The Illinois cigarette tax by county is simple in structure but uneven in impact: the state charges $2.98 per pack of 20 everywhere, and only Cook County adds a county-level tax, layering another $3.00 on top. That makes a pack $5.98 in Cook County before any city tax and $2.98 in every other county in the state. Add Chicago’s municipal tax and the same pack runs $7.16.
The State Rate Every Pack Includes
Illinois imposes an excise tax of 149 mills per cigarette, which comes to $2.98 on a standard 20-pack. The rate took effect July 1, 2019, when the legislature nearly tripled the previous amount.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 35 ILCS 130 – Cigarette Tax Act Licensed distributors prepay the tax by buying revenue stamps from the Illinois Department of Revenue and affixing them to each pack, and the cost then rolls into the shelf price.2Illinois Department of Revenue. Cigarette and Cigarette Use Taxes The stamp on the pack is proof the state tax has been paid.
Cook County: The Only County Tax
Cook County is the only county in Illinois that imposes its own cigarette tax. Under the Cook County Tobacco Tax Ordinance, the county charges 150 mils ($0.15) per cigarette, or $3.00 per pack of 20. That rate has been in place since March 1, 2013.3Cook County. Cook County Tobacco Tax Ordinance The tax applies to all cigarettes possessed for sale or used within the county, stacked on top of the state tax.
Every Other County
No other Illinois county levies a cigarette excise tax. Whether you buy a pack in DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane, or any downstate county, the state’s $2.98 is the only excise tax at that level. Illinois is one of only about ten states that even allow local governments to tax cigarettes, and Cook is the only county that has taken up the option. Crossing from Cook into a neighboring county cuts $3.00 per pack from the tax bill.
City Taxes Stacked on Top
Home-rule municipalities in Illinois can impose their own cigarette taxes under the Home Rule Cigarette Tax Restriction Act (35 ILCS 140).4Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 35 ILCS 140 – Home Rule Cigarette Tax Restriction Act The Illinois Department of Revenue does not collect these local taxes; each city handles its own.2Illinois Department of Revenue. Cigarette and Cigarette Use Taxes
Chicago
Chicago has the highest municipal cigarette tax in the state at $1.18 per pack ($0.059 per cigarette), authorized under Chicago Municipal Code Chapter 3-42.5City of Chicago. Cigarette Tax Because Chicago sits inside Cook County, buyers pay state, county, and city taxes at once. The city requires its own municipal tax stamp on every pack alongside the state and county stamps.6Municipal Code of Chicago. Municipal Code of Chicago – Chapter 3-42 Cigarette Tax
Evanston and Cicero
A few other Cook County municipalities charge smaller cigarette taxes. Evanston has been widely reported to charge $0.50 per pack, and Cicero charges $0.16 per pack. Both amounts stack on top of the state and Cook County taxes. Most cities and villages elsewhere in Illinois impose no local cigarette tax, but rates can shift by ordinance, so checking directly with a home-rule community near you is worthwhile.
Combined Excise Tax by Location
Adding the state, county, and city rates together gives the actual excise tax burden on a pack at each key spot in Illinois:
- Chicago: $7.16 per pack ($2.98 state + $3.00 Cook County + $1.18 city)
- Evanston: $6.48 per pack ($2.98 state + $3.00 Cook County + $0.50 city)
- Cicero: $6.14 per pack ($2.98 state + $3.00 Cook County + $0.16 town)
- Rest of Cook County: $5.98 per pack ($2.98 state + $3.00 county)
- Anywhere outside Cook County: $2.98 per pack (state only)
The gap between downtown Chicago and a gas station in DuPage County is $4.18 per pack. For a pack-a-day smoker, that works out to more than $1,500 a year in Chicago-specific taxes alone.
Buying Cheaper Cigarettes Elsewhere
Illinois anticipated the cross-border shopping problem. The Cigarette Use Tax Act (35 ILCS 135) covers cigarettes bought outside the state but used or consumed inside it, so picking up cheaper packs in Indiana or Missouri does not legally exempt you from the Illinois tax.7Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 35 ILCS 135 – Cigarette Use Tax Act
Possession of unstamped cigarettes is also a criminal matter in Illinois, and the penalties escalate with volume:
- 100 packs or fewer: Class A misdemeanor on a first offense (up to one year in jail); Class 4 felony on a second offense within 12 months.
- 101 to 250 packs: Class A misdemeanor first offense, Class 4 felony for any repeat.
- 251 to 1,000 packs: Class 4 felony on a first offense.
- More than 1,000 packs: Class 3 felony (two to five years).8Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 35 ILCS 130/24 – Penalties for Contraband Cigarettes
The Illinois Department of Revenue can also impose civil penalties of $20 per package for 10 to 100 packages and $25 per package above 100, on top of any criminal charge. A carton bought across a state line for personal use is unlikely to draw prosecution; buying in bulk to resell or dodge taxes is what enforcement targets.
Federal Tax and Sales Tax on Top
The county-by-county numbers above only cover state and local excise taxes. The federal government adds its own excise tax of $50.33 per 1,000 cigarettes, roughly $1.01 per pack of 20.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5701 – Rate of Tax That is built into wholesale pricing before the pack reaches Illinois, so it does not show up separately on your receipt. Including it, the full excise burden reaches about $8.17 in Chicago and about $3.99 in most of the state.
Illinois’s 6.25% general sales and use tax then applies to the purchase price at the register, meaning the excise taxes are effectively taxed again.10Illinois Department of Revenue. Excise Tax Rates and Fees Local sales taxes can push the combined rate above 10% in parts of Cook County, so on a $14 pack in Chicago the sales tax portion alone can exceed $1.40. It is the layer people notice least and pay every time.