Property tax in DeKalb County, Illinois
In DeKalb County, the property tax bill comes from the DeKalb County Treasurer / Collector. Every due date for the 2025 Payable 2026 bill has passed, and the county had not posted the next cycle's dates when we checked. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from DeKalb County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in DeKalb County, Illinois is $5,974 a year, which is about 2.45% of the county's median home value of $243,600. That effective rate is higher than the typical Illinois county (1.81%) and higher than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in DeKalb County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the DeKalb County Treasurer / Collector. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the DeKalb County Supervisor of Assessments (Chief County Assessment Officer), with the township assessors, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
Township assessors value homes, and the county recommends talking to your township assessor before filing an appeal with the Board of Review. A decision of the Board of Review can be taken to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board. The exemptions on the county's pages (general homestead, senior, senior assessment freeze, disability, home improvement) and the senior tax deferral loan are the state's programs, applied for through the county. Card, PayPal and similar payments carry a processor fee of 2.60% ($1.95 minimum), and eChecks cost $1.00 a transaction. Mobile homes get a separate one-installment bill with its own due date and a $25 monthly late charge, up to $100.
When are property taxes due in DeKalb County?
Every due date for the 2025 Payable 2026 bill has passed, and DeKalb County had not posted the next cycle's dates when we checked on September 23, 2026. If that bill is still unpaid, the late-payment rules below apply to it. Counties usually repeat the schedule, but confirm the new dates on your next bill. For the 2025 Payable 2026 bill, DeKalb County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due June 3, 2026 and the last September 3, 2026. Illinois law charges interest of 1.5% a month, or part of a month, on an unpaid installment starting the day after its due date (June 4 and September 4 this year). The county's page says the charge is added each month through September, but state law keeps adding it each month until the taxes are paid. Postmarks stop counting once certified delinquent notices go out, about two weeks after the second due date. The last day to pay is Friday, October 23, 2026, in the Treasurer's office by 4:30 p.m. Taxes still unpaid then go to the county's annual tax sale the following Monday and must afterward be redeemed through the County Clerk.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First installment | June 3, 2026 (passed) | The 2025 tax bill was mailed May 1, 2026, as one bill with two payment stubs. To pay the whole bill at once without late charges, pay both stubs by the first due date. Mailed payments count if the U.S. Postal Service postmark is on or before the due date; postage-meter dates are not accepted, and the county suggests having the envelope hand-canceled at a post office counter. |
| Second installment | September 3, 2026 (passed) | Local banks take payments only on or before each installment's due date. Personal and business checks were accepted through September 18, 2026, and card, eCheck and PayPal payments through October 9, 2026; after that, cash, cashier's check or money order only. |
From DeKalb County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in DeKalb County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at DeKalb County's average effective rate of 2.45% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $5,968 / year
Property tax in DeKalb County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $5,974 |
| Median home value | $243,600 |
| Effective tax rate | 2.45% |
| Typical Illinois county rate | 1.81% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does DeKalb County compare in Illinois?
Among Illinois's 102 counties, DeKalb County has the 2nd highest effective property-tax rate: 1 rank higher and 100 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 16th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Illinois county ranked.
How much do homeowners in DeKalb County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across DeKalb County's 24,280 owner-occupied homes, 86.1% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 89.7% pay at least $2,000, and 3.1% pay under $800. Another 3.9% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 755 | 3.1% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 450 | 1.9% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 350 | 1.4% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 875 | 3.6% |
| $3,000 or more | 20,902 | 86.1% |
| No property tax paid | 948 | 3.9% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $6,144 and owners without one pay $5,601. That is within 10% either way, so in DeKalb County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the DeKalb County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $5,974 is about 5.9% of the median income of DeKalb County homeowner households, $101,272 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 61.4% of DeKalb County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in DeKalb County?
Yes. The median bill went from $4,999 in 2015-2019 to $5,974 in 2020-2024, a 19.5% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 40.7%, from $173,100 to $243,600. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to DeKalb County
DeKalb County borders 8 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeKalb County, IL (this county) | 2.45% | $5,974 | $243,600 |
| Winnebago County, IL | 2.39% | $3,930 | $164,500 |
| Kendall County, IL | 2.37% | $7,651 | $322,400 |
| McHenry County, IL | 2.36% | $7,274 | $308,100 |
| Kane County, IL | 2.26% | $7,382 | $327,000 |
| Boone County, IL | 2.18% | $4,735 | $216,900 |
| LaSalle County, IL | 2.11% | $3,418 | $161,900 |
| Ogle County, IL | 2.06% | $3,889 | $189,200 |
| Lee County, IL | 1.97% | $3,048 | $154,600 |
How is a home assessed in DeKalb County?
Illinois assesses homes at 33.33% of market value in every county, DeKalb County included. How Illinois assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in DeKalb County?
Yes. Illinois's General Homestead Exemption is $6,000 of equalized assessed value in most counties, $8,000 in counties next to Cook, and $10,000 in Cook County. That is the Illinois rule, and it applies in DeKalb County. Illinois's exemptions and relief programs in full.
DeKalb County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Illinois ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your DeKalb County property assessment
In DeKalb County you appeal to the DeKalb County Board of Review. The deadline: Within 30 days after the county publishes your township's assessment changes in the newspaper; the complaint must be received or postmarked by the deadline, and faxed or emailed complaints are not accepted. For 2026 every township was published September 10, 2026, and the deadline is October 13, 2026. An owner who files a 10-business-day extension request with the complaint has until October 27, 2026 to send in evidence, but the complaint itself is still due October 13. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Illinois's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Illinois rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Illinois page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with DeKalb County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Illinois income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Illinois actually taxes.
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Sales tax in DeKalb County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for DeKalb County, Illinois: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.