Property tax exemptions Tri-Cities homeowners might be missing

If you own and live in your home in St. Charles, Geneva or Batavia, you may qualify for property tax exemptions that you never signed up for. The Kane County Assessment Office suggests calling to confirm you are getting every exemption you qualify for, and it is worth the call.

How exemptions save you money

An exemption lowers the taxable value of your home before your tax rate is applied. The county explains the math this way: your final equalized assessed value (EAV), minus exemptions, times your tax rate, equals your bill.

Kane County says tax rates generally run from about 6.50% to 11.25%, with a median of 9.00%. At that median rate, every $1,000 of EAV taken off your home is worth about $90 a year.

General Homestead Exemption

This is the basic one for owner-occupied homes. It takes $8,000 off your EAV for the current assessment year. The home must be your principal residence.

Apply through the county's online exemption portal (you will create an account the first time) or call 630-208-3818 to have a form mailed.

Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption

If you are 65 or older by December 31 of the assessment year and live in the home, you can take another $8,000 off your EAV. Apply through the same portal or by phone. Once approved, this exemption renews on its own.

Senior Freeze

The Low-Income Senior Citizen Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption locks your assessment at a base year so your net assessment doesn't climb. The county is clear that it freezes your assessment, not your tax bill.

To qualify, you must be 65 or older by December 31 of the assessment year, the home must have been your principal residence at the start of two straight years, and your household income must be under the limit.

The limit is rising. For 2025 taxes, paid in 2026, it is $65,000. A state law signed December 12, 2025 (Public Act 104-0452) raises it to $75,000 for 2026 taxes paid in 2027, $77,000 for 2027 and $79,000 for 2028.

Household income counts everyone living in the home as their principal residence, plus your spouse even if they live elsewhere. Social Security, pensions and investment income are included. If a lower limit kept you out before, check again.

The county mails freeze applications to prior-year senior exemption recipients. The 2026 applications went out March 13, 2026, and you must renew every year.

Persons with Disabilities Homestead Exemption

This exemption takes $2,000 off your EAV. You must be unable to do substantial gainful work because of a medical condition expected to last at least 12 months or result in death.

Accepted proof includes a Class 2 or 2A Illinois disability ID card, a Social Security disability award or COLA letter, or a physician's form (PTAX-343A). You can't claim this one if you receive the veterans with disabilities exemption.

Veterans exemptions

Veterans with Disabilities Homestead Exemption. The reduction depends on your service-connected disability rating from the VA:

• 70% or higher: all EAV up to $250,000
• 50% to 69%: $5,000
• 30% to 49%: $2,500

You must be the owner of record and live in the home on January 1 of the assessment year. A renewal form is mailed each year after you are approved.

Returning Veterans' Homestead Exemption. A $5,000 reduction for an Illinois veteran returning from active duty in an armed conflict during the assessment year.

What it adds up to

The county's own example shows how exemptions stack. A senior with a $225,000 home who gets the general, senior and senior freeze exemptions pays an estimated $3,659 instead of $6,749 at a 9% rate. That is $3,090 saved, about 46%.

Your numbers will be different. The point is that a five-minute call can be worth real money.

Next step

Call the Kane County Assessment Office at 630-208-3818 or stop by 719 S. Batavia Ave., Building C, in Geneva, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Ask which exemptions are on your parcel and what the current application deadlines are.