"We are doing everything we can in Illinois to help make sure that
when our service members come home, they have access to quality jobs
and receive the benefits they've rightfully earned," Blagojevich
said. "These tax credits can certainly help our veterans transition
more easily into civilian life."
On behalf of the governor, Illinois Department of Veterans'
Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth and Department of Revenue Director
Brian Hamer joined veterans and employers in Springfield on Dec. 20
to encourage eligible taxpayers to take advantage of these credits.
"I want to urge all qualified veterans, and the businesses that
have hired our brave men and women, to file for these new tax
exemptions before the deadline," said Duckworth. "Our veterans have
served this country and have rightfully earned these benefits, while
the veteran's tax credit is a way for the state to say 'thank you'
to those employers who have chosen to hire our veterans."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/Jan/18/images/ads/current/treasure-chest-bc-010407.png)
Beginning in tax year 2007, Illinois employers can earn tax
credits for hiring veterans who have recently been on active duty
overseas. Employers can earn the new tax credit of 5 percent of
total wages paid, up to a maximum of $600 annually, for wages paid
to each veteran hired after Jan. 1, 2007. The veteran must work at
least 185 days during the tax year for the employer to qualify. The
credit is available for veterans who were members of the armed
forces, the Reserves or the Illinois National Guard on active duty
in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation
Iraqi Freedom. The tax credit can be claimed by employers on 2007
tax returns filed in 2008.
The 2007 homestead legislation created two new exemptions for
veterans. These exemptions take effect for the 2007 tax year:
The returning veterans' homestead exemption provides qualifying
veterans a one-time $5,000 reduction to their home's equalized
assessed value. Upon their return home, qualifying veterans who
return from active duty in an armed conflict involving the U.S.
armed forces can file an application to receive this exemption.
The new disabled veterans' standard homestead exemption provides
a reduction in a property's equalized assessed value to a qualifying
property owned by a veteran with a service-connected disability
certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs. A $2,500
homestead exemption is available to a veteran with a
service-connected disability of at least 50 percent but less than 75
percent, or a $5,000 homestead exemption is available to a veteran
with a service-connected disability of at least 75 percent. A
disabled veteran must file an annual application by the county's due
date to continue to receive this exemption.
[to top of second column]
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/Jan/18/images/ads/current/lpd-digital-photo-class-010708.png) |
![](../images/ads/current/jake's-lda-010207.png)
In addition to these two new exemptions, the state also offers the
disabled veterans' homestead exemption, which provides up to a
$70,000 reduction in assessed value for federally approved specially
adapted housing, which will continue to be available through the 51
statewide service offices for veterans. A disabled person's or
disabled veteran's property can receive only one of the following
exemptions each year: the exemption for disabled veterans, the
homestead exemption for disabled people or the standard homestead
exemption for disabled veterans.
"Because property taxes are filed at the county level, deadlines
for the homestead exemptions vary throughout the state. Veterans who
qualify for these exemptions should contact their local assessor's
office to inquire about the deadline and forms. Employers who have
hired veterans can file for the jobs credit on their income tax and
earn a credit of up to $600 for each new veteran hired annually,"
said Hamer, of the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Several counties' deadlines for the
new homestead exemptions are listed below:
-
DuPage -- Jan. 18
-
Jackson -- March 1
-
Kane -- Feb. 29
-
Madison -- Feb. 28
-
Sangamon -- Jan. 31
-
St. Clair -- April 30
-
Tazewell -- March 1
-
Will -- March 1
-
Williamson -- March 1
-
Winnebago -- March 31
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/Jan/02/images/ads/current/cookies%20lunch%20ad%20053007.png)
Several other counties, including Champaign, Lake, McHenry and
Peoria, will not officially establish a due date to file for the new
homestead exemptions. Cook County had not yet determined a due date
as of Dec. 20.
"I served with the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam and was
wounded in a mortar attack," said Thomas D. O'Hara, a Vietnam
veteran from Springfield who participated in the Dec. 20 event.
"After serving our country honorably and bravely, our veterans
deserve to be given the best benefits that we can give them. I am
very pleased to join Director Duckworth and Director Hamer today to
help promote the new homestead exemptions for veterans. This new tax
exemption will save me money that I can use to continue to provide
for myself and will be a great benefit for us that are on fixed
incomes."
For more information about the veteran's tax credit or the new
property tax exemptions for veterans, go to
www.tax.illinois.gov and
visit the
"Taxpayer Answer Center," or call the Department of Revenue's
toll-free assistance line at 1-800-732-8866.
[Text from file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
|