Illinois Returning Veterans Homestead Exemption

Section 15-167 gives a $5,000 reduction in equalized assessed value to an Illinois veteran returning from active duty in an armed conflict involving the armed forces of the United States. It runs for two tax years: the year the veteran returns home and the following year. It is not a permanent exemption and it does not renew after that. Eligibility covers a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Illinois National Guard, or the U.S. Reserve Forces who is an Illinois resident, who returned from active duty in an armed conflict, and who owns or leases and occupies the property as a primary residence and is liable for the property taxes. There is no disability rating requirement anywhere in it. This is a benefit for coming home, not for being injured, and a veteran with no rating at all should claim it. The timing is what makes this one get missed. The veteran has to file on returning home, at a point when property tax paperwork is usually the last thing on anyone's mind. A veteran who returns from a deployment and files two years later has lost both years. File form PTAX-341 with the chief county assessment office, with a DD Form 214 if discharged from the active duty service, or with orders and other documentation if still serving. A veteran who returns from a deployment and also carries a service-connected rating should file both this and the standard homestead exemption under section 15-169. They are separate exemptions with separate forms, and the returning veterans exemption is in addition to the other homestead exemptions the property qualifies for.