Illinois Senior Assessment Freeze: PTAX-340 Application Guide

Which Income Limit Applies?

Property taxes are usually paid the year after assessment; the income year comes before assessment. The Illinois Department of Revenue and McHenry County’s year chart confirm these limits.

These limits concern the Senior Freeze, not the separate senior tax-deferral program. If you are submitting a claim for tax year 2025, do not use the higher 2026 limit. Our Illinois senior tax guide explains other state and federal tax questions.

What the Senior Freeze Actually Freezes

The exemption uses your home’s equalized assessed value (EAV). The freeze holds this taxable value at the base-year level, generally the year before you first qualify and apply. If you first qualify in 2026, the normal base year is 2025.

Your tax bill can still go up. Local tax rates may change, and improvements can increase the taxable value. If EAV drops below the base amount, the freeze may add no savings. The Cook County explanation makes the same distinction.

The EAV difference is not your cash savings. This exemption sends no payment, does not clear overdue taxes, and has no loan repayment.

Who Can Qualify for the 2026 Freeze?

The official 2026 PTAX-340 form says that a typical first-time applicant must meet these conditions:

• Be age 65 or older at some point during 2026.
• Have total 2025 household income no higher than $75,000.
• Use the Illinois property as the main residence on January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026.
• Own the home, or have a documented legal or equitable interest, on those dates. A qualifying leasehold interest in a single-family residence can count.
• Be liable for paying property taxes on that home.

Only a qualifying main home is covered, not a second home. Property under the mobile home privilege tax is excluded.

Joint owners, trusts, and special living arrangements

For jointly owned homes, the applicant still needs a qualifying legal interest, occupancy, and tax liability. A younger co-owner does not, by itself, prove the senior applicant is ineligible. But a co-owner’s income may count if that person lives in the household. Ask the county to review the deed, contract, trust, or lease before making assumptions.

If a spouse lives at another address, the 2026 form still asks about that spouse and includes their income. The form also asks whether the spouse applied for the freeze elsewhere. Ask before claiming two homes.

Special rules exist for some surviving spouses, prior recipients now in licensed care, and qualifying cooperative residents. Ask which documents prove an exception. The state law, Section 15-172, governs the program.

How Household Income Is Counted

For tax year 2026, list the income received during 2025 by the applicant, their spouse, and other people whose main home was the property on January 1, 2026. A spouse’s income counts even when living elsewhere. A resident adult child’s income may count too.

PTAX-340 asks about Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), including Medicare deductions, as well as pensions, wages, interest, dividends, and other sources. This is not simply federal taxable income. Do not leave out Social Security because it is partly nontaxable.

The form’s income instructions also exclude some items, such as certain gifts, loan proceeds, reverse-mortgage payments, and veterans’ benefits. Military retirement and veterans’ benefits are treated differently. Ask your county about uncertain income.

Illinois also permits a qualifying applicant enrolled in certain programs, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Benefit Access, or Aid to the Aged, Blind or Disabled, to use enrollment proof for an alternative income check. Lake County’s application guide explains its route. Approval of another benefit does not remove the Senior Freeze’s other property and age rules.

How to Complete Form PTAX-340

PTAX-340 has four pages, including instructions. Counties may need added records.

1. Use the correct form year. Find “PTAX-340 2026” when applying for the 2026 assessment year. Do not use a blank or old form with another income ceiling.
2. Fill in the applicant’s details. Enter your name, birth date, and requested contact and tax details.
3. Identify the home. Enter the address, township, county, and parcel index number (PIN). The bill shows the PIN. Report any prior freeze.
4. Complete the income lines. Use all relevant 2025 income records. The total on the form must cover every person the instructions count. Check every subtraction.
5. Read the affidavit. Mark the statements about occupancy, ownership, tax liability, age, marital status, and other household residents. Sign and date it. False statements can carry penalties.
6. Submit to the correct county office. Keep a full copy and evidence of delivery. Confirm receipt and needed proof.

Documents to gather before filing

• Current property tax bill or assessment notice showing the PIN.
• Proof of date of birth and main-home occupancy.
• Deed, trust pages, contract, lease, or other proof of the applicant’s interest and tax liability, if the county needs it.
• 2025 federal tax return, if filed; Schedule 1 if relevant.
• Social Security statements, pension or retirement records, and other proof for household members, especially if no return was filed.
• Benefit-enrollment notice, if requesting an alternative income check.

For example, DeKalb County’s 2026 notice asks for the 2025 tax return or, for a nonfiler, income and pension statements, including the Social Security form. Cook County may require different proof of identity, occupancy, and deed or trust status. Do not send originals unless the assessor requests them.

Where to File: Counties Set the Practical Route

The Illinois Department of Revenue publishes the statewide rules. The chief county assessment officer, sometimes called the supervisor of assessments or county assessor, takes the application. The county treasurer or collector handles tax bills and payments, not the normal PTAX-340 filing.

These are examples, not a single statewide calendar. A county may set a deadline different from the usual statutory date. A date that has passed does not prove every correction route is closed.

For Cook County, consult the Senior Freeze application page and the separate Certificates of Error page. Its October 2026 display addresses tax year 2025. Do not apply a 2026 income rule to that older tax year. Chicago readers can also use our Chicago senior help guide for local context.

For Peoria County, use the official forms page. It lists the 2026 form and updated limits. An online questionnaire may still show wording about $65,000 alongside the newer rules; if you see this, ask the county which field applies to your selected tax year before submitting.

If You Missed the Deadline or Were Denied

Ask for the precise reason in writing. A missing signature differs from a residence-rule denial. Ask whether the county permits a late filing, correction, or review and what deadline applies to that step.

In Cook County, a Certificate of Error can correct certain missing exemptions for eligible prior years. Other counties may have different correction options.

The law also provides a limited late-filing provision for some applicants in counties with fewer than three million residents whose serious medical condition prevented timely filing. It has strict timing and medical-document rules. Ask the county immediately whether that provision could apply; do not assume it extends every missed filing.

If the problem is the home’s assessed value rather than your exemption application, ask about the separate assessment appeal process. Appeals have their own windows and evidence rules. A tax bill that is hard to afford, by itself, is not proof that the assessed value was wrong.

What Else Should You Check?

PTAX-340 is not the same as the regular Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption. It may help even if your income is too high. Ask your assessor whether it and the General Homestead Exemption already appear on your bill. The state homestead exemption page describes those programs. Do not add separate EAV reductions yourself to predict exact savings.

If the problem is paying a bill now, ask the county collector about payment options and the Senior Tax Deferral Program. Deferral is not a freeze. It is a loan-like arrangement with interest and a lien, subject to separate rules.

If you live elsewhere, consult our property tax relief by state guide rather than use PTAX-340. Illinois residents who need help with other living costs can use our Illinois senior assistance guide.

What to Say When You Call

If paperwork, travel, or phone access is difficult, our Illinois aging agency guide can help you find a local service navigator. Only the county handles PTAX-340.