The Illinois toilet paper tax is the state’s full 6.25% sales tax rate, the same rate that applies to electronics, sunglasses, and other general merchandise. Local taxes stack on top, so in Chicago you pay roughly 10.5%, while many downstate communities land closer to 7% or 8%. Toilet paper does not qualify for Illinois’s reduced 1% rate or any of the state’s exemptions.
Why Toilet Paper Pays the Full Rate
Illinois reserves its 1% rate for a short list: prescription and nonprescription medicines, medical appliances, insulin, diabetic testing supplies, and certain cancer treatment devices. Everything else sold at retail pays 6.25%.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 35 ILCS 120/2-10 – Rate of Tax
The Illinois Administrative Code names toilet paper directly. Section 130.311 lists it alongside cotton swabs, tissues, and towelettes as “supplies” that do not qualify for the 1% rate, and taxes all grooming and hygiene products at the general merchandise rate.2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code 86-130-311 – Drugs, Medicines, Medical Appliances, and Grooming and Hygiene Products A medical appliance, under the code, must directly substitute for a malfunctioning part of the human body, like a prosthetic limb or an artificial joint.3Illinois Department of Revenue. ST 25-0013-GIL Toilet paper doesn’t come close.
What You Actually Pay After Local Taxes
The 6.25% state rate is the floor. Home rule municipalities, counties, and special taxing districts can each add their own sales taxes on general merchandise, and those layers apply to the same base, so toilet paper gets hit by every one of them.4Illinois Department of Revenue. Home Rule and Non-home Rule Sales Taxes
Chicago is the sharpest example. The combined rate for general merchandise has hovered around 10.25%, and it’s going higher in 2026. The Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act, signed in late 2025, authorized an additional 0.25% RTA sales tax across all six counties of the RTA region effective June 1, 2026.5Governor Pritzker Newsroom. Gov. Pritzker Signs Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act That brings Chicago’s combined rate to roughly 10.50% on general merchandise. More than four cents of every dollar you spend on toilet paper there goes to taxes.
Outside the Chicago metro, the rates ease. Many downstate communities fall between 7% and 8% combined. The Illinois Department of Revenue updates local rate tables twice a year, with changes taking effect January 1 and July 1, and publishes a lookup tool for any address.6Illinois Department of Revenue. Tax Rate Database
Buying Online Doesn’t Avoid It
Ordering online doesn’t change the math. As of January 1, 2026, any remote seller with $100,000 or more in cumulative gross receipts from sales to Illinois buyers during the lookback period must collect and remit Illinois sales tax, including all applicable local rates.7Illinois Department of Revenue. FY 2026-12, Destination-Based Retailers’ Occupation Tax Changes Every major online retailer clears that threshold. Amazon, Walmart, Target, and similar sellers all collect Illinois sales tax at checkout based on the delivery address. If you live in Chicago, you pay the same combined rate whether you buy at the corner store or have it shipped.
What Does Get a Tax Break
A few related products do catch a break, which is why the full rate on toilet paper surprises people:
- Menstrual products — tampons, menstrual pads, and menstrual cups — are exempt from Illinois sales tax from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2026. Other feminine hygiene items like wipes and washes remain taxable.8Legal Information Institute. Illinois Admin Code Title 86, Section 130.311 – Drugs, Medicines, Medical Appliances, and Grooming and Hygiene Products
- Prescription medicines, insulin, diabetic testing supplies, syringes, and certain cancer treatment devices are taxed at 1%.1Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 35 ILCS 120/2-10 – Rate of Tax
- Groceries bought for off-premises consumption are fully exempt from the state sales tax starting January 1, 2026. Some municipalities have imposed their own local grocery taxes to replace the lost revenue, so food may still carry a small local tax.9Illinois Department of Revenue. FY 2026-11, Municipal and County Grocery Occupation Tax Rate
Toilet paper, diapers, tissues, and cotton swabs are explicitly listed in the administrative code as items that do not qualify for the reduced rate.2Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code 86-130-311 – Drugs, Medicines, Medical Appliances, and Grooming and Hygiene Products Illinois does hold a back-to-school sales tax holiday in early August, but it only covers clothing under $125 and school supplies, so toilet paper isn’t included there either.
Federal programs don’t help either. SNAP cannot be used for toilet paper because the program restricts purchases to food items, and the USDA lists paper products and household supplies as ineligible.10Food and Nutrition Service. What Can SNAP Buy? The IRS also excludes toiletries from deductible medical expenses under Publication 502.11Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 502, Medical and Dental Expenses
What It Costs Over a Year
The average American household spends somewhere around $180 a year on toilet paper. At Chicago’s combined rate of roughly 10.5%, that’s about $19 a year in sales tax on toilet paper alone. At the state base rate of 6.25% with no local add-ons, the annual tax drops to about $11. If you live near a jurisdictional boundary, the Illinois Department of Revenue’s rate lookup tool lets you check the exact combined rate at any address before you stock up.6Illinois Department of Revenue. Tax Rate Database