US_Illinois Sales Tax: Remote Retailer Tax Amnesty Program 2026 

The Illinois Department of Revenue(IDOR) announced that this year, remote retailers will have the opportunity to participate in the Remote Retailer Tax Amnesty Program, as a beneficial option to pay unreported sales tax, without paying late payment interest or other fines. 

The program starts on August 1, 2026, and finishes on October 31, 2026, and it is open to remote retailers that don’t have a physical nexus in the state and that make sales to customers residing in Illinois. This sales tax program permits online vendors to become compliant with the state’s sales tax framework without incurring additional costs, penalties, and interest for late payments. 

Remote Retailer Tax Program 

To be able to adhere to this beneficial program, remote retailers should be registered with IDOR as remote retailers and have an active online account on IDOR’s portal. 

Benefits of the registration to the program include: 

• Penalty and interest relief  – All penalties and interest on eligible liabilities are waived
• Streamlined reporting  – One declaration that covers all eligible periods that the application wants to include
• Simplified tax rates  – Program registrants will pay 9% for general merchandise and 1.75% for qualifying items

Eligibility Conditions 

Remote retailers may qualify if they have unpaid sales tax for reporting periods that go from  January 1, 2021, through June 30, 2026, and meet the required tax remittance threshold: 

• From January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2025, retailers must have USD 100,000 or more in cumulative gross receipts from sales of tangible personal property (TPP) to customers based in Illinois, or 200 or more separate transactions for the sale of TPP to customers in Illinois
• On or after January 1, 2026, retailers must have USD 100,000 in annual gross receipts from sales in Illinois