Kankakee County, IL tax sales
How tax lien certificate and tax deed sales work in Kankakee County, seat of Kankakee: sale calendar, auction platform, over-the-counter lists, and the offices that run each sale.
Verified Jul 30, 2026 against official county and state sources.
New here? Read how Illinois tax sales work, the difference between a lien and a deed, and redemption periods.
How Kankakee County sells delinquent taxes
Tax certificate sale (lien)
- Run by
- Kankakee County Treasurer's Office
- Frequency
- annual
- Typical timing
- Annual, in the second week of November. The Treasurer's 2026 Tax Sale Instructions list the "Tax Sale Date" as "November 12, 2026" at "9:00 AM", preceded by a "Publication Date" of "October 7, 2026" and a "Judgment Date" of "November 9, 2026". The Treasurer's property tax calendar lists the same November 12, 2026 date for the "Annual tax sale for delinquent properties". The sale "Includes" mobile homes.
Registration and deposit
The Treasurer's 2026 packet states: "Registration begins September 16, 2026. Completed registration forms must be received at least ten (10) days prior to the tax sale. Registration deadline: October 22, 2026." The registration form requires a company name, street address, phone, email, EIN or Social Security number, buyer name, and the name certificates are to be issued in, and states that "IRS Form W-9 is required for all bidders." Two fees are due by separate check: a "List Fee" of "$75.00" and a "Registration Fee" of "$500.00", with the instruction to "provide a separate check for each required fee". Under Terms of Sale: "Registration must include a $500 deposit to be applied toward purchased properties. If the registrant fails to attend or place bids, the deposit will be forfeited. Payment must be made by company check or cash. Failure to comply with these Terms of Sale may result in purchases being voided and re-offered for sale."
The Treasurer conducts this sale in person. The 2026 tax buyer packet names no online auction platform, and its terms turn on physical attendance, warning that "If the registrant fails to attend or place bids, the deposit will be forfeited" and that "Payment must be made by company check or cash". No online bidding platform is confirmed for Kankakee County, so verify the sale room and check-in time with the Treasurer's office before November 12. Note a date conflict inside the packet: it states both a ten day minimum and a specific October 22, 2026 registration deadline, so treat October 22 as the operative cutoff and confirm with the office. Subsequent taxes may be paid starting September 16, 2026; payments made before the sale must be received on or before November 5, 2026, and the packet asks bidders to "notify the Treasurer's Office one business day in advance so bills can be prepared." The buyer list carries a $75.00 fee from the Treasurer and the delinquent list is published October 7, 2026. Kankakee County does not post a downloadable sale list online, so the Property Tax Inquiry portal is the only delinquency research tool the county links, and it cautions that "IF YOU ARE RESEARCHING DELINQUENT PROPERTIES DURING THIS TIME, YOU ARE ADVISED THAT THE ACCURACY OF INFORMATION ON THIS SYSTEM CANNOT BE GUARANTEED." The Treasurer's stated duties include to "Conduct annual tax sales for delinquent properties" and "Manage delinquent tax accounts and collections".
Tax deed sale
- Run by
- Sheriff or a court-appointed private selling officer, under an order of the circuit court. A county acting as trustee runs its own tax deed auctions.
- Frequency
- as ordered by the circuit court
- Typical timing
- Within 120 days after the court order authorizing the auction. Public Act 104-0553 created this route for tax certificates issued on or after July 10, 2026, so the earliest Illinois judicial tax deed auctions fall in 2027, after the 1 year short redemption track runs.
Registration and deposit
Terms of a judicial tax deed auction, including whether it runs online, in person, or both, and what deposit is required, are set in the court's order and published in the notice of tax deed auction. That notice runs once a week for 3 consecutive weeks, starting no more than 45 days and ending no less than 7 days before the auction. Read the notice for each parcel; there is no statewide platform or standing bidder registration.
Bidding opens at the tax deed judgment amount plus 0.75 percent per month since judgment, plus publication and selling officer costs. The petitioning certificate holder is entered as a credit bidder at that minimum. Surplus above the minimum goes to the county treasurer for the former owner to claim.
Over-the-counter (leftover) purchases
Certificates nobody bids on at the annual sale are forfeited to the county as trustee for the taxing districts. The county may then assign a forfeited certificate to any party or sell property it has acquired, which many counties handle through a delinquent tax agent rather than a public counter. Counties may also offer county-held certificates at a scavenger sale with a minimum bid of $250, or half the tax when total liability is under $500. Ask the county collector and the county clerk which program the county runs and who may buy.
