How much is the cigarette tax in Illinois?

The Illinois state cigarette tax is $2.98 per pack of 20, set in July 2019. That is on top of the federal tax of about $1.01 per pack. Local jurisdictions add even more: Cook County charges an additional $3.00 per pack and the City of Chicago adds $1.18, so a pack bought in Chicago carries about $7.16 in combined cigarette excise before sales tax.

What is the Illinois liquor gallonage tax?

Illinois taxes alcohol by volume through its Liquor Gallonage Tax. The current state rates are about $0.231 per gallon for beer, $1.39 per gallon for wine (20% ABV or less), and $8.55 per gallon for distilled spirits over 20% ABV. The tax is paid by distributors and built into the shelf price.

Do Chicago and Cook County add their own alcohol taxes?

Yes. Beyond the state gallonage tax, both Cook County and the City of Chicago levy their own per-gallon liquor taxes, which vary by beverage type. You can enter those local rates as the optional per-gallon add-on to see the fuller picture, though exact local rates should be verified with each jurisdiction.

How much excise tax is on a case of beer in Illinois?

A case of 24 twelve-ounce beers is 288 fluid ounces, which is 2.25 gallons. At the state beer rate of $0.231 per gallon, the state excise is about $0.52 for the whole case. Chicago and Cook County liquor taxes would add more on top, and sales tax applies to the final shelf price.

Is sales tax charged on top of these excise taxes?

Yes. The cigarette and liquor excise taxes calculated here are separate from Illinois sales tax. At checkout, state and local sales tax (often around 10% in Chicago) is applied to the shelf price, which already includes the excise. So the total tax burden is the excise plus sales tax on the final price.

Illinois Cigarette & Alcohol Tax Calculator

Email me this result

Get this tool's output sent to your inbox, plus one useful tool a week. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

Illinois has some of the highest tobacco and liquor taxes in the country, especially once Cook County and City of Chicago add-ons stack on top of the state rate. This calculator applies the real state cigarette tax of $2.98 per pack and the Illinois Liquor Gallonage Tax (beer, wine, and spirits per gallon) to any quantity you enter, then lets you layer in local cigarette or liquor taxes to see the full excise burden baked into your purchase.

How it works

For cigarettes the math is per pack of 20:

Cigarette excise = Packs × $2.98 (plus any local per-pack tax)

For alcohol the tax is charged by volume, so the tool first converts containers to gallons (1 US gallon = 128 fl oz), then applies the per-gallon rate:

Gallons = (Containers × oz each) ÷ 128 Alcohol excise = Gallons × Rate per gallon

The state per-gallon rates are $0.231 for beer, $1.39 for wine, and $8.55 for spirits.

Illinois excise rates explained

Cigarettes — $2.98/pack (state). Cook County adds $3.00/pack and Chicago adds $1.18/pack, so a Chicago pack carries about $7.16 in combined excise before sales tax. Enter the local amount as the add-on.
Beer — $0.231/gallon. A relatively modest state beer rate; Chicago and Cook County add their own liquor taxes.
Wine — $1.39/gallon for still wine at or below 20% ABV.
Spirits — $8.55/gallon for distilled spirits over 20% ABV.

Worked example

A buyer in Chicago purchases 2 packs of cigarettes with the full local add-on of $4.18 per pack ($3.00 county + $1.18 city):

State excise = 2 × $2.98 = $5.96
Local excise = 2 × $4.18 = $8.36
Total cigarette excise = $14.32 before sales tax

Note: These excise taxes are separate from Illinois sales tax, which is applied on top of the shelf price at checkout. Local cigarette and liquor rates vary by jurisdiction. Verify current rates at tax.illinois.gov and with Cook County and the City of Chicago.