Buffalo Grove, IL Sales Tax Rate: Cook and Lake County

The sales tax rate in Buffalo Grove, IL depends on which county you’re standing in. General merchandise is taxed at 10% in the Cook County portion of the village and 8% in the Lake County portion.¹ Groceries, restaurant meals, cars, and hotel rooms each follow their own rules on top of that split.

How the Two Rates Are Built

Every Buffalo Grove receipt stacks several layers of tax. The base is the Illinois state rate of 6.25% on general merchandise.² The Regional Transportation Authority adds another layer to fund CTA, Metra, and Pace service: 1% in Cook County and 0.75% in Lake County.³

Buffalo Grove is a home rule municipality and levies its own 1% retailers’ occupation tax under the Illinois Municipal Code.⁴ That 1% is the same on both sides of the county line. The rest of the gap comes from Cook County’s own home rule county tax, which Lake County does not match. Add it all up and you get 10% in Cook County and 8% in Lake County on standard retail purchases.⁵

Which Side of the Line You’re On

The rate on your receipt is set by where the store sits, not where you live. A Buffalo Grove resident on the Lake County side still pays 10% when shopping at a Cook County store in the village, and the reverse holds too. Lake Cook Road is the rough divide, but the county boundary does not follow the road exactly in every spot. For any specific address, the Illinois Department of Revenue’s Tax Rate Finder at mytax.illinois.gov returns the combined rate.

Groceries and Prescriptions

On January 1, 2026, Illinois eliminated its state sales tax on qualifying groceries, dropping that portion from 1% to zero.² Municipalities and counties were given the option to impose their own 1% local grocery tax to replace the lost revenue.⁶

In Buffalo Grove, qualifying food and drugs are taxed at 2.25% in the Cook County portion and 1.75% in the Lake County portion.¹ Prescription medicines, insulin, medical appliances, and diabetic supplies qualify for these reduced rates as well.

The grocery category covers food meant to be eaten at home. Alcohol, soft drinks, candy, and anything prepared for immediate consumption — a deli sandwich or a hot rotisserie chicken — are taxed at the full general merchandise rate.

Restaurant Meals

Buffalo Grove imposes a separate 1% food and beverage tax on restaurant sales. That pushes the total tax on a restaurant meal to 11% in the Cook County portion of the village and 9% in the Lake County portion.⁷

Cars and Other Titled Vehicles

Vehicles follow a different formula. Illinois home rule municipal tax does not apply to items titled or registered with a state agency, so Buffalo Grove’s 1% home rule tax drops out of the calculation on a car, motorcycle, or trailer bought from a dealer.⁴ The 6.25% state rate still applies, with county and transit-district taxes stacked on top.² Some pieces, including the RTA use tax, are tied to the buyer’s home address rather than the dealer’s location, so a Buffalo Grove resident buying out of county may still owe the rate tied to home.

Buying From a Private Seller

Private party vehicle sales use a flat-fee schedule rather than a percentage. If the purchase price or fair market value is under $15,000, the tax is based on the vehicle’s model year and runs from $100 for a 2015-or-older vehicle up to $465 for a 2025-or-newer one. At $15,000 or more, the tax is based on price and runs from $850 up to $10,100 for vehicles valued at $1 million or above.⁸

Buyers file Form RUT-50 with the Illinois Secretary of State within 30 days. Trade-in credits aren’t allowed on private sales. Transfers between spouses, parents, siblings, or children (including adopted children) qualify for a reduced $15 flat tax. Motorcycles, ATVs, and motorized pedalcycles carry a flat $25 tax regardless of value.⁹ If your registration address sits in a municipality or county that imposes its own private party vehicle use tax, additional local tax may apply on top of the state amount.

Online Orders Shipped to Buffalo Grove

Buying online doesn’t let you skip sales tax. Illinois requires remote sellers with $100,000 or more in cumulative gross receipts from Illinois buyers to collect and remit destination-based sales tax. As of January 1, 2026, the old 200-transaction threshold is gone and only the $100,000 revenue test remains.¹⁰

The rate charged on a shipped order is set by the delivery address. A package to a Cook County address in Buffalo Grove carries 10%; one to a Lake County address carries 8%. When a remote retailer can’t produce enough location data to establish where a sale was delivered, the Department of Revenue assesses tax at a 15% penalty rate on those sales, and that rate can be applied retroactively during audits.¹⁰

Hotel Stays

Guests at a hotel or motel in Buffalo Grove pay a 6% local occupancy tax on the gross rental price of the room, in addition to any state and county hotel taxes. The village tax applies to any lodging establishment licensed to operate inside village boundaries.¹¹

1
Village of Buffalo Grove. Sales Tax in Buffalo Grove
2
Illinois General Assembly. 35 ILCS 120/2-10 – Rate of Tax
3
Illinois Department of Revenue. Mass Transit District Sales Tax
4
Illinois General Assembly. 65 ILCS 5 – Illinois Municipal Code
5
Village of Buffalo Grove. Local Sales Taxes
6
Illinois Department of Revenue. FY 2026-11, Municipal and County Grocery Occupation Tax Rate
7
Village of Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Frequently Asked Questions
8
Illinois Department of Revenue. RUT-5, Private Party Vehicle Use Tax Chart for 2026
9
Illinois Department of Revenue. RUT-50 Instructions for Private Party Vehicle Use Tax Transaction
10
Illinois Department of Revenue. FY 2026-12, Destination-Based Retailers’ Occupation Tax Changes
11
Village of Buffalo Grove, IL. Hotel and Motel Tax