Illinois Ends State Grocery Tax in 2026; Local Governments May Impose Their Own 1% Tax

• Illinois will eliminate its 1% state grocery sales tax effective January 1, 2026.
• Municipalities and counties can adopt their own 1% local grocery tax, with over 600 already filed.
• The local grocery tax applies only to “qualifying food” items, excluding alcohol, soft drinks, candy, hot foods, and cannabis-infused foods.
• Medical appliances and qualifying drugs remain subject to the 1% tax and are unaffected by this change.
• Retailers must update reporting systems and use new tax forms to comply with the new local tax structure starting in 2026.

Source: thompsontax.com

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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