Kane County, IL Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Section 7-61 of the Kane County Code sets the fee schedule for the short-term rental license created by Ordinance 26-038 on January 13, 2026. A property owner who has never held a license pays $200 for the initial license issued by the Director of the Development and Community Services Department. Each following year the renewal costs only $100, provided the owner files before January 31. The code treats that date as a hard cutoff rather than a grace period: failure to renew by January 31 causes forfeiture of the rental license, and the owner is then required to submit a brand-new application, meaning the $200 initial fee applies again rather than the $100 renewal rate.

These fees fund only the licensing and inspection review process; the county code contains no separate short-term rental occupancy or hotel tax layered on top of the license fee itself. Owners must still submit the full renewal package on the Department's application form, including proof of insurance and inspection documentation under Section 7-62, so the $100 renewal fee accompanies a complete annual filing rather than a simple payment. A person who rents without ever paying for a license faces the same $1,000-per-day fine under Section 7-68 that applies to any unlicensed operation, so the fee is not optional background paperwork; it is the trigger for lawful operation.