2026 Illinois Remote Retailer Tax Amnesty Program

To: Remote retailers who have outstanding Illinois sales tax debt

The 2026 Illinois Remote Retailer Tax Amnesty Program runs from August 1, 2026, through October 31, 2026. It allows qualifying remote retailers to pay eligible sales tax liabilities with related penalties and interest waived.

To participate, retailers must be registered with the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) and have an active MyTax Illinois logon. Because registration processing typically takes one to two business days, retailers are encouraged to register promptly and set up a MyTax Illinois logon.

All amnesty-program-specific filing and payment instructions must be followed, and all steps must be completed by the required deadlines. See 35 ILCS 120/2-13 as added by P.A. 104-0006.

Retailers that sell tangible personal property (TPP) to customers in Illinois but have no physical presence here are considered remote retailers and may qualify if they have unpaid sales tax for sales made between January 1, 2021, and June 30, 2026, and meet the required tax remittance threshold:

• For any calendar quarter ending after January 1, 2021, and on or before December 31, 2025:
  • $100,000 or more in annual gross receipts from sales of TPP to purchasers in Illinois during the 4 preceding calendar quarters; or 
  • 200 or more separate transactions for the sale of TPP to purchasers in Illinois during the 4 preceding calendar quarters.
• For any calendar quarter starting on or after January 1, 2026:
  • $100,000 or more in annual gross receipts from sales of TPP to purchasers in Illinois during the 4 preceding calendar quarters.

For more information, see FY 2026-12, Destination-Based Retailers' Occupation Tax Changes.

Liabilities for the following tax types incurred on sales made between January 1, 2021, and June 30, 2026, are eligible:

• Retailers’ Occupation Tax
  • includes items that must be titled or registered with a state agency
• All locally-imposed retailers’ occupation taxes that are administered by IDOR including the Chicago Home Rule Municipal Soft Drink Retailers’ Occupation Tax

The Amnesty Program allows remote retailers that may not have the records necessary to determine the location of their selling activities in this State to come into compliance with the sales tax laws of Illinois.

Participants must electronically report and pay eligible tax liabilities using a simplified return and tax rate. The rate combines the State tax and the average local retailers’ occupation tax rate.

Simplified tax rates:

• 9% for general merchandise 
• 1.75% for sales of items normally subject to the 1% State rate of tax. This includes food for off-site consumption, prescription and nonprescription medicines, drugs and medical appliances. 

Participants must keep records of all sales for which the 1.75% rate applies. If records do not exist to justify the 1.75% rate, the sales are presumed to be subject to the 9% general merchandise rate.

You may be subject to audit and additional penalties and interest. If a taxpayer fails to provide sufficient information to determine the proper location for destination-based sales, IDOR will assess tax on the gross receipts of such sales to undetermined tax locations at the rate of 15%. The 15% undetermined location rate may be used during an audit by IDOR for any period under audit, including reporting periods prior to January 2026.

Remote retailers should review their books and records for sales made to Illinois customers to determine if they have liabilities that are eligible for the Amnesty Program.

You must electronically submit the Remote Retailer Amnesty Application during the amnesty period August 1, 2026, through October 31, 2026, using MyTax Illinois:

1. Log in to MyTax Illinois using your logon information.
2. Next to your ST-1 Sales/Use Tax Account, select “View more account options.” 
3. Under “Account Options” select “Remote Retailer Amnesty Application.” 
4. Follow the steps to complete the application. 
5. Indicate the periods from January 1, 2021, through June 30, 2026, for which you are claiming amnesty. You are not required to seek amnesty for each eligible period if tax had previously been remitted using the applicable State and local retailers’ occupation tax rates or if a tax remittance threshold had not been met for the period. In such cases, you can seek amnesty for certain months, years, or multiple ranges of periods. 
6. Review your records to ensure the correct amount of liability is reported. The amnesty application liability cannot be edited after it has been processed by IDOR.

