Kendall County, IL Property Tax Exemptions (and How to Apply for a Homestead Exemption)

An exemption is the easiest money on your tax bill. Nobody argues with you about it. You qualify, you file, and a fixed amount comes off the value your bill is figured on, every year you keep qualifying.

Here's what you may not realize. The amount depends on the county, and the county line doesn't care what your mailing address says.

Take two Joliet houses. One sits on the Will County side, in the Plainfield Central area. The other sits in Kendall County, in the Plainfield South area. Both owners file the same general homestead exemption. In Will County it's worth about $547 a year at the 2025 rate. In Kendall County it's worth about $414. Same city, same exemption, about $133 a year apart, mostly because of which county the lot is in.

How do I apply for a homestead exemption in Kendall County?

Apply through the Kendall County Supervisor of Assessments at 504 S. Main St. in Yorkville, 630-553-4146, using the county's residential exemption form for the general homestead and the state's numbered PTAX forms for the others. The general homestead takes up to $6,000 off your equalized assessed value in Kendall County. You've got to ask for it once. After that, it renews on its own, but check your bill each year to make sure it's still there.

Why is Kendall County's homestead exemption smaller than Will County's?

Illinois sets the general homestead exemption in three tiers. Cook County gets up to $10,000, counties that border Cook get up to $8,000, and everyone else gets up to $6,000.

Will and DuPage both border Cook, but Kendall doesn't. So the same exemption is worth less in Kendall, and that catches people who moved from Will County and assume the numbers carry over. Some websites still publish a single flat number for every county, which is how this gets missed.

Here's how to think about the dollars. The exemption comes off your equalized assessed value, so multiply it by your tax rate. At a composite rate of 6.9054, a $6,000 exemption is worth about $414 a year. At 8.3131, the 2025 rate in Lakewood Prairie on the Minooka side of Joliet, it's about $499. Those are illustrative, and your own bill shows the rate you actually pay.

Did the senior freeze income limit go up?

This is the one most people have the wrong number for, and it's not their fault.

The Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze locks your home's assessed value so a rising assessment doesn't raise your bill. For years, the household income limit was $65,000. A new state law raised it:

• $75,000 for the 2026 assessment year, paid in 2027
• $77,000 for 2027
• $79,000 for 2028 and after

Two things trip people up here. First, the higher limit didn't touch the bill you paid this summer, because it starts with the 2026 assessment. Second, the 2026 application looks at your household income from 2025. So if your income was over $65,000 but under $75,000 last year, you may qualify now when you didn't before.

To file, you'll need to have owned and lived in the home on January 1 of both 2025 and 2026, and you'll need proof of income. The form is the state's PTAX-340, filed with the Kendall County Supervisor of Assessments.

If you're signing up for the first time, the county told me you can come in anytime during the year. Once you're in, they mail you the form every year, and it's due back September 1.

If a parent was turned down in a past year because of the old limit, have them apply again. That's the single most valuable sentence in this article for a lot of families.

What is each Kendall County exemption worth?

Here's the full list for a primary residence in Kendall County. "EAV" means equalized assessed value, the number your tax rate gets multiplied by.

The senior homestead is smaller here too: Cook and the counties bordering it get $8,000, while Kendall gets $5,000.

One warning on the veterans line. Some township websites in Kendall County still show older veteran numbers. The amounts above come from the Illinois Department of Revenue's current exemption guide. If a page you're reading disagrees, go with the state.

Do I put off an addition to protect my taxes?

Usually, no. The home improvement exemption exists for exactly this.

If you add a room, finish a basement or put on a garage, the added value, up to $75,000, isn't taxed for four years. Your assessor often applies it on their own when the improvement gets picked up. The state's form, PTAX-323, may be required, so ask your township assessor when the work's done.

After four years, it'll start counting. So it's a delay, not a pass. But four years of not paying tax on a $60,000 basement is real money.

What should a new owner do?

In the firehouse, the fire being out isn't the end of the call. We call the next part overhaul. We pull the walls and check for extension, because the fire you didn't see is the one that rekindles.

Your tax bill works the same way, and the closing is only the fire going out. The homestead exemption that never got filed is the one that rekindles, about a year later, when your first full bill shows up without it.

Don't count on the seller's exemptions carrying over to you. They're tied to the owner who lives there. So after you close and move in, file for the general homestead in your own name. If you have a mortgage with escrow, a missing exemption is also one of the reasons your escrow payment went up the year after you bought.

When do you have to apply?

