The Jacksonville, IL sales tax rate is 8.25% on most retail purchases. That total combines three layers: Illinois’s 6.25% state tax, a 1% Morgan County tax, and a 1% City of Jacksonville tax. Some categories carry a lower rate, and a handful of purchases are exempt entirely.
How the 8.25% Rate Is Built
Illinois charges a base retailers’ occupation tax of 6.25% on general merchandise under 35 ILCS 120. Morgan County layers on 1%, and Jacksonville adds its own 1% municipal retailers’ occupation tax. That city portion is the maximum a non-home-rule municipality can impose under Illinois law, and non-home-rule cities can only set it in 0.25% increments up to that 1% ceiling.1Illinois Department of Revenue. Home Rule and Non-home Rule Sales Taxes
Sellers collect the full 8.25% at the register and send it to the Illinois Department of Revenue, which then routes each slice to the right level of government. The state portion goes to statewide programs; the county and city portions stay in Morgan County and Jacksonville to support local services.
What You Pay 8.25% On
Most tangible items sold at retail carry the full rate: clothing, electronics, furniture, appliances, sporting goods, and similar merchandise. The 8.25% applies to the selling price of anything classified as tangible personal property that isn’t specifically taxed at a reduced rate or exempted.2Illinois Department of Revenue. Illinois Sales and Use Tax Matrix
Prepared food gets the same treatment. A restaurant meal, a hot sandwich from a deli counter, or a coffee from a café counts as food prepared for immediate consumption and is taxed at the full 8.25%, not the lower grocery rate.
Groceries After the 2026 Change
This is the biggest recent shift for Jacksonville shoppers. Effective January 1, 2026, Illinois eliminated its 1% state sales tax on qualifying grocery food.3Illinois Department of Revenue. Illinois Grocery Tax Changes Effective January 1, 2026 Qualifying groceries are food items intended for off-premises consumption: bread, meat, dairy, canned goods, produce, and the like. The state piece on those items is gone.
There is a catch. The same law let municipalities and counties impose their own 1% local grocery tax by ordinance to replace the lost revenue.4Illinois Department of Revenue. Municipal and County Grocery Occupation Tax Rate Changes What you actually pay on groceries in Jacksonville now depends on whether the city or county adopted that optional tax. The 1% county and 1% city retailers’ occupation taxes still apply to groceries either way, so groceries carry at least 2% in combined local tax. If either the city or county added the optional grocery tax, the total on groceries lands close to where it was before the state change.
Prescription Drugs and Medical Appliances
Qualifying medical appliances, prescription drugs, and insulin are taxed at a state rate of just 1% rather than 6.25%.2Illinois Department of Revenue. Illinois Sales and Use Tax Matrix Add the 1% county and 1% city taxes and the total in Jacksonville is about 3%. The lower rate covers items like wheelchairs, hearing aids, prosthetics, and medications dispensed by prescription. Over-the-counter drugs and general health products that don’t meet the statutory definition still carry the full 8.25%.
Cars and Other Titled Property
Vehicles, boats, trailers, and other property that requires a state-issued title follow a different sourcing rule from ordinary retail. The tax rate is based on the buyer’s address, not the dealership’s location. A Jacksonville resident who buys a car at a Springfield dealership pays the Jacksonville rate. A buyer from a lower-tax county who shops at a Jacksonville dealership pays the rate for their own home address.
If you buy a vehicle from an out-of-state dealer that isn’t registered with Illinois, you handle the tax yourself. File Form RUT-25 and pay within 30 days of bringing the vehicle into the state, and submit proof of payment before the Secretary of State will issue your title or registration.5Illinois Department of Revenue. Vehicle Use Tax Transaction Return Instructions The address on the form has to be your physical home address, not a P.O. box.
Out-of-state residents buying vehicles in Illinois may get a partial or full exemption, depending on whether their home state offers the same courtesy to Illinois residents buying there.6Illinois General Assembly. 35 ILCS 105/3-55
Who Doesn’t Pay Sales Tax
Several purchases in Jacksonville are exempt entirely. The most common one for businesses is the resale exemption: inventory bought for resale isn’t taxed because the end customer pays tax at the final sale.
Manufacturers have a broader exemption. Machinery, equipment, and supplies used primarily in manufacturing or assembling tangible personal property qualify when the buyer gives the seller a completed Form ST-587.7Illinois Department of Revenue. Exemption Certificate – ST-587 Covered items include production equipment, hand tools, protective apparel, and consumables like fuels, coolants, and lubricants used in the manufacturing process. Items used for sales, marketing, or administrative work don’t qualify. Blanket exemption certificates can cover ongoing purchases but must be updated at least every three years.
Other common exemptions cover purchases by qualifying charitable, religious, and educational organizations that hold an active “E” number from the Department of Revenue, and farm machinery and equipment used in production agriculture.
Online Orders and Out-of-State Sellers
When a Jacksonville business ships to a customer elsewhere in Illinois, origin-based sourcing applies, and the Jacksonville-area rate still comes off the sale.8Illinois Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Taxes The rule flips for sellers outside Illinois. An out-of-state retailer shipping into Jacksonville must collect based on the delivery address, which means the Jacksonville 8.25% rate for most goods delivered here. Destination-based sourcing has applied to remote retailers since 2021 and was extended in January 2025 to all out-of-state sellers shipping from outside Illinois.9Avalara. Illinois Implements New Sales Tax Sourcing Rules
Remote sellers only need to start collecting once they cross the economic nexus threshold: $100,000 or more in cumulative gross receipts from sales into Illinois during any rolling 12-month period. Illinois dropped its former 200-transaction trigger, so the dollar amount is the only test now. Sellers check the threshold quarterly and begin collecting on the first day of the quarter after they cross it.
Marketplace platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy carry their own obligation. When a third-party seller makes a sale through a qualifying marketplace, the platform collects and remits all applicable state and local sales taxes on that transaction.10Cornell Law Institute. Illinois Admin Code Title 86, Section 131.145 – Marketplace Facilitators Illinois prohibits double collection, so if the marketplace already remitted the tax, the individual seller doesn’t owe it again. Sellers still have to handle collection on sales they make outside the marketplace, like through their own website or a physical storefront.
If You Sell Taxable Goods in Jacksonville
Any business selling taxable goods in Jacksonville must register with the Illinois Department of Revenue before making a first sale. You can file Form REG-1 by mail or register online through MyTax Illinois; the application asks for your business name, physical location, and federal employer identification number.11Illinois Department of Revenue. Business Registration Once processed, the state issues a Certificate of Registration.
Filing frequency depends on how much tax you collect. The Department assigns it based on average monthly tax liability:12Illinois Department of Revenue. ST-1 Instructions
- Monthly filing if your average monthly liability is greater than $200.
- Quarterly filing if it falls between $50 and $200.
- Annual filing if it’s under $50.
Returns go in on Form ST-1 through the MyTax Illinois portal, which handles submission and electronic payment in one step. A new business should expect an initial frequency assignment from the Department, with adjustments once actual sales data comes in.