Statutory Reference
Electronic Services
Definition
Generally, you must withhold Illinois Income Tax if you are required to withhold (or have a voluntary agreement to withhold) federal income tax from payments you make for
- employee compensation (i.e., wages and salaries) paid in Illinois, or
- gambling or lottery winnings in Illinois paid to an Illinois resident
You must
register with us to withhold Illinois Income Tax.
As a withholding agent, you are liable for the taxes that you are required to withhold. Because we are required to collect taxes (and issue assessments when these taxes are not paid), Illinois law states that the amounts required to be withheld and paid to us (and any penalties and interest) are considered to be a tax on you. As the withholding agent you must pay the tax even if you failed to withhold the tax from your employee.
For more detailed information, see
Publication 130, Who is Required to Withhold Illinois Income Tax.
Amount withheld
Generally, the rate for withholding Illinois Income Tax is 3 percent. For more detailed information, see
Publication 130, Who is Required to Withhold Illinois Tax, and
Booklet IL-700-T, Illinois Withholding Tax Guide.
Filing and Payment Requirements
Each year we will tell you when your payments are due and when to file your returns for the new tax year. All taxpayers will be assigned to one of three due date schedules: semi-weekly, monthly, or annual. You must use the due date schedule we assign to you.
Note to annual filers: Annual return filers will no longer receive a withholding coupon booklet. Instead, we will send you a single
Form IL-941-A.
Semi-weekly (frequent): You must pay using
TaxNet,
FSET,
EFT, or a Payment Coupon (
IL-501) by Wednesday for amounts withheld on the preceding Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, and Friday for amounts withheld on the preceding Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday.
Your must file using TaxNet,
FSET, or
Form IL-941 by the last day of April, July, October, and January.
Monthly: You must pay using
TaxNet,
FSET,
EFT, or a Payment Coupon (
IL-501) by the 15th of each month for amounts withheld the preceding month.
Your must file using
TaxNet,
FSET, or
Form IL-941 by the last day of April, July, October, and January.
Annual: File and pay using
TaxNet,
FSET,
EFT, or
Form IL-941-A by January 31 of the following year for amounts withheld the entire preceding year.
Can my due date schedule change during the year?
If you are assigned to the semiweekly due date schedule, your schedule will not change.
If you are assigned to the annual or monthly due date schedule and you exceed $12,000 in withholding during any quarter, you must begin to use the semi-weekly due date schedule for the following quarter, the remainder of the year, and the subsequent year.
Note: It is the taxpayer’s responsibility to use
TaxNet,
FSET,
EFT, or call us so we can issue a new withholding coupon booklet.
For more information, see
Publication 131, Withholding Income Tax Filing and Payment Requirements.
How do you determine my payment and filing requirements?
The new payment and filing requirements are determined by the total tax withheld during the “look-back” period. The look-back period is July 1 through June 30 of the immediately preceding year.
Taxpayers who reported more than $12,000, will be assigned to the semi-weekly due date schedule.
Taxpayers who reported more than $1,000, but no more than $12,000, will be assigned to the monthly due date schedule.
Taxpayers who reported$1,000 or less, will be assigned to the annual due date schedule.
Note: There are exceptions. New taxpayers are automatically assigned to the monthly due date schedule, as are those who would qualify for the annual due date schedule, but are not in good standing with the department.
Household employers: You may be eligible to register with the Illinois Department of Employment Security to file and pay once per year. For more information, visit
household.illinois.gov, call the IDES employer hotline at 1 800 247-4984 or see
Publication 121, Illinois Income Tax Withholding for Household Employers.
NOTE: The Illinois Department of Revenue is not responsible for collecting unemployment insurance payments. Contact the
Illinois Department of Employment Security, for more information or to report a newly hired employee.
ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY
REVENUE DIVISION
33 SOUTH STATE STREET
CHICAGO ILLINOIS 60603
1 800 247-4984, option 1 or 312 793-4880, option 1
Questions?
- Call us at: 1 800 732-8866
or 1 217 782-3336
- Call TDD:
1 800 544-5304
- Mail your IL-501, IL-941,
and IL-941-A forms to:
Illinois Department of Revenue
P.O. Box 19447
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9447
