In Illinois, applying for a senior freeze exemption allows seniors to remain in their homes during their golden years. Simply completing the required assessor freeze application each spring and certifying your household income is below $65,000 or less allows you to freeze your taxes. The first year you qualify for the senior freeze exemption, the assessment is frozen. It becomes your baseline going forward. It remains frozen into the remainder of your golden years. Each year you complete the exemption application, they will subtract your baseline assessment from where your current assessment has increased to, then multiply the difference of assessment by tax rate to determine how much gets subtracted from your tax bill. So enjoy your golden years and figure out how to spend the savings you realized from the tax assessor.