Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios announced that his office has again extended the deadline for the Senior Citizen Exemption and Senior Freeze Exemption renewal applications and new applications for Tax Year 2017. The new extended application deadline is March 30, 2018. Any application postmarked by Friday, March 30 will be on time. (The original deadline was February 7th, later extended to March 2nd.) To qualify for the Senior Citizen Exemption for Tax Year 2017, the property owner must have:

• been born prior to or in the year 1952,
• owned the property, or have a lease or contract which makes them responsible for the real estate taxes, and
• used the property as a principal place of residence

To qualify for the Senior Freeze Exemption for Tax Year 2017, taxpayers must have:
• been born prior to or in the year 1952,
• a total household income of $65,000 or less for [income] Tax Year 2016,
• owned the property or had a legal, equitable or leasehold interest in the property on January 1, 2016 and January 1, 2017,
• used the property as a principal place of residence as of January 1, 2016 and January 1, 2017, and
• been responsible for the payment of 2016 and 2017 property taxes.

Eligible seniors, who have never applied for the Senior and/or Senior Freeze Exemptions in the past, may visit the Assessor’s web site at www.cookcountyassessor.com and download an application or contact the Assessor’s Office at 312-443-7550 and request a form be mailed to them. Applications for the Homeowner Exemption and additional exemptions administered by the Assessor’s Office will also be made available on line.