The Northbrook sales tax on general merchandise is 10.00%, combining state, Cook County, Regional Transportation Authority, and village home rule portions. That rate covers things like electronics, clothing, furniture, and household goods. Groceries, prescription and non-prescription drugs, medical appliances, and vehicles are taxed at lower rates because the village’s 1% home rule portion doesn’t apply to them. An approved RTA increase is expected to lift the general merchandise rate to 10.25% in August 2026.
How the 10% Rate Is Built
Four separate taxing bodies stack to reach the Northbrook total:
- State of Illinois: 6.25%
- Cook County: 1.75%
- Regional Transportation Authority: 1.00%
- Village of Northbrook home rule: 1.00%
The state’s 6.25% is set by the Retailers’ Occupation Tax Act, and a portion of that revenue is returned to the municipality. That is why the village describes its total share as 2% even though only 1% appears as a separate village line item.1Village of Northbrook. Local Taxes The 1% home rule tax is imposed under Chapter 23, Article I of the village code, using authority granted to home rule municipalities under the Illinois Constitution and the Illinois Municipal Code.2Northbrook, IL. Northbrook Code of Ordinances Chapter 23 – Taxation
Groceries, Medicine, and Medical Appliances
Illinois places qualifying food, drugs, and medical devices in a separate low-rate category. Unprepared grocery items, prescription and non-prescription medications labeled for human consumption, and medical appliances all qualify. Candy, soft drinks, and prepared restaurant food do not; they are taxed as general merchandise.3Illinois Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Taxes
Prescription and non-prescription drugs are taxed at 1% at the state level. For groceries, Illinois eliminated its 1% state-level tax on retail food sales on January 1, 2026, and authorized municipalities to adopt a local 1% grocery tax by ordinance to replace it. The Northbrook Village Board adopted the local replacement, so the effective grocery tax in the village stays essentially where it was.4Illinois Department of Revenue. FY 2026-11 Municipal and County Grocery Occupation Tax Rate
The village’s 1% home rule tax does not apply to qualifying food, drugs, or medical appliances. Illinois law excludes those items from the home rule tax base, which is the main reason a trip to the grocery store or pharmacy carries a noticeably smaller tax than buying a sofa or a laptop.5Illinois Department of Revenue. Home Rule and Non-Home Rule Sales Taxes
Vehicles and Other Titled Property
Cars, trucks, motorcycles, trailers, watercraft, aircraft, and manufactured homes fall into a third category: items that must be titled or registered with a state agency. Two things make them different from an everyday retail purchase.
First, home rule municipal taxes don’t apply. The same statute that keeps the village’s 1% off groceries and medicine also keeps it off titled property, which lowers the total compared with a general merchandise sale.5Illinois Department of Revenue. Home Rule and Non-Home Rule Sales Taxes
Second, the tax is calculated based on where the buyer lives, not where the dealership sits. A Northbrook resident who buys a car at a dealership in another town still pays the rate tied to their home address, and the dealer is responsible for verifying that address and collecting accordingly.3Illinois Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Taxes Driving to a lower-tax town to save money on a vehicle doesn’t work.
Online Purchases Shipped to Northbrook
Something ordered online and shipped to a Northbrook address is generally taxed at Northbrook’s rate. The system is destination-based, meaning the rate follows the delivery address rather than the location of the seller’s warehouse. For most residents, that means seeing the same 10% general merchandise rate on an out-of-state website as in a local store.
As of January 1, 2026, any remote retailer or marketplace facilitator with $100,000 or more in cumulative gross receipts from Illinois sales during the lookback period must collect and remit state and local retailers’ occupation tax. The previous 200-transaction threshold no longer applies. Sellers who fail to provide location information for their sales face a default tax rate of 15% on those transactions beginning in 2026.6Illinois Department of Revenue. FY 2026-12 Destination-Based Retailers Occupation Tax Changes
The 2026 RTA Increase
An additional 0.25% RTA sales tax across all six counties of the RTA region was authorized by the Northeastern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) Act in late 2025 and is expected to take effect in August 2026.7Regional Transportation Authority. Keeping Riders Moving If it goes into effect on that timeline, Northbrook’s general merchandise rate becomes 10.25% for the rest of the year. The increase rides on the RTA line of the combined rate, so categories that already escape the home rule portion, like groceries and vehicles, will see the same 0.25% addition on their respective bases.
Hotel and Motel Tax
If you’re booking a room in Northbrook rather than buying goods, a different rate applies. The village imposes a 5.5% hotel and motel tax on gross rental receipts from short-term sleeping accommodations, including hotels, motels, inns, and bed-and-breakfasts. That sits on top of a 6% State of Illinois hotel tax and a 1% Cook County hotel tax.1Village of Northbrook. Local Taxes Organizations that hold an Illinois sales tax exemption are generally still subject to hotel occupancy taxes when renting rooms.8Illinois Department of Revenue. Information for Exclusively Charitable, Religious, or Educational Organizations