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Cook County Guides November 7, 2026 7 min read

Veterans and Disability Exemptions in Cook County: 258 Veteran Homes Lost Theirs in One Year

258 of 1,443 Cook County parcels with the $2,500 or $5,000 veterans exemption lost it from 2023 to 2024; 231 kept a homeowner exemption. Amounts, refile rules, missed years.

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Most veterans have to request the Veterans with Disabilities Exemption again every year. The county record shows what that costs. Of the 1,443 Cook County parcels that carried the $2,500 or $5,000 veterans tier in tax year 2023, 258 had no veterans exemption in tax year 2024: 17.9 percent. On 231 of those 258, the homeowner exemption was still there.

The Persons with Disabilities Exemption, which the Assessor now renews automatically, lost 5.5 percent of its parcels over the same year.

A missing line is not proof of a mistake. Some owners sold, some ratings changed, and some 2024 applications may have been approved after the bill. But a veterans line that vanishes while the homeowner line stays is the pattern a missed refile leaves. Missed years back to 2021 can still be claimed.

Quick Answer

Cook County has three main exemptions for veterans and people with disabilities. A VA service-connected rating of 30% or more qualifies for the Veterans with Disabilities Exemption: $2,500 or $5,000 off equalized assessed value (EAV), or the first $250,000 of EAV at 70% and up. Returning veterans get $5,000. Other homeowners with a disability get $2,000. The veterans exemptions must be refiled, and missed years may be recoverable.

What the county record shows

  • Veterans with Disabilities, $2,500 and $5,000 tiers (refiled every year): 1,443 parcels in tax year 2023; 258 missing in 2024 (17.9%).
  • Persons with Disabilities (renewed automatically): 27,919 parcels in tax year 2023; 1,535 missing in 2024 (5.5%).

The exemption you must remember to file fell off about three times as often as the one that renews itself.

The disability exemption's count has risen every year: 23,633 parcels in 2021, 25,923 in 2022, 27,919 in 2023 and 30,791 in 2024. State law has let the Assessor renew it without an application since tax year 2022.

The 70% tier is where the money is. In tax year 2024, 9,977 parcels had a veterans amount above $5,000, which only the 70%-and-up tier can produce. The median one had $66,994 of EAV exempted, more than 13 times the $5,000 tier. 131 used the full $250,000.

One caution. In the county data, this tier shows up as a dollar amount only from tax year 2024, so the veterans total appears to jump from 1,513 parcels in 2023 to 11,701 in 2024. That is a change in the record, not 10,000 new veterans: 9,042 of the 2024 parcels in the 70% tier already had another exemption in 2023. The law changed too, from a full exemption through tax year 2022 to "the first $250,000" of EAV from 2023.

Veterans with Disabilities Exemption

What it is worth. The reduction depends on the VA's service-connected disability rating:

  • 30% to 49%: $2,500 off EAV
  • 50% to 69%: $5,000 off EAV
  • 70% or more: the first $250,000 of EAV, which removes the tax entirely for most homes

Who qualifies. An Illinois resident who served in the U.S. Armed Forces, the Illinois National Guard or the U.S. Reserve Forces, with at least a 30% service-connected disability certified by the VA. The veteran must own and occupy the home as a primary residence.

What to file. First-time applicants need a DD Form 214 certified by the Cook County Clerk or the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs. Everyone needs a VA disability certification letter and proof of identity and occupancy.

Renewal. Applicants must reapply every year. The exception is a veteran rated 100% and classified by the VA as permanently and totally disabled, whose exemption renews automatically under a state law in effect since May 23, 2022.

Surviving spouses. A surviving spouse who has not remarried can qualify if the veteran had a VA-certified service-connected disability. The exemption can stay at the same home or move to a new primary residence. Starting with tax year 2023, a surviving spouse who never claimed it before can apply.

Returning Veterans' Exemption

What it is worth. $5,000 off EAV.

Who qualifies. An Illinois resident who served in the U.S. Armed Forces, the Illinois National Guard or the U.S. Reserve Forces and returned from active duty in an armed conflict involving U.S. forces. It applies for the tax year in which the veteran returns. State law also allows it for the following tax year, though the Assessor's page describes only the return year, so ask the office if you returned last year.

