| This tax relief
program was designed to prevent the ever-increasing property tax burden
from forcing senior citizens with low incomes out of their homes because
they could no longer afford the property taxes. Rather than exempt
or rebate a portion of the taxes for the senior, this program allows
the senior to completely defer all the property taxes on his property
each year. |
| The taxes are
actually paid by the State of Illinois on behalf of the senior citizen,
and a low interest loan account is set up for the senior with a lien
on the property. No payments are required to be made on the loan until
the senior no longer owns and occupies the property. The senior pays
off the loan with proceeds from the voluntary sale of the property. |
|
In effect,
the senior citizen with a low household income can use the equity
build-up in the proprty to pay for the property taxes. This allows
a senior citizen to enjoy the home without worry about paying property
taxes and being forced to sell his property.
|
|
While this
program does include a loan account that continues to grow each
year as taxes are deferred, the property value is also growing,
and therefore equity in the property grows to keep pace with the
loan amount. In most cases, the equity growth in the property exceeds
the loan account growth.
|
| This program,
although it does not reduce taxes, is a good fail-safe program for
those seniors who have already taken advantage of all other senior
exemptions and rebates and still cannot afford to pay the remaining
property tax burden. |
