Illinois State Board of Education
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The Property Tax Relief Grant was not funded, and the grant is not available in FY 26

Please check back in October 2026 for the FY 2027 PTRG.

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The Property Tax Relief Grant (PTRG) was created with the passage of Evidence-Based Funding and modified by Public Act 101 – 0017. Districts are ranked in order of grant priority by a value of district Adjusted Operating Tax Rate divided by the Average Adjusted Operating Tax Rate for districts within each organization type.  Grants will be awarded in the order of that ranking.

Determining the maximum possible abatement amount will now be completed in 2 step​s:

  1. Step 1: ISBE must calculate a district's Real Adjusted EAV amount multiplied by a factor that varies by organization type. That factor is 1% for a Unit, 0.69% for an Elementary and 0.31% for a High School.

  2. Step 2: The value determined in Step 1 is further modified by multiplying that value by the Local Capacity Percentage Multiplier.  This value is equal to (1- Local Capacity Percentage).

These 2 steps result in the Maximum Abatement amount.  Calculating the grant amount is equal to the Maximum Abatement multiplied by the Property Tax Multiplier or (1 – LCP2).

If there are insufficient funds available to fully fund the initial possible grant amount of the last district to qualify for the grant, a revised calculation is made. The final district qualifying may receive a grant equal to the remaining funds appropriated for PTRG.  The abatement amount for that district is backed into by dividing the grant amount possible by the Property Tax Multiplier.

Property Tax Relief Grant amounts received in prior fiscal years will be included in future calculations of those districts' Base Funding Minimum amounts, per 18-8.15 of the School Code. Per Public Act 101 – 0017, participating districts are required to abate taxes for 2 consecutive years to receive the grant in their Base Funding Minimum. Failure to abate in the second year will result in the removal of the grant from the district's Base Funding Minimum in the following and all future years.

Future grant amounts are subject to appropriations.

The Property Tax Relief Grant (PTRG) for FY 2026 was not funded, and the grant is not available in FY 2026. All prior year grant recipients will continue to receive the PTRG in their Base Funding Minimum.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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Resources

Prior Year Grants

Frequently Asked Questions

Grant amounts do not equal 100% of property tax abatement amounts. No district receives a grant that fully compensates for taxes abated. The grant amount a district may receive is equal to (1 – Local Capacity Percentage²). In the Excel file labeled Preliminary Property Tax Relief Grant and Percentage of Tax Relief as a State Grant, the percentage of the abatement that may be paid as a state grant appears in column G.

It is possible to apply for the grant, be informed of eligibility for the grant, and then decide not to abate taxes and submit the final documents that would earn a grant award. If the program is undersubscribed due to eligible applicants deciding not to abate taxes and participate, remaining funds will be distributed as tier funding at the end of the fiscal year.

However, please understand that an applicant who receives notice of grant eligibility and chooses not to accept the grant may prevent another district from participating in the program.

The Property Tax Relief Grant (PTRG) is a one-year grant program. Districts must apply annually if they wish to be considered for future grant cycles. However, beginning in FY20, any recipient of the PTRG will need to file the abatement for two years.

Any grants received by a school district shall be included in future calculations of that school district’s BFM under Section 18-8.15 of the School Code. [105 ILCS 5/2-3.170(k)]

Beginning in FY20, any recipient of the PTRG will need to file an abatement for the year of the award and abate taxes in the same amount the following tax year in order for the PTRG to be included in their BFM. If the abatement is not made for the second year, the PTRG will be removed from the BFM in future years.

BFM is one of the components of Final Resources which is the numerator or top of the ratio that is a district’s Percent of Adequacy. The inclusion of PTRG in BFM will, all other factors held constant, bring a district closer to Adequacy which could impact the Tier assignment in any given year. Depending on funds appropriated for Tier distribution, this could result in a lower amount of Tier funding in future years.

For districts subject to PTELL, in the year following the receipt of a PTRG, the aggregate levy of any school district receiving a grant shall include the tax relief the school district provided in the previous taxable year. [105 ILCS 5/2-3.170(l)]

Statute does not specify how this should be recorded. There are no restrictions or requirements about which funds to abate or which fund is used for deposit of grant funds.

In order for the PTRG to be available in any given fiscal year, the General Assembly must increase appropriations for Evidence-Based Funding by more than $300 million. Any increase above $300 million is dedicated to the PTRG program, up to a maximum of $50 million. If there are funds appropriated for a fiscal year, the application period will commence in October.

Yes, nothing in current statute prohibits a prior year grant recipient from applying for the current year grant. However, applicants should keep in mind the changes that were made in the last legislative session to the program, including the requirement to abate for two tax years. We encourage all potential applicants to view the webinar to determine if they would like to apply for this fiscal year’s program.

The PTRG application is in the IWAS system called Evidence-Based Funding. After logging into IWAS, click on System Listings on the left. On the System Listings page, you will click to expand Reporting and Annual and then click Evidence-Based Funding.

If you do not see Evidence-Based Funding on your System Listings page, then click Want to Sign Up for Other Systems? at the bottom. On the following page, click Sign Up Now next to Evidence-Based Funding.

There are detailed application instructions starting on slide 15 of the Property Tax Relief Grant Program Details presentationPDF Document found on the PTRG website under Resources.

Please note: If you are utilizing the Ctrl + F shortcut to find the system in IWAS, you will want to search for “Evidence Based Funding” without the hyphen.

Only Illinois school districts are eligible to apply for the PTRG. While individual property owners are not eligible to apply for the PTRG, this grant program is designed to help lower taxpayers’ tax bills in qualifying districts. If you are seeking property tax relief, you may contact the superintendent’s office of the school district where your property is located and encourage them to apply starting in October of any year in which funds are appropriated.​​

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