Illinois State Tax Rulings
Free plain-English summaries of state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued in Illinois, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Is Illinois sales tax computed before or after an instant appliance rebate that a manufacturer or utility reimburses to the retailer?
Before the reimbursed rebate. If a third party reimbursed the retailer for the instant discount, that reimbursement remained part of taxable gross receipts—so the example used the full $1,000 price, n…
When must an Illinois retailer report later customer payments, and when does temporary storage avoid Use Tax?
A retailer filing on the gross-receipts basis reported later payments in the period received; gross-sales filers paid upfront and had to notify the Department to change methods. Temporary-storage reli…
Can an Illinois retailer exclude used gaming hardware or software traded toward a new item?
Only if the traded item was of like kind and character to the item sold. The retailer could accept multiple trade-ins and needed sufficient records, but no special certification was required. The GIL …
Were guaranteed manufacturer holdback payments taxable gross receipts when a vehicle's retail sale affected only when the dealer was paid?
No. The Department said the described 3% manufacturer holdback fit the regulation's nontaxable example because the dealer was guaranteed payment even if the vehicle was not sold. A retail sale acceler…
Did Illinois tax an automotive core charge, and what happened to the tax when the core or the purchased part was later returned?
Yes. A core charge was part of the taxable selling price. If the customer later returned the core, the retailer should refund the full core charge and the tax paid on it. If the customer supplied the …
Could an Illinois caterer exclude separately stated service, linen, equipment, setup, or delivery charges from taxable meal-sale receipts?
No. Illinois said a caterer's taxable gross receipts included charges associated with the food sale, including linens, tables, chairs, dishes, glasses, flowers, labor, setup, delivery, and corkage, ev…
Was inbound freight taxable when a distributor separately billed customers for moving inventory to the selling branch before the sale?
Yes. Illinois treated freight paid to acquire inventory, or to move it to the point from which it would later be sold and delivered, as the seller's cost of doing business. The seller could not deduct…
When a grocery purchase used both a reimbursed manufacturer coupon and food stamps, which part was subject to Illinois tax?
The reimbursed manufacturer-coupon value was taxable gross receipts, while the portion paid with food stamps was not taxable. If the retailer received no reimbursement for its coupon, that coupon valu…
Was a mandatory convenience fee for buying a show-and-meal ticket online included in Illinois taxable gross receipts?
Yes. The seller's mandatory online convenience fee was inseparably linked to purchasing the ticket through the website and became part of the selling price. Calling it a separately stated fee for reco…
Was the state-funded Energy Star appliance rebate included in the retailer's taxable gross receipts?
Yes. Because the retailer received reimbursement for the point-of-sale markdown, the rebate remained part of taxable gross receipts. In the requester's $1,000 refrigerator example with a $150 rebate, …
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These are official tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued by Illinois's revenue authority in response to questions from specific taxpayers about how the tax law applies to their facts. A ruling is binding on the department only for the taxpayer who requested it and cannot be relied on by anyone else, but it is strong evidence of how the state reads the law. Every ruling above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original source.