2026 tax year · Illinois
Rental host taxes in Illinois
Airbnb, Turo and the rest report your gross and withhold nothing. The gap between that and what you are taxed on is your costs, in Illinois that gap is worth $2,717 in tax.
Take a driver who grossed $39,000 over 18,000 business miles. After mileage at 74.3 cents and the rest of the stack, worked through on the rental host page $10,100 comes off and $28,900 is left as taxable profit. That profit is what Illinois and the IRS charge against.
What that leaves you owing in Illinois
Illinois taxes income at a flat 4.95% for 2026, applied on top of federal income tax and self-employment tax.
| Self-employment tax | $4,083 |
| Federal income tax | $861 |
| Illinois income tax | $1,329 |
| Total tax | $6,274 |
| Effective rate on gross | 16.1% |
Earning more in Illinois
A single filer taking the standard deduction, this work as the only income, the calculator above handles the other filing statuses. Miles rise with earnings, so the deduction rises too, and the effective rate on gross climbs more slowly than it would for someone whose income grew without expenses attached:
| Volume | Gross | Mileage off | Taxable profit | Illinois tax | Total tax | Rate on gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part-time | $13,000 | $0 | $13,000 | $598 | $2,435 | 18.7% |
| Steady side income | $39,000 | $0 | $39,000 | $1,794 | $8,991 | 23.1% |
| Full-time | $63,000 | $0 | $63,000 | $2,898 | $15,627 | 24.8% |
Local taxes on an Illinois let
The income tax below is only part of it. Short-term lets attract occupancy, lodging or transient taxes levied by the city or county rather than Illinois, often at rates that dwarf the state income tax. Some platforms collect and remit them; some collect only part; in some places the host is on the hook entirely. That is a local question this calculator cannot answer, and it is the one hosts most often get wrong.
On $28,900 of profit, what the states around Illinois would charge:
| State | Its tax | vs Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| Indiana | $853 | −$578 |
| Kentucky | $1,012 | −$419 |
| Iowa | $1,098 | −$332 |
| Wisconsin | $1,145 | −$285 |
| Missouri | $1,217 | −$213 |
- Indiana would take $578 less, $853 against Illinois's $1,431.
- Kentucky would take $419 less, $1,012 against Illinois's $1,431.
- Iowa would take $332 less, $1,098 against Illinois's $1,431.
- Wisconsin would take $285 less, $1,145 against Illinois's $1,431.
- Missouri would take $213 less, $1,217 against Illinois's $1,431.
Rental host tax questions in Illinois
How much should an Illinois host set aside?
About 16.1% of gross on the $39,000 example, $6,274 across self-employment tax, federal income tax and $1,329 to Illinois. In practice that means moving about $161 of every $1,000 payout into a separate account the day it lands, and sending roughly $1,568 to the IRS each quarter, no platform withholds any of this for you. Set aside from each payout rather than finding it in April.
Does the $39,000 on my 1099-NEC match what Illinois taxes?
No. Illinois taxes profit, not gross. After $10,100 of deductions the taxable figure is $28,900, so the Illinois bill is $1,329 rather than what gross alone would suggest. The form reports what the platform paid out, it knows nothing about your costs, and no one subtracts them for you. On this example 26% of the gross never becomes taxable income, but only for the host who kept the records to prove it.