Sales Tax:

Source: State of Illinois Department of Revenue and the Regional Transportation Authority

The RTA sales tax and its distribution are authorized by Illinois statute. The sales tax rates are 1.25% in the City of Chicago and suburban Cook County and 0.75% in the five collar Counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will.

RTA Sales Tax Part I: The original RTA sales tax is levied at 1.0% in the City of Chicago and suburban Cook County and 0.25% in the collar counties. The RTA distributes 85% of Sales Tax I to the Service Boards according to statute: Of the 85%, CTA receives 100% of sales tax collected in the City of Chicago and 30% of sales tax collected in suburban Cook County, Metra receives 55% of sales tax collected in suburban Cook County tax and 70% of the tax collected in the five collar counties, and Pace receives 15% of sales tax collected in suburban Cook County tax and 30% of sales tax collected in the collar counties. The remaining 15% of Sales Tax I is initially retained by the RTA to fund regional and agency expenses before being allocated at the direction of the RTA Board to the CTA, Metra, and Pace.

RTA Sales Tax Part II: The 2008 RTA funding and reform legislation increased the RTA sales tax in the City of Chicago and suburban Cook County from 1.0% to 1.25% and the RTA sales tax in the collar Counties from 0.25% to 0.75%. Each collar county retains half of the proceeds of the 0.5% increase collected in the county for transportation (highways and transit) and/or public safety purposes. Following statute, the RTA distributes the remainder of sales tax II to the CTA, Metra, Pace, ADA Paratransit, the Pace Suburban Community Mobility Fund (SCMF), and the Innovation, Coordination, and Enhancement (ICE) Fund.  Effective in 2023, ICE funding is included in the distribution of sales tax to CTA, Metra, and Pace. 

The sales tax figures shown do not include use tax collections which are reported separately. The RTA receives 10% of the municipal and county portion of the use tax collected by the Illinois Department of Revenue and distributes it similarly to RTA sales tax I.

Effective in 2023, ICE funding is included in the distribution of sales tax to CTA, Metra, and Pace.