New to this path? Read how over-the-counter certificates work.
County offices
Tax Collector (runs the certificate sale)
Notes for Kankakee County
- The Treasurer's office is Kankakee County's tax sale authority. Nicholas Africano is listed as Treasurer, and the office publishes the annual tax buyer packet under Documents on its site.
- Office hours are "Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM", closed on county holidays. Email is [email protected].
- The 2026 delinquency calendar: last day to pay by personal check without a publication fee is September 25, 2026; delinquent notices are mailed October 6, 2026; last online payment is October 23, 2026; last in-office payment is November 10, 2026; the tax sale is November 12, 2026. Late payments carry a 1.5% monthly penalty and interest.
- The Kankakee County Clerk is a separate office at the same building, 189 East Court St., Kankakee, IL 60901, (815) 937-2990, [email protected]. Its Tax Information section links delinquent taxes to the same Property Tax Inquiry portal but publishes no redemption procedure or redemption estimate details online, so call the Clerk to confirm redemption handling.
- The county's main website is reachable at both k3county.net and kankakeecountyil.gov, and both route tax questions to the Treasurer's separate site at kankakeecountytreasurer.gov.
- The Treasurer publishes a plain-language explainer, "The Tax Sale Process in Illinois", describing the bid-down-interest format: investors "compete by offering the lowest interest rate they are willing to accept", the winning investor holds a lien, and the redemption period is described as "usually 2 to 3 years" before a tax deed is available through the court.
- No third-party auction site was found advertising this sale. If a listing site claims to run the Kankakee County sale, treat it with caution; the county's own 2026 packet describes an in-person sale paid by company check or cash.
Illinois statewide rules
- Redemption
- Property sold at an Illinois tax sale may be redeemed at any time before the redemption period expires. Public Act 104-0553 set the standard period at 3 years from the date of sale for tax certificates issued on or after July 10, 2026. Certificates issued between January 1, 2024 and July 9, 2026 run on the earlier 2.5 year (30 month) track, and on that track the certificate holder could file a written notice with the county clerk extending redemption to a date no later than 3 years from the sale. A short 1 year period applies when the parcel was, on the date of sale, vacant non-farm property, commercial or industrial property, or improved with a structure holding 7 or more residential units. Certificates the county holds or assigns as trustee run on their own schedule under Section 21-385, and an assignee must file notice within 60 days of assignment setting a redemption deadline no later than 3 years from the assignment.
- Deed deposit
- Illinois does not fix a statutory deposit percentage. Deposit and payment terms are set in the court's order authorizing the auction and by the selling officer, so read the notice of tax deed auction for each sale. A purchaser who fails to complete the sale forfeits any deposit already made to the county surplus equity fund, and the court orders a new auction of the property.
- Surplus proceeds
- Any amount by which the winning bid exceeds the minimum bid is surplus. Within 30 days after the court confirms the sale the selling officer deposits the surplus with the county treasurer, who notifies everyone who received the Section 22-10 take notice that the owner at the time of the sale may file a claim for it. A county running its own tax deed auction deposits surplus with the treasurer within 30 days of the sale and notifies interested parties within 60 days. Separately, a previous owner who lost equity through a tax deed can claim an award from the county surplus equity fund, capped at the value of the property when the deed issued less mortgages, liens, and the taxes the purchaser paid.
A tax deed does not convey marketable title. Most buyers file a quiet title action before they can resell or insure the property. See the due diligence guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Kankakee County, Illinois sell tax liens or tax deeds?
- Kankakee County follows Illinois's tax lien state system.
When is the Kankakee County tax certificate sale?
- Annual, in the second week of November. The Treasurer's 2026 Tax Sale Instructions list the "Tax Sale Date" as "November 12, 2026" at "9:00 AM", preceded by a "Publication Date" of "October 7, 2026" and a "Judgment Date" of "November 9, 2026". The Treasurer's property tax calendar lists the same November 12, 2026 date for the "Annual tax sale for delinquent properties". The sale "Includes" mobile homes.. Registration and bidding happen on the county's online platform. Always confirm the exact date with the Tax Collector before the sale.
How often does Kankakee County hold tax deed sales?
- as ordered by the circuit court. Each sale is scheduled and advertised in advance, so check the county's tax deed calendar for the next posted date.
Tax Sale Atlas publishes educational information about public tax sale processes. This is not legal, financial, or investment advice. Rules, dates, and fees change; confirm with the county office before you bid.
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