Procrastination is fairly common among taxpayers filing just before the April deadline every year. The government expects to see completed federal tax forms and state tax forms right up to the last minute, but there’s no history of filing early or late for the Valley Hi Rebate.
This type of rebate is rarely offered, but in McHenry County, the Valley Hi Nursing Home amassed a fund surplus of $40 million. The McHenry County Board concluded that taxpayers with the general homestead exemption could potentially share in a portion of $15 million, allocated for property tax relief. The deadline to apply is July 31. If you qualify and you haven’t done so…time is running out.
At the McHenry County Board offices at the Administration Building in Woodstock, McHenry County Treasurer Glenda Miller has been dropping off completed applications for Valley Hi funds. On her latest visit, Miller met with Deputy County Administrator Scott Hartman.
“There are approximately 42,000 applications that the Treasurer’s office has already received but that does not mean it’s going to be how many receive rebates,” Miller said.
She pointed out that 2,000 applications have already been rejected because applicants did not qualify. Maybe they did not have a general homestead exemption, or because “some people may have filled out the application two or three times.”
Miller and McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks have said on a form they sent out to taxpayers that the rebate is based on the amount that homeowners paid in property taxes for the county government portion of their entire tax bill. Hartman noted in his explanation that a rebate calculator can be found on the website by visiting www.mchenrytreasurer.organd clicking on the “Valley Hi Rebate” link.
“If you are expecting a large windfall, we don’t want you to be disappointed,” Hartman said. “The amount you will receive is nothing to sneeze at, a dollar is a dollar.”
A realistic amount for the rebate is somewhere in the neighborhood of $100.00 to $200.00, according to Miller.
“I have an example of a taxpayer paying $15,000 in property taxes for the year. They will get a more sizeable rebate.”
When the rebate application process went live on June 1, a massive influx of applications came in to the McHenry County Treasurer’s Office. Then the number of applications tapered off to a few hundred a day, “but we know it’s going to pick up again before the July 31 deadline,” Hartman said.
Miller and several workers in the Treasurer’s Office will finish reviewing applications for approval or rejection and then Miller will prepare the process for sending out checks, probably in late September of early October.
Not everyone qualified for the Valley Hi funds is asking for the rebate. Some people have chosen to let the funds stay with the county’s long-term skilled nursing facility. Miller has opted out though she is qualified for the funds.
“I know what Valley Hi meant to my mom. She was there for over a year and they took good care of her. She needed 24/7 care. My option was not to take it,” Miller said.
The application is simple, according to Hartman.
“Takes about five minutes and you may visit a list of frequently asked questions with the online application,” he said.
You may go online for your application or you could visit the McHenry County Treasurer’s office for an application, 2100 N. Seminary Ave., Woodstock.
Don’t think you are completely out of options for Valley Hi funds if you do not have the homestead exemption. The McHenry County Treasurer’s Office has said that if you do not have the homestead exemption as of April 16, 2019, you can still try to quality. What you would do is contact your township assessor and apply for a Homestead Exemption if you meet the requirements. Your eligibility for the rebate may change. If your application is initially denied as Miller said 2,000 applications have already been denied, you may try to get the rebate retroactively applied to January 1, 2019. Appeal the rebate denial within 30 days with the new status of having a homestead exemption.
