What's New

FY 2012-05 - What's New for Illinois Income Tax (Posted 01/20/2012)

Electronic Filing

Businesses (Updated 11/04/2011)
Effective for tax years ending on or after December 31, 2011, corporations, including S corporations, that are required to file their federal Forms U.S. 1120 and U.S. 1120S income tax returns by electronic means, are now required to file their Illinois returns through the IRS and Illinois Modernized Electronic Filing program (MeF). The Illinois MeF program currently supports the

2009 Form IL-1120, Corporation Income and Replacement Tax Return, and schedules (excluding unitary filings)
2010 Form IL-1120, and all schedules (including all unitary filings)
2011 Form IL-1120 and all schedules (in testing)
2011 Form IL-1120-ST, Small Business Replacement Tax Return, and all schedules (in testing)

In the event that you are required to file electronically for federal purposes and the Illinois MeF program does not support your return type, you are exempt from the requirement until such a time that we are prepared to include your return type (i.e., partnerships, trusts and estates, exempt organizations, composite returns, pass-through entities). Illinois MeF does not support any amended returns. Therefore, these returns are exempt from the new requirements.

Beginning August 2010, we began accepting the IL-1120 and Schedules electronically. Click here for for more information.

Individuals (Updated 11/04/2011)
Effective January 1, 2012, paid preparers who file more than ten (10) Illinois Individual Income Tax returns must file those returns electronically. Click here for more information.

IL-2848, Power of Attorney (Posted 09/19/2011)
In order to protect the confidentiality of tax information, tax practitioners, preparers, etc., are required to have an IL-2848, Power of Attorney, on file with the department before our representatives on the toll-free line (1 800 732-8866), business hot line (217 524-4772), or any other representative within the department can discuss your client’s information with you.

When calling the toll-free line or business hot line, you can submit a completed and signed IL-2848 to us by fax (217 782-4217) or as an attachment to email at REV.poa@illinois.gov. (Note: Please be aware that sending information via email is not secure.) Allow 24 hours for us to receive and post the power of attorney to your client’s account before calling one of the phone numbers listed above for assistance.

In addition, you should have a copy of your client’s return with you as you will be asked to verify certain information contained on the return.

Illinois Small Business Jobs Creation Tax Credit (Posted 03/09/2011)

Businesses - Specific Accounting (Posted 03/09/2011)
Due to the income tax rate increase effective January 1, 2011, and the option for fiscal filers to use a specific accounting method to compute their tax liabilities, the following schedules are now available on our website for those taxpayers wishing to use the specific method of accounting.

Schedule SA, Specific Accounting Method of Computing Net Income for Corporations
Schedule SA, Specific Accounting Method of Computing Net Income for Fiduciaries
Schedule SA, Specific Accounting Method of Computing Net Income for Exempt Organizations
Schedule SA, Specific Accounting Method of Computing Net Income for Composite Returns

Schedule SA must be filed with the appropriate tax return and any corresponding schedules. For more information about the income tax rate increase, see Informational Bulletin FY 2011-09, Illinois Income Tax Increase.

Withholding (Posted 01/14/2011)
Beginning in the 3rd quarter of 2011, a new Small Business Job Creation Tax Credit of $2,500 per new employee is available for small businesses with a tax credit certificate from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). For further information, visit DCEO’s website at jobstaxcredit.illinois.gov.