How Much Do Jurors Get Paid in Illinois: Rates, Mileage, and Taxes

Jurors in Illinois state courts are paid at least $25 for the first day of service and $50 for each additional day, with counties free to pay more if they choose. That is the short answer to how much jurors get paid in Illinois, but the full picture includes mileage, possible child care reimbursement, a different pay scale in federal court, and the uncomfortable fact that your employer isn’t required to keep your wages running while you serve.

Daily Pay in State Court

The Illinois Counties Code sets the minimum juror attendance fee at $25 for the first day and $50 for every day of necessary attendance after that.¹ Both grand jurors and petit jurors earn these rates. “Necessary attendance” covers orientation, jury selection, and time spent waiting in the assembly room, not only hours in trial. You get paid whether or not you are ultimately seated on a case.

Those figures are a floor. A county board can set a higher daily fee, so what you actually receive depends on where you were summoned. No county can go below the statutory minimum, and all juror fees come out of the county treasury.¹

Mileage, Parking, and Child Care

On top of the daily fee, you get a travel reimbursement for the round trip between home and the courthouse. The county board sets the rate, but the statute requires at least ten cents per mile for jurors in first-class and second-class counties.² That is well below the IRS business mileage rate of 72.5 cents per mile for 2026, so plan on the travel stipend falling short of actual driving costs.³ Parking is handled county by county: some courthouses offer free juror parking, others don’t reimburse parking fees at all.

If jury service forces you to pay for child care you wouldn’t otherwise need, the presiding judge can order the county to reimburse your actual day care costs. The statute sets no dollar cap. Like juror fees, these reimbursements come from the county treasury.¹ You have to raise the issue with the court; the reimbursement is not automatic.

Will Your Employer Keep Paying You?

This is the part that catches most jurors off guard. Illinois law does not require your employer to pay your wages during jury service.⁴ Many employers voluntarily continue wages for some number of days; plenty do not. If yours doesn’t, the court’s $25-to-$50 daily fee is all you’ll receive.

There is one meaningful exception. Salaried employees classified as exempt under federal overtime rules cannot have their weekly salary docked for a partial-week absence due to jury duty. Employers can, however, offset whatever jury fees you received against your salary for that week.⁵ If you’re salaried-exempt and serve two days out of a five-day workweek, your employer still owes you your full weekly salary minus the court’s payment.

What the law does require is that your job be protected. An employer cannot fire, threaten, intimidate, or pressure you because of jury service, and must reinstate you to the same position with no loss of seniority when you return. You’re treated as if on a leave of absence, so insurance and other benefits continue under the employer’s existing leave policies. To keep these protections, deliver a copy of your summons to your employer within ten days of the date it was issued to you. If an employer retaliates anyway, the State’s Attorney can seek civil or criminal contempt, and you can recover lost wages and benefits, reinstatement, and reasonable attorney’s fees if you prevail.⁴

Federal Court Pays Differently

If your summons comes from a U.S. District Court rather than an Illinois state court, the numbers change. Federal jurors earn a flat $50 per day from day one.⁶ Longer service can bring a raise:

Petit jurors on a single case for more than ten days may receive up to $10 more per day at the trial judge’s discretion, bringing the rate as high as $60.
Grand jurors who have served more than forty-five days may receive the same discretionary $10 bump from the presiding judge.⁶

Federal mileage reimbursement is much closer to real driving costs. The travel allowance is set by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and tracks close to the IRS business mileage rate, which is 72.5 cents per mile for 2026.³ Federal courts also provide a meals-and-lodging allowance when the distance to the courthouse requires an overnight stay.⁶

Jury Pay Is Taxable

The IRS treats jury fees as taxable income, and you must report the full amount even if your employer also paid your regular wages during service.⁷ That rule applies to both state and federal jury compensation.

If your employer kept paying your salary on the condition that you turn over the jury fees to the company, you can deduct the surrendered amount as a write-in adjustment to income on Form 1040, so you aren’t taxed on money you never actually kept.⁷ Check the Form 1040 instructions for the specific line.

How and When the Money Arrives

When your service ends, the court clerk issues a certificate showing how many days you attended. You present it to the county treasurer, who processes your attendance fees and travel reimbursement.¹ The certificate doubles as proof of service for your employer and your tax records.

Payment method and timing vary by county. Some issue a check on the spot to jurors who report but aren’t selected. For multi-day service, the balance is typically mailed within ten to fourteen days after you finish. A growing number of courts have moved to prepaid debit cards or electronic payment, so you may be offered a payment card instead of a paper check.

1
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 55 ILCS 5/4-11001 – Juror Fees
2
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 55 ILCS 5 – Counties Code, Juror Fees
3
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Sets 2026 Business Standard Mileage Rate at 72.5 Cents Per Mile
4
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 705 ILCS 305 – Jury Act
5
eCFR. 29 CFR Part 541 Subpart G – Salary Requirements
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1871 – Fees
7
Internal Revenue Service. Adjustments to Income – Jury Duty Pay