Section 220.101  Nature of the Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax

 

a)         Authority to Impose Tax

 

1)         Pursuant to Section 5-1006 of the Counties Code [55 ILCS 5], any county that is a home rule unit may impose a tax upon all persons engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property, other than an item of tangible personal property titled or registered with an agency of this State's government, at retail in the county on the gross receipts from such sales made in the course of their business.  If imposed, this tax shall only be imposed in ¼% increments. 

 

2)         This additional tax may not be imposed on tangible personal property taxed at the 1% rate under the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act [35 ILCS 120].  [55 ILCS 5/5-1006]  For guidance on the types of tangible personal property taxed at the 1% rate, see 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.310 and 130.311.

 

3)         Beginning December 1, 2019, this tax is not imposed on sales of aviation fuel unless the tax revenue is expended for airport-related purposes.  If the county does not have an airport-related purpose to which it dedicates aviation fuel tax revenue, then aviation fuel is excluded from the tax.  The county must comply with the certification requirements for airport-related purposes under Section 2-22 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act [35 ILCS 120].  [55 ILCS 5/5-1006]  "Aviation fuel" means jet fuel and aviation gasoline.  [35 ILCS 120/3]  "Airport-related purposes" has the meaning ascribed in Section 6z-20.2 of the State Finance Act [30 ILCS 105].  This exclusion for aviation fuel only applies for so long as the revenue use requirements of 49 U.S.C. 47107(b) and 49 U.S.C. 47133 are binding on the county.

 

4)         The tax imposed by a home rule county pursuant to this Section and all civil penalties that may be assessed as an incident thereof, shall be collected and enforced by the Department of Revenue.  [55 ILCS 5/5-1006] 

 

b)         Passing on the Tax

The legal incidence of the Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax is on the seller.  Nevertheless, the General Assembly has authorized persons subject to this tax to reimburse themselves for their seller's tax liability by separately stating such tax as an additional charge, which charge may be stated in combination, in a single amount, with State tax which sellers are required to collect under the Use Tax Act [35 ILCS 105], pursuant to such bracket schedules as the Department has prescribed.  [55 ILCS 5/5-1006]  (See 86 Ill. Adm. Code 150.Table A).

 

c)         Exclusion from "Gross Receipts"

Any amount added to the selling price of tangible personal property by the seller because of the Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax, the Retailers' Occupation Tax, the Use Tax Act, or any other local occupation tax administered by the Department, and collected from the purchaser, shall not be regarded as a part of the seller's gross receipts that are subject to the Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax.

 

(Source:  Amended at 49 Ill. Reg. 3201, effective February 26, 2025)

 

Section 220.105  Registration and Returns

 

a)         Separate Registration not Required

A retailer's registration under the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act [35 ILCS 120] is sufficient for the purposes of the Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax Law.  No special registration for the Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax is required.

 

b)         Requirements as to Returns

 

1)         The information required for the Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax shall be furnished on the taxpayer's Retailers' Occupation Tax return form.

 

2)         If the retailer files its Retailers' Occupation Tax returns on the gross receipts basis, the retailer must also report its Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax information in its returns on the gross receipts basis.  If the retailer files its Retailers' Occupation Tax returns on the gross sales basis, the retailer must also report its Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax information in its returns on the gross sales basis.

 

3)         If applicable, aviation fuel tax returns shall be filed in accordance with Section 3 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.541, except that the retailer's discount is not allowed for taxes paid on aviation fuel that are subject to the revenue use requirements of 49 U.S.C. 47107(b) and 49 U.S.C. 47133.  [55 ILCS 5/5-1006]  (See Section 220.101(a)(3)).

 

(Source:  Amended at 49 Ill. Reg. 3201, effective February 26, 2025)

 

Section 220.110  Claims to Recover Erroneously Paid Tax

 

Claims for Multiple Taxes.  If a claimant files a claim for refund on a transaction which was subject to State and local taxes administered by the Department, the claim need not be filed separately for each type of tax.  A single claim for the total of all applicable taxes will suffice.  The claim will be audited, heard, or otherwise processed as a single claim whenever possible.  A single credit memorandum will be issued which may be used by the claimant or his authorized assignee to pay State or local tax liability.

 

(Source:  Amended at 15 Ill. Reg. 5783, effective April 9, 1991)

 

Section 220.115  Jurisdictional Questions

 

The substance and provisions of 86 Ill. Adm. Code 270.115 of the Home Rule Municipal Retailers' Occupation Tax Regulations which are not incompatible with the Home Rule County Retailers’ Occupation Tax Law of the Counties Code, shall apply to this Part. References to a "home rule municipality" or "municipality" in Section 270.115 mean "home rule county" for purposes of this Section. References to the Home Rule Municipal Retailers’ Occupation Tax in Section 270.115 mean Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax for purposes of this Part.  When used in this Part, "County" includes all territory located within the county, including all territory within cities, villages or incorporated towns, including an incorporated town that has superseded a civil township.

 

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 2719, effective February 7, 2023)

 

Section 220.120  Incorporation of Retailers' Occupation Tax Regulations by Reference

 

To avoid needless repetition, the substance and provisions of all Retailers' Occupation Tax Regulations (86 Ill. Adm. Code 130 which are not incompatible with the Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax Act or any special Regulations that may be promulgated by the Department thereunder, are incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof.

 

(Source:  Amended at 15 Ill. Reg. 5783, effective April 9, 1991)

 

Section 220.125  Penalties, Interest and Procedures

 

All penalties (both civil and criminal), provisions concerning interest and procedures (such as the making of assessments, the venue and mode of conducting hearings, subpoenas, matters pertaining to judicial review and other procedural subjects), together with statutes of limitation, are the same under the Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax Act as under the Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 120, pars. 440 et seq.).

 

(Source:  Amended at 15 Ill. Reg. 5783, effective April 9, 1991)

 

Section 220.130  Effective Date

 

An ordinance or resolution imposing or discontinuing or effecting a change in the rate of a Home Rule County Retailers' Occupation Tax shall either: be adopted and a certified copy filed with the Department on or before the first day of April, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer and enforce the ordinance or resolution as of the first day of July next following such adoption and filing; or be adopted and a certified copy filed with the Department on or before the first day of October, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer and enforce the ordinance or resolution as of the first day of January next following such adoption and filing.  For this purpose, the date of the sale is deemed to be the date of the delivery of the property.

 

(Source:  Amended at 24 Ill. Reg. 8105, effective May 26, 2000)