Skip to main content
State Guide Last verified August 23, 2026

Illinois Car Sales Tax, Trade-In Credit, and Out-of-State Rules

What the desk and the buyer each need to know when a Illinois deal crosses state lines: the rate, the trade-in math, the exemption paperwork, and the drive-home tags. Every fact links to the official source.

Check an Out-of-State Deal Jump to Quick Facts

Every fact sourced to Illinois official publications below

Short answer

Illinois taxes vehicle sales at 6.25%. Illinois taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted. Applies to qualified trade-ins (items the dealer is in the business of selling); the $10,000 cap on first division motor vehicles applied only to 2020-2021 sales and was removed effective January 1, 2022. Illinois exempts out-of-state buyers only under specific conditions: Exempt only for buyers from reciprocal states, when the buyer takes possession in Illinois with a dealer-issued drive-away permit or out-of-state plates transferred to the vehicle, and the buyer certifies nonresidency on Form ST-588. Buyers from the eight non-reciprocal states on the April 2026 ST-58 chart (AZ, CA, FL, HI, IN, MA, MI, SC) are charged Illinois tax at the chart rate for their home state (e.g., FL 6.00%, CA 6.25%, SC 5.00% up to a $500 maximum). Illinois credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice. All of this describes a retail purchase from a dealer; leases and private-party sales run on different rules in most states.

Illinois car sales tax quick facts

Last verified August 23, 2026
Sales tax rate on vehicles6.25%[1]
Trade-in creditIllinois taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted. Applies to qualified trade-ins (items the dealer is in the business of selling); the $10,000 cap on first division motor vehicles applied only to 2020-2021 sales and was removed effective January 1, 2022.[2]
Selling to an out-of-state buyerIllinois exempts out-of-state buyers only under specific conditions: Exempt only for buyers from reciprocal states, when the buyer takes possession in Illinois with a dealer-issued drive-away permit or out-of-state plates transferred to the vehicle, and the buyer certifies nonresidency on Form ST-588. Buyers from the eight non-reciprocal states on the April 2026 ST-58 chart (AZ, CA, FL, HI, IN, MA, MI, SC) are charged Illinois tax at the chart rate for their home state (e.g., FL 6.00%, CA 6.25%, SC 5.00% up to a $500 maximum).[3]
Credit for tax paid to another stateIllinois credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice.[4]
Dealer doc feeCap: Not yet verified against an official source. Confirm with the Illinois Department of Revenue. Official site → · taxable[2]
Temp tag for the drive homeNot yet verified against an official source. Confirm with the Illinois Department of Revenue. Official site →
Out-of-state buyer registrationA vehicle bought from an out-of-state dealer and then titled or registered in Illinois is reported on Form RUT-25, with use tax keyed to the purchaser's Illinois address and due within 30 days of bringing the vehicle into Illinois; an individual who used the vehicle outside Illinois at least three months qualifies for a use tax exemption but still files for the title.[4]
General information, not tax or legal advice. Rates and rules change. Before you write a check, confirm with the Illinois Department of Revenue or your accountant. Last verified August 23, 2026. Covers retail dealer sales; leases and private-party sales follow different rules in most states.

From the desk

Illinois publishes an actual non-reciprocal chart, the ST-58, listing the states it refuses to play nice with. Every biller working border deals should have it printed, because the credit rules change by the buyer's home state.

Selling to an out-of-state buyer in Illinois

Illinois exempts out-of-state buyers only under specific conditions: Exempt only for buyers from reciprocal states, when the buyer takes possession in Illinois with a dealer-issued drive-away permit or out-of-state plates transferred to the vehicle, and the buyer certifies nonresidency on Form ST-588. Buyers from the eight non-reciprocal states on the April 2026 ST-58 chart (AZ, CA, FL, HI, IN, MA, MI, SC) are charged Illinois tax at the chart rate for their home state (e.g., FL 6.00%, CA 6.25%, SC 5.00% up to a $500 maximum).[3]

None of it works without Form ST-588, completed at delivery. Skip the form and the state looks to the dealer for the tax, not the buyer.

The tax answer is only half the job. The desk still has to move the title, issue the temp tag, and keep the deal from stalling while paperwork crosses state lines, and that chain is what Voltra's title tracking holds in one view.

Buying in Illinois from out of state

If you live in another state and buy in Illinois, the deciding rule is where the vehicle gets registered: your home state's tax applies at registration, and what happens at the Illinois sale depends on the row above. Illinois credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice.[4]

Registration and temp tags

A vehicle bought from an out-of-state dealer and then titled or registered in Illinois is reported on Form RUT-25, with use tax keyed to the purchaser's Illinois address and due within 30 days of bringing the vehicle into Illinois; an individual who used the vehicle outside Illinois at least three months qualifies for a use tax exemption but still files for the title.[4]

Bordering states

Cross-border deals from Illinois most often involve Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin. No two pairings behave the same; run the exact combination through the out-of-state checker.

Vehicle-type exceptions

The nonresident drive-away exemption covers motor vehicles and trailers only: watercraft, aircraft, manufactured (mobile) homes, and ATVs cannot be issued drive-away permits and are taxable when a nonresident takes possession in Illinois. Aircraft use a separate fly-away exemption.[3]

Sources

  1. tax.illinois.gov/questionsandanswers/answer.139.html · verified 2026-08-23
  2. tax.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/tax/research/publications/documents/sales/st-9.pdf · verified 2026-08-23
  3. tax.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/tax/research/taxrates/documents/rntrrc/st-58.pdf · verified 2026-08-23
  4. tax.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/tax/forms/sales/documents/vehicleusetax/rut-25-instr.pdf · verified 2026-08-23

Illinois car sales tax questions

Illinois taxes vehicle sales at 6.25%. What that rate hits is the taxable price the desk computes, and trade-in treatment and doc fees decide that number.

Illinois taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted. Applies to qualified trade-ins (items the dealer is in the business of selling); the $10,000 cap on first division motor vehicles applied only to 2020-2021 sales and was removed effective January 1, 2022. Because that treatment sets the taxable price, an identical car and trade can owe different tax on either side of a state line.

Illinois exempts out-of-state buyers only under specific conditions: Exempt only for buyers from reciprocal states, when the buyer takes possession in Illinois with a dealer-issued drive-away permit or out-of-state plates transferred to the vehicle, and the buyer certifies nonresidency on Form ST-588. Buyers from the eight non-reciprocal states on the April 2026 ST-58 chart (AZ, CA, FL, HI, IN, MA, MI, SC) are charged Illinois tax at the chart rate for their home state (e.g., FL 6.00%, CA 6.25%, SC 5.00% up to a $500 maximum). The exemption runs on Form ST-588, completed at delivery.

Illinois credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice.

The doc fee gets taxed as part of the price.