H-8282

   Amend House File 2745 as follows:
   1.  Page 41, after line 23 by inserting: 
<DIVISION ___
PROPERTY TAX DEFERRAL PROGRAM

   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  426C.1  Definitions.
   As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
   1.  “Deferral amount” means the amount of taxes due and payable in a fiscal year.
   2.  “Homestead” means the same as defined in section 425.11, except that the dwelling house must be occupied as a home for more than six months during the calendar year in which the fiscal year begins.
   3.  “Income” means gross income as properly computed for federal income tax purposes under section 61 of the Internal Revenue Code.
   4.  “Program” means the property tax deferral program.
   5.  “Qualifying event” means the death of the owner, the sale of the homestead, transfer of the homestead other than to a surviving spouse, or when the property is no longer the homestead of the owner. A “qualifying event” does not include an owner who is absent from the homestead due to ill health.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  426C.2  Deferral program.
   1.  For property taxes due and payable in fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2027, an owner receiving the homestead credit under chapter 425, subchapter I, who has owned the homestead for at least the most recent twenty consecutive years and whose income is less than an amount equal to the product of twenty multiplied by the property taxes due and payable on the homestead for the immediately preceding fiscal year is allowed to defer the property taxes due and payable on the homestead following application of all applicable exemptions and credits beginning with the assessment year the owner has attained at least seventy years of age by January 1.
   2.  A person who wishes to qualify for the program allowed under this chapter shall obtain the appropriate forms from the county treasurer. The person applying to the program shall annually file an application and verified statement of income with the county treasurer for the year for which the person is requesting a deferral. The application shall be filed no later than June 30 preceding the fiscal year in which the taxes are due and payable. The department of revenue shall prescribe application forms for the deferrals under this chapter, including the form of the verified statement of income.
   3.  A homestead with delinquent taxes, penalties, or other related administrative costs owing on the property does not qualify for the program.
   4.  If the application is approved, the amount of taxes due and payable shall be deferred until a qualifying event occurs. An approved application is only valid for the year for which the application is submitted and the owner must reapply for deferrals in subsequent years.
   5.  The list of the names, addresses, income, and dates of birth of individuals in the program and maintained by the county treasurer for purposes of allowing deferral under the program is confidential information and shall not be disseminated to any person unless otherwise ordered by a court or released by the lawful custodian of the records pursuant to state or federal law. The county treasurer may display participation in the program on individual paper records and individual electronic records, including display on an internet site.
   6.  The tax deferral amount shall be entered against the property on the tax list for each applicable fiscal year and shall constitute a first lien against the property in the same manner as a lien for property taxes.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  426C.3  Payment of deferral amount.
   The total deferral amount shall be due and payable to the county treasurer within thirty days of a qualifying event. The total deferral amount shall include accrued interest upon the total deferral amount calculated from the date the property taxes were due and payable through to the date the county treasurer is paid in full. Interest shall be calculated using the interest rate on two-year United States treasury notes. When paid, the total deferral amount shall be apportioned by the county treasurer to the several taxing districts as provided by law, in the same manner as though the deferral amount had been paid by the owner of the homestead as property taxes for the fiscal year in which the total deferral amount is due.>
   2.  Title page, line 6, after <fund,> by inserting <establishing a property tax deferral program,>
   3.  By renumbering as necessary.

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BLOOMINGDALE of Worth