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Tobacco Uniformity Project

It is with excitement that the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) announces the start of its Tobacco Uniformity Project. IDOR’s project will utilize the base framework developed by the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) to streamline electronic filing standards for all stakeholders and create uniformity within taxing jurisdictions.

IDOR plans to begin implementation with the Other Tobacco Products (OTP) Tax (Form TP-1, Tobacco Products Tax Return, and certain schedules). Cigarette Taxes will be addressed in a later phase of IDOR’s project. IDOR staff is actively working on the OTP changes and will communicate updates throughout the year. The official rollout of the project will take place at the end of calendar year 2024 with new electronic filing layouts required beginning with the January 2025 reporting period.

Taxpayers

For all reporting periods up to and including December 31, 2024, continue to use your current electronic filing method for Form TP-1, Tobacco Products Tax Return, and applicable schedules. Beginning with the January 2025 return, due February 18, 2025, you will begin using IDOR's new layouts. The filing options will remain the same, either through MyTax Illinois or direct file using electronic filing software. 

Electronic Transmitters/Software Developers

New file layouts are being created by IDOR to utilize FTA’s XML schema for Tobacco Uniformity. These new layouts will incorporate the uniform transactions schedule and an associated return. The Illinois-specific layouts are expected to be available by June 2024.

In addition to the new schema, Illinois will also be introducing a new transmission gateway and Developer’s Portal later in the project. The new transmission method will be included in the electronic filing schemas and serve as a valuable resource during the testing portion of the transition to the new schema.

Questions?

Project updates will be posted to this webpage. We also encourage you to sign up for IDOR News & Updates, IDOR’s email/SMS text subscription service, to receive the latest news and updates specific to the Tobacco Uniformity Project by selecting the topic Cigarette and tobacco taxes.