyone living in your household.

The age line works the same way, with you stating that you are or will be 65 in the year you file.

5. Proof of Income

In Lake County, proof of your income goes in with the application.

The county's assessor tells you to apply each year and to submit proof of income when filing.

The example it gives is a tax return from the year before the one you're filing for.

Certification of enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program can stand in for that return.

6. County Filing Deadline

Your county sets the senior freeze deadline: DuPage County's assessor sets October 1 each year, while Rock Island County's is July 1 of each year.

You'd file three months earlier in Rock Island County than in DuPage County.

What Gets Frozen

The senior freeze, formally the Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption, locks your home's equalized assessed value (EAV) in place.

DuPage County's assessor describes the exemption as freezing the taxable assessed value of your property.

Lake County's assessor calls it neither a tax freeze nor a tax reduction.

Your bill can still rise when tax rates rise.

The base value is set the first year you qualify.

The base value starts at the assessed value from the prior year's tax calculation.

If that assessment looks too high, property tax appeals are a separate route.

Say your base value is $100,000 and the county later assesses your home at $130,000.

The exemption covers that $30,000 gap, which keeps your taxable value at $100,000.

You have to establish your age, ownership and residency by applying for the Senior Homestead Exemption.

Rock Island County's list also says you must have signed up for it.

That base-year setup can potentially provide increased savings each year you're eligible.

DuPage County's assessor adds that neither the Senior Homestead Exemption nor the freeze requires you to repay the tax savings.

Recovering a Missed Year

Cook County's assessor has a Certificate of Error route for senior freeze years that went unclaimed.

If your home qualified for 2021, 2022 or 2023 and the exemption never reached your bill, the office can help you get a refund.

For tax year 2025, the normal filing period has ended and applications are now processed as Certificates of Error.

FAQ

The senior freeze answers below come from the Illinois Department of Revenue or a county assessor's page.

What Is the Illinois Senior Freeze Income Limit?

The limit follows a schedule: $75,000 for tax year 2026, $77,000 for 2027 and $79,000 for 2028 and after.

That comes from the Illinois Department of Revenue.

Does the Illinois Senior Freeze Renew Automatically?

No. The Illinois Department of Revenue says applicants must file Form PTAX-340 each year.

Some counties mail a renewal form to prior applicants.

How Old Do You Have to Be for the Illinois Senior Freeze?

You have to be at least 65, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.

Rock Island County says you must reach 65 during the assessment year.

Does the Senior Freeze Lock Your Property Tax Bill?