It depends on the exemption. Here's what the Kendall County Supervisor of Assessments told me when I called:

• General homestead: apply once, and it renews on its own every year after that.
• Senior freeze, first time: come in anytime during the year.
• Senior freeze, every year after: they mail you the form, and it's due September 1.

For anything else, the due date is printed on that year's form. Call 630-553-4146 before you assume anything.

Don't use another county's date. Grundy, Will and Kendall each set their own, and they don't line up.

A few of these renew every year no matter what. The senior freeze and the disability exemption both need a new filing each year. Put them on the calendar the same week every year so they don't slip.

What about the senior tax deferral program?

It's a different tool, and it's easy to confuse with an exemption.

An exemption lowers what you owe. The deferral postpones paying some of it, and the state puts a lien on the house for the deferred amount plus interest. That's repaid when the home is sold or transferred, or within a year of the owner's death. It can help with cash flow, but it's trading against the equity your family inherits. The senior property tax deferral program is filed through the county treasurer, not the assessments office. Talk to an estate attorney before you use it.

Is your house actually in Kendall County?

Check before you file anything. Plenty of Kendall County homes carry a mailing address from a town most people think of as Will County.

Joliet's the biggest example, since Greywall Club and Lakewood Prairie both have Joliet addresses and sit in Kendall County. Parts of Plainfield do too. And if you're weighing a move to Minooka, IL, the village crosses Will, Grundy and Kendall, so the county depends on the parcel.

Your tax bill settles it, because the county on the bill is the county you file with. And if your assessment itself looks wrong, that's a separate process with its own deadline, and how to appeal your Kendall County property taxes walks through it.

For how all of this fits together, including why the same house costs a different amount to own on either side of a county line, Illinois property taxes is the bigger picture.

The Bottom Line

Exemptions are the closest thing to free money on a property tax bill. But you've got to ask for most of them, Kendall County's amounts are smaller than the ones next door, and the senior freeze limit just moved to $75,000.

If you've bought in the last year, file your homestead. If a parent was turned down for the senior freeze before, have them try again. And check your bill every year, because an exemption that quietly falls off costs you just as much as one you never filed.

Last updated: October 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the homestead exemption in Kendall County, Illinois?

The general homestead exemption is up to $6,000 off your equalized assessed value. That's less than Will and DuPage, which get up to $8,000 because they border Cook County. At a 6.9054 composite rate, $6,000 is worth about $414 a year.

What is the income limit for the senior freeze in Illinois?

It's $75,000 in household income for the 2026 assessment year, paid in 2027. It'll rise to $77,000 for 2027 and $79,000 for 2028 and after. It was $65,000 before.

Do I have to apply for the homestead exemption in Kendall County?

Yes, once. Kendall wants new owners to apply for the general homestead, so don't assume it's automatic when you buy. After that, it renews on its own every year. Check your bill anyway to be sure it's still on there.

What is the deadline to file for a property tax exemption in Kendall County?

For the senior freeze, a first-time filer can come in anytime during the year, and renewals are due September 1. For other exemptions, the date is on that year's form. Call the Supervisor of Assessments at 630-553-4146, and don't use Grundy's or Will's.

I live in Joliet. Which county do I file my exemption with?

It's the county on your tax bill. Some Joliet neighborhoods, including Greywall Club and Lakewood Prairie, are in Kendall County even though the address says Joliet.

Is the senior tax deferral the same as an exemption?

No, and here's the difference. An exemption lowers your bill. The deferral postpones part of it and puts a lien on the house that gets repaid when the home is sold or transferred, or within a year of the owner's death. Talk to an estate attorney before you use it.

If you're helping a parent sort out which exemptions are already on their bill, send me the question and I'll point you to the right form.

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Set up a time and we'll go through your Kendall County tax bill line by line, so you know which exemptions are on it and which ones you're leaving off before the next due date.

Brian Wittman | Blue Jean Broker
Real Estate | Mortgage | Life Insurance | Financial Literacy
Based in Manhattan, IL | Serving the Chicago Suburbs

Brian Wittman is a licensed real estate broker (Real Broker LLC), mortgage loan originator (NMLS #2646598, NEXA Mortgage, LLC, Equal Housing Lender), and life insurance producer (Levinson & Associates). This article is for educational purposes only and is not financial, lending, tax, or legal advice, an offer, or a commitment to lend; all loans are subject to credit approval. Information is accurate as of the publication date; for current details and full disclosures, visit https://bluejeanbroker.com/disclosures.