Illinois property tax exemptions every Will County homeowner should claim

If you own and live in the home as your principal residence, you qualify. It reduces the equalized assessed value your bill is calculated from. The amount depends on the county: for the 2026 assessment year, payable in 2027, it is $8,000 in Will County, per the Frankfort Township Assessor. Cook County is higher and downstate counties are lower. You must have lived in the home on or before January 1 of the tax year.

The Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption is a further reduction in assessed value, and it is larger in Cook and the collar counties, Will included, than downstate. It stacks on top of the general exemption. The Senior Assessment Freeze is a different tool: it holds your assessed value at a base year so reassessments stop raising your taxable base, and it is income-limited, with a household cap of $75,000 for 2026, rising to $77,000 for 2027 and $79,000 after. The freeze must be refiled every year. There is also a Senior Real Estate Tax Deferral that lets qualifying owners postpone up to $7,500 a year as a 3 percent state loan repaid when the home sells.

The Returning Veterans exemption reduces assessed value by $5,000 a year for the first two years back from active duty in an armed conflict. The Disabled Veterans exemption is a sliding scale tied to the VA disability rating, reaching up to $70,000. A Disabled Persons exemption exists as well. Some of these cannot be combined with each other, so ask which set applies to you.

The Homestead Improvement Exemption shields up to $75,000 of fair cash value added by a qualifying improvement for four years after completion. Added a bedroom, finished a basement, put on an addition? Ask the assessor about it before the new value shows up on your bill.

Exemptions go through the county assessment office, and some need an initial application while others need an annual renewal. In Will County, renewal forms are mailed each spring by the Supervisor of Assessments; the 2026 mailing went out in April. If you bought recently, do not assume the previous owner's exemptions carried over. Check your bill, and if something is missing, file. The Will County Supervisor of Assessments is at 302 N. Chicago Street in Joliet, and township assessors, including Frankfort Township, accept the forms too.

Can you apply after buying? In many cases yes; the assessor sets the deadlines. If you are unsure what you are entitled to, ask Nick and he will point you to the right office. And if the bill is part of why you are weighing a move, start with what downsizing looks like in Will County.