Evanston homeowners age 65 or over have until Feb. 5 to submit applications for senior citizen property tax exemptions.
Residents who’ve received the exemptions before should have received renewal applications in the mail within the past few days.
If you haven’t received them, or turned 65 last year and are newly eligible for one or both of the exemptions, you can download forms from the Cook County Assessor’s office website.
Evanston Township Assessor Bonnie Wilson says the county offers two different types of exemptions for seniors.
- What’s called the senior exemption is available to all seniors regardless of income. It reduces property taxes, Wilson says, by about $550.
- The senior freeze provides seniors with additional savings if the combined income of all members of the household is less than $55,000.
Only one owner of the property has to be 65 or older for the property to qualify for the exemptions. The exemptions are only available for owner-occupied property and residents can qualify for an exemption on only one property.
The township assessor’s office in the Civic Center offers Evanston residents help in filling out exemption forms. For information, call 847-448-8168.