What to file. A certified DD Form 214 for discharged veterans. Veterans still on active duty provide military orders and a travel voucher. It must be filed each year it applies.

Persons with Disabilities Exemption

What it is worth. $2,000 off EAV every year.

Who qualifies. A homeowner who is disabled, or becomes disabled, during the tax year, owns and occupies the home as a primary residence on January 1, and is liable for the taxes.

What to file. One proof of disability: a Class 2 disabled-person Illinois ID card, a Social Security disability award or verification letter, or a physician's statement on Illinois form PTAX-343-A.

Renewal. It now renews automatically. The state law behind that covers tax years 2022 through 2027. New applicants still apply once.

The combinations that are not allowed

  • The Veterans with Disabilities Exemption cannot be combined with the Persons with Disabilities Exemption. In the county record for 2021 through 2024, not one parcel carried both.
  • The Assessor's veterans-with-disabilities page also says it cannot be combined with the Returning Veterans' Exemption. The Returning Veterans page and the statute say that exemption stacks with any other. If both could apply to you, ask the Assessor's office which it will grant.

If two could apply, the larger one is usually the right choice. A veteran rated 50% would normally claim the $5,000 veterans exemption rather than the $2,000 disability exemption.

What the exemptions are worth in dollars

An exemption lowers EAV, not your bill directly. The tax saved is the EAV reduction times your local tax rate, which is printed on your bill. At an illustrative 9% rate:

  • $2,000 off EAV saves about $180 a year
  • $2,500 off EAV saves about $225 a year
  • $5,000 off EAV saves about $450 a year
  • $66,994 off EAV, the 2024 median for the 70% tier, saves about $6,029 a year

Why these get missed

  • The annual refile. The table above is what a missed year looks like at county scale.
  • The certified DD-214. A plain copy is not enough the first time.
  • A rating change. A move from 69% to 70% takes the exemption from $5,000 to as much as $250,000 of EAV. The county does not learn about a new rating on its own.
  • Surviving spouses often do not know the exemption can continue, or move with them.
  • Social Security disability recipients may not realize the award letter is the proof the county needs.

What to do this week

  1. Read the exemption lines on your tax year 2025 second-installment bill.
  2. If the veterans or disability line is missing and you were eligible, file a Certificate of Error for each missing year. The Assessor accepts them for tax years 2021 through 2025, for all three exemptions in this article. If approved, the Treasurer's Office refunds the overpaid tax, automatically when it can tell who paid, or after you apply on its site with proof of payment. Approval and payment are separate steps and can take months.
  3. If your VA rating went up, file with the new letter.
  4. Put the next filing season in your calendar. The veterans exemption does not remind you.

See Certificate of Error vs. appeal for how that lane differs from a valuation appeal.

The numbers behind this article

Counts are Censum's tabulation of PIN-level exemption amounts, tax years 2021 through 2024, in PTAXSIM, the Cook County Assessor's Office research database built from Clerk and Treasurer records. They count parcels, not people. The Assessor describes PTAXSIM results as not official, and a correction made after the bill, such as a Certificate of Error, may not show.

FAQ

Does a 70% rating mean I pay no property tax?

For most homes, yes. The exemption removes the first $250,000 of EAV, which exceeds the EAV of most homes. In tax year 2024, 131 parcels reached the $250,000 cap. You must still apply and meet the ownership and occupancy rules.

Do I have to reapply every year?

For the veterans disability exemption, yes, unless you are rated 100% permanent and total. The returning veterans exemption is also annual. The disability exemption now renews automatically.

Can I claim past years?

Yes, if you were eligible and the exemption was missing. Tax years 2021 through 2025 can currently be claimed through a Certificate of Error.

Does it cost anything to apply?

The county charges nothing to apply, and you can file yourself with the Assessor. Censum also files veterans exemptions free, including prior-year recapture, when you upload a DD-214 and VA letter.

Sources

Sources accessed November 7, 2026.

Next step

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Censum LLC is a data and analytics company, not a law firm and not a tax advisor. You file your own appeal. Censum is independent and is not affiliated with Cook County or any government agency.