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Must I pay use tax?
- Illinois retailers, who must charge sales tax, compete with out-of-state retailers, who may charge tax at rates less than Illinois rates; and
- Illinois must make up lost revenues or curtail state services provided to consumers and taxpayers.
Yes, it is the law. Payment is not voluntary; it is required. Using goods purchased free of tax or at lower rates outside Illinois is unfair to retailers, consumers, and taxpayers in the following ways:
The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) aggressively focuses on collecting this tax. Illinois shares sales information with other states and bills Illinois residents for unpaid tax, penalty, and interest. Illinois gathers information on overseas purchases from the U.S. Customs Service. You can avoid being billed for unpaid tax and additional penalty and interest charges by voluntarily paying your use tax liability on time.
IDOR can assess use tax owed by taxpayers who do not pay this tax. For taxpayers who do not have records to document their use tax liability, IDOR will estimate liability. Taxpayers have the right to refute IDOR’s estimate.