Legislation providing a tax credit of up to $750 for flood victims in 18 Illinois counties was signed by Gov. Rauner during the week. These areas dealt with severe storms this summer that led to flooding and resulted in tremendous damage for property owners throughout the state.
Senate Bill 403 allows residents whose properties were affected by the storms to apply a natural disaster credit to their 2017 Illinois income taxes. Counties included for this tax credit are Cook, Lake, Kane, McHenry, Alexander, Clinton, Jackson, Marshall, Union, Woodford, Carroll, Henry, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Rock Island, Stephenson and Whiteside.
A taxpayer’s residence or land owned by a small business, but not rental or leasing businesses, are eligible properties for the credit. Senate Bill 403 affirms township assessors will issue eligibility certificates for requesting property owners then will certify with the Illinois Department of Revenue listings of flood-damaged properties.
Projections reported to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency estimate $4.6 million in damages from the storms this past summer.