Illinois Sales Tax Calculator

How Illinois sales tax is built: one state rate, many local layers

Illinois charges a 6.25% state rate on general merchandise, and local governments stack their own taxes on top, which is why the average combined rate is 8.98% and the highest is 11.00%. The state share is the same everywhere; the local share depends on the exact address of the sale.

Local add-ons come from municipalities, counties and special districts. Each layer is adopted locally and then administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR), so a store pays one combined return even though the money is split among several governments. That layering is why two stores a mile apart can charge different totals, and why Chicago's combined rate of 10.50% sits well above the state average.

Groceries, medicine and the 2026 grocery tax change

Since January 1, 2026, Illinois no longer charges any state sales tax on groceries. Before that date, qualifying food for home consumption was taxed at a reduced 1% state rate. The same law lets municipalities and counties adopt a local grocery tax of exactly 1% by ordinance, so the grocery rate you pay is either 0% or 1% plus any other local tax that applies to food, depending on where you shop.

To start on January 1 of a given year, a local grocery tax ordinance has to be filed with IDOR by October 1 of the prior year; ordinances filed by April 1 take effect on July 1. Retailers in places with no local grocery tax had to reprogram registers to stop collecting the 1% on groceries from January 1, 2026.

Medicines did not get the same treatment. Prescription and non-prescription drugs and qualifying medical appliances remain at the low 1% state rate. Several food categories never qualified for the low rate and are taxed at the full general merchandise rate plus local taxes:

• Soft drinks
• Candy (sweetened items in bar, drop or piece form, combined with chocolate, fruit or nuts)
• Food prepared for immediate consumption, such as restaurant meals and hot deli items
• Alcoholic beverages
• Cannabis-infused food products

Finding the exact rate for an Illinois address

Use the free MyTax Illinois Tax Rate Finder to get the rate for a specific location. IDOR notes that sales tax rate changes generally take effect on January 1 or July 1, so check again after either date. The finder returns both origin-based rates (what an in-state store charges) and destination-based rates (what a remote seller shipping to you must charge). Search by street address rather than ZIP code, because ZIP codes in Illinois often span several municipalities and unincorporated county areas with different rates.

IDOR also publishes machine-readable rate files for software developers and remote sellers. If you sell occasionally, the online finder is enough; if you ship into Illinois at scale, use the address-specific file.

Worked examples: adding and removing Illinois sales tax

To add sales tax, multiply the price by the combined rate and add the result. To remove it from a receipt, divide the total by 1 plus the rate. Here is how that plays out at the statewide average and at Chicago's combined rate of 10.50%:

Notice that the same $1,200 purchase costs $51.00 more in tax in Chicago than it would at the state rate alone. On big-ticket items, the local layer matters more than the state rate.

Use tax on online and out-of-state purchases

If you buy something taxable for use in Illinois and the seller charges no tax, or less than Illinois would, you owe Use Tax on the difference: 6.25% for general merchandise and 1% for qualifying drugs and medical items. Most large online retailers now collect Illinois tax at checkout, so this mainly affects purchases from small out-of-state sellers, foreign websites and goods bought on trips to lower-tax states.

Individuals report Use Tax on the Use Tax line of Form IL-1040, which IDOR says should never be left blank (enter 0 if you owe nothing), or on Form ST-44. If your Use Tax for the year is $600 or less ($1,200 if married filing jointly), you can pay it once a year on either form by April 15 of the following year. Above that amount, Form ST-44 is due by the last day of the month after the month of purchase. Tax properly paid to another state is credited, but tax paid to a foreign government is not.

Vehicles follow separate rules. IDOR publishes an annual Reciprocal/Non-Reciprocal Vehicle Tax Rate Chart (Form ST-58) that dealers use when an out-of-state resident buys a car in Illinois and takes it home.

Illinois compared with its neighbors

Illinois's 8.98% average combined rate is higher than Indiana's flat 7% and higher than Wisconsin's 5.72%, which is why big purchases near the state line sometimes cross the border. Driving to another state does not erase the tax, though: Illinois Use Tax is owed on goods brought back for use in Illinois, minus any tax paid to the other state.