Why your exemption disappeared
Title changes, missed renewals, and deaths. All three are fixable, often retroactively.
A bill that jumps with no assessment change is usually an exemption that fell off.
The usual causes
- A title change. Sale, adding a spouse, moving into a trust, a quitclaim to a child. The county sees a new owner and the exemption does not always carry.
- A missed renewal. Senior freeze and disability exemptions typically renew annually.
- A death. Exemptions tied to an individual end with them, and a surviving spouse may not qualify on their own.
- A change of use. Renting out the property ends owner-occupancy.
- Moving. The exemption follows the residence, not the person, and does not transfer itself.
How to confirm
Put last year's bill beside this year's and compare the exemption block line by line. That is usually the whole diagnosis.
Fixing it
Call the assessor. This is a form, not an appeal, and is not bound by the appeal window. Ask whether prior years can be corrected — a certificate of error is commonly available where an exemption was wrongly omitted, and it can reach back more than one year.
This is general information about how Illinois assessments and appeals work. It is not
legal advice, not an appraisal, and not a prediction about your case. Deadlines and rules differ by
county — check yours with your Board of Review.