Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) Occupation and Use Tax Rate Change, Effective August 1, 2026

To: All retailers and servicepersons making sales in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, or Will counties and who file Form ST-1, Form ST-556, Form RUT-25, Form CD-1, or Form ST-70

Effective August 1, 2026, the NITA (formerly the Regional Transportation Authority) occupation and use tax rate will increase by 0.25% in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties.

This tax applies to:

• General merchandise
• Qualifying groceries
• Qualifying drugs and medical appliances¹
• Items that must be titled or registered in Illinois²
• Medical and adult use cannabis³
• Aviation fuel⁴

NITA rates are added to the statewide rate (6.25% or 1.00%) plus any local taxes collected by IDOR.

To find your updated rate, use the MyTax Illinois Tax Rate Finder at mytax.illinois.gov and select rates for August 2026.

Be sure to update your cash register or software so you are collecting the correct rate starting August 1, 2026. If you use software to prepare your forms, check with your vendor for updates.

If you make sales from a Cook County location:

• The new NITA occupation and use tax rate is 1.25% for general merchandise and 1.50% for qualifying grocery and qualifying drugs and medical appliances.

If you make sales from a DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, or Will County location:

• The new NITA occupation and use tax rate is 1.00% for general merchandise, qualifying grocery, and qualifying drugs and medical appliances.

When you file electronically using MyTax Illinois, the combined occupation and use tax rates will be populated for you according to your registered locations.

If you receive a paper Form ST-1, and, if applicable, Form ST-2, the new occupation and use tax rate will be preprinted on Lines 4a, 5a, and 5c as the total general merchandise, qualifying drugs and medical appliances, and qualifying grocery rates.

If the original sale was subject to an occupation and use tax rate that was in effect prior to this rate change, you must report these receipts on Form ST-1, Line 8a and the tax on Line 8b.

If you make sales from a Cook County location:

• The new NITA occupation and use tax rate is 1.25% for items titled or registered.

If you make sales from a DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, or Will County location:

• The new NITA occupation and use tax rate is 1.00% for items titled or registered.

Yes. You must collect the NITA occupation and use tax on sales of items that will be titled or registered with a government agency of the state of Illinois.

When you file electronically using MyTax Illinois, the combined occupation and use tax rates will be populated for you according to your registered locations.

If you receive paper a Form ST-556 or ST-556-LSE, those that are printed after August 1, 2026, will reflect the new combined occupation and use tax rate preprinted on Line 4.

For the forms that you have on hand for sales made on or after August 1, 2026, you will need to add the additional 0.25% to the occupation and use tax rate that is preprinted on Line 4 of your Form ST-556 or Form ST-556-LSE.

For more information, see ST-9, A Guide for Reporting Sales Using Form ST-556, Sales Tax Transaction Return and ST-9-LSE, A Guide for Reporting Sales Using Form ST-556-LSE, Transaction Return for Leases.

If you purchase items out of-State that will be titled or registered to a Cook County address:

• The new NITA occupation and use tax rate is 1.25% for purchases titled or registered to a Cook County address.

If you purchase items out of-State that will be titled or registered to a DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, or Will County address:

• The new NITA occupation and use tax rate is 1.00% for purchases titled or registered to an address in one of these counties.

Tax rates are not preprinted on Form RUT-25 or Form RUT-25-LSE. The tax rate is determined by the purchaser’s address provided on Form RUT-25 or lessee’s address provided on Form RUT-25-LSE.

For more information, see the Illinois Tax Requirements for Cars, Trucks, Vans, Motorcycles, ATVs, Trailers, and Mobile Homes webpage.

If you make sales from a Cook County location:

• The NITA new occupation tax rate on cannabis is 1.50% and the new use tax rate on cannabis is 1.25%.

If you make sales from a DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, or Will County location:

• The new NITA occupation and use tax rate on cannabis is 1.00% for general merchandise.

If you make sales from a Cook County location:

• The new occupation and use tax rate on cannabis is 1.25% for general merchandise.

If you make sales from a DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, or Will County location:

• The new occupation and use tax rate on cannabis is 1.00% for general merchandise.

When you file electronically using MyTax Illinois, the combined occupation and use tax rates on cannabis will be populated for you according to your registered locations.

For more information, see the Cannabis Taxes information webpage.

If you make sales from a Cook County location:

• The new occupation and use tax rate on aviation fuel is 1.25%.

If you make sales from a DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, or Will County location:

• The new occupation and use tax rate on aviation fuel is 0.75%.

When you file electronically using MyTax Illinois, the combined occupation and use tax rates on aviation fuel will be populated for you according to your registered locations.

For more information, see the Aviation Fuel Sales and Use Tax information webpage.

¹ 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.310 and 130.311; 70 ILCS 3615/4.03(e)-(g)
² 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.540 and 150.705
³ 86 Ill. Adm. Code Parts 130, 424, and 425
⁴ 70 ILCS 3615/4.03(e)-(f)