Payments can be submitted electronically with your Remote Retailer Amnesty Application during the amnesty period August 1, 2026, through October 31, 2026, in MyTax Illinois. If you cannot make full payment by the due date, you may qualify for amnesty by using the repayment plan option below.

Yes. A verified overpayment or credit memorandum may be treated as a qualified payment towards eligible tax liability.

If you cannot pay your eligible liabilities in full due to a financial hardship, you may request a repayment plan by October 31, 2026. This plan is an agreement with IDOR to pay your tax debt in monthly installments. Repayment plans cannot exceed 24 months. If the full amount is not paid as agreed, you will not qualify for amnesty, penalty and interest will not be waived, and the tax liability will be recalculated as provided in the Retailers’ Occupation Tax Act without the benefit of the simplified rate.

How to apply for a repayment plan:

• Complete the Remote Retailer Amnesty Application and select “Payment Plan” as your payment method.
• You will need: 
  • Bank routing and account numbers
  • Number of monthly installments (6, 12, 18, or 24 months)
  • A down payment submitted with the Remote Retailer Amnesty Application

The installment amount is calculated based on the number of monthly installments selected. This amount will be displayed before you grant authorization for IDOR to automatically withdraw the monthly installment amount from the bank account provided beginning December 1, 2026. 

If you have questions about payments, contact IDOR at REV.TA-Amnesty@illinois.gov.

You must register as a remote retailer with IDOR and activate a MyTax Illinois logon to participate in the Amnesty Program. Important: Processing time for an electronic registration application is usually one to two business days. Register electronically using MyTax Illinois at mytax.illinois.gov. Visit the 2026 Illinois Remote Retailer Tax Amnesty Program webpage at tax.illinois.gov for limited-time, tax amnesty-specific registration instructions.

You must already be registered with IDOR before you are able to set up a MyTax Illinois logon. After registering, watch for an email from IDOR. The email confirms your registration and lists the tax types and account numbers assigned to you. It also includes instructions for creating your MyTax Illinois logon. Go to mytax.illinois.gov, select the “Sign Up” link at the bottom of the login box, on the first page of the activation, select the “Next” button, and then select the taxpayer ID type you want to use to activate your MyTax Illinois account. Reminder: The only method to access the Remote Retailer Amnesty Application is through MyTax Illinois. Your logon is required to access the amnesty application.

Contact CRD using the contact information above.

Important: Allow enough time for registration and MyTax Illinois activation in order to submit the Remote Retailer Amnesty Application and payment on or before October 31, 2026.

If your business was previously registered with IDOR, you can contact CRD using the information above to receive information on how to reopen your sales tax account to complete the Remote Retailer Amnesty Application.

If your business was not previously registered with IDOR, you must register as a remote retailer with IDOR and activate a MyTax Illinois logon to complete the Remote Retailer Amnesty Application.

You can request to close your sales tax account after your Remote Retailer Amnesty Application has been processed by IDOR.

How to Close Your Sales Tax Account:

1. Log in to MyTax Illinois using your logon information. 
2. Next to your ST-1 Sales/Use Tax Account, select “View more account options.”
3. Under “Account Maintenance”, choose “Request to Close Account.” 
4. Enter the closure date and reason.

If you have questions regarding closing your account, contact CRD using the information above.

Yes. The following items are not waived under the Amnesty Program:

• lien filing and lien release fees
• books and records penalties
• bad check penalties
• collection agency service fees
• penalty and interest on tax liabilities that were fully paid before the amnesty period or that do not qualify for amnesty
• various other penalties and fees not based on a tax liability, including certain audit penalties

If you were recently audited or are currently under audit for a period in which you had eligible transactions, you should contact your IDOR auditor for guidance on filing and paying amnesty liability between August 1, 2026, and October 31, 2026.

For more information on the 2026 Illinois Remote Retailer Tax Amnesty Program, visit IDOR’s website at tax.illinois.gov.