The Manteno property tax rebate has been discontinued. In April 2026 the Village of Manteno board voted to eliminate the program starting with fiscal year 2026–27, making the 2025 application cycle, which covered 2024 property taxes, the final round. If you received a check from that last cycle, the most urgent thing to know is that it had a hard cash-by date; if you qualified in past years, the rebate may still affect your federal return.
The Program Has Ended
The village board’s April 2026 vote eliminated the rebate beginning with fiscal year 2026–27, a change the village said saves approximately $1.3 million annually. No 2026 application cycle has been announced, and none is expected. The village has not indicated any replacement program, so homeowners who relied on the rebate to offset their tax bill will need to plan for the full village portion going forward.
If You Still Have an Uncashed Check
Every rebate check carried a forfeiture date printed on it. For the 2025 cycle, any check not cashed by March 30, 2026, was permanently forfeited.1Village of Manteno. 2025 Property Tax Rebate Application The application did not describe any process for requesting a replacement, so a check lost in the mail or left sitting in a drawer is simply gone. If you have one you haven’t deposited, look at the date on it now.
How the Rebate Worked
A Kankakee County property tax bill is split among several taxing bodies: the village, the school district, the county, the fire district, and others. Manteno’s rebate refunded 100% of the Village of Manteno portion only, not the whole bill.1Village of Manteno. 2025 Property Tax Rebate Application That is why the check was noticeably smaller than the total tax paid. The village funded the payments by transferring roughly $1.3 million each year from its General Fund surplus into a dedicated Tax Reimbursement Account.
The village portion appears as a separate line on your Kankakee County tax bill, in the breakdown that lists each taxing district’s share.
Who Qualified
The rebate was limited to owner-occupied homes inside village limits. Applicants had to certify, under penalty of forfeiture, that they met each of the following for the entire prior calendar year:1Village of Manteno. 2025 Property Tax Rebate Application
- Lived in the home and held legal or equitable title from January 1 through December 31.
- Did not generate any rental income from the property during that year.
- Paid the property tax bill in full, either personally or through a mortgage lender, with no balance past the county’s deadline.
- Owed no past-due debts to the village, including water and sewer charges, parking tickets, code enforcement fines, or other violations.
The “homestead” definition tracked the Illinois General Homestead Exemption under 35 ILCS 200/15-175, which covers residential property occupied by the owner as a principal dwelling. A common snag on applications was the ID requirement: every person named on the tax bill had to submit an Illinois driver’s license or state ID showing the property address, and a spouse with an outdated address on their license could sink the application.
Whether Your Rebate Is Taxable on Your Federal Return
A property tax rebate can be taxable federal income, but only in specific circumstances. The IRS treats it as a “recovery” of a previously deducted expense, and under the tax benefit rule you include the recovered amount in income only to the extent the original deduction actually reduced your tax.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 – Taxable and Nontaxable Income
If you took the standard deduction in the year you paid the property taxes being rebated, the rebate is not taxable, because the deduction did not benefit you. If you itemized, you may still owe nothing extra when your itemized total was close to the standard deduction. The taxable amount is capped at the lesser of the rebate or the difference between your itemized deductions and the standard deduction you could have claimed instead.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 – Taxable and Nontaxable Income Publication 525 includes a worksheet that walks through the calculation.
Planning for the Next Tax Bill
Without the rebate, the village portion of your Kankakee County property tax bill is a real cost again rather than a refundable one. Pull last year’s bill, find the Village of Manteno line, and add that figure back into your household budget for the coming cycle. That is the amount you were effectively getting back, and the amount you will now keep paying.