Section 330.101  Nature of the Regional Transportation Authority Service Occupation Tax

a)         Authority to Impose Tax

1)         The Board of Directors of the Regional Transportation Authority is authorized to impose tax on persons engaged in the business of making sales of service within the metropolitan region as defined in Section 1.03 of the Regional Transportation Authority Act [70 ILCS 3615/1.03] , who as an incident to making the sales of service, transfer tangible personal property within the metropolitan region, either in the form of tangible personal property or in the form of real estate as an incident to a sale of service.  In Cook County, the tax rate shall be:

A)        1.25% of the serviceman's cost price of food prepared for immediate consumption and transferred incident to a sale of service subject to the service occupation tax by an entity licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act, the Nursing Home Care Act, the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the ID/DD Community Care Act, or the MC/DD Act that is located in the metropolitan region;

B)        1.25% of the selling price of tangible personal property taxed at the 1% rate under the Service Occupation Tax Act; and

C)        1% of the selling price from other taxable sales of tangible personal property transferred.  In DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, the rate shall be 0.75% of the selling price of all tangible personal property transferred.  The rate of tax imposed in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties under this Section on sales of aviation fuel on or after December 1, 2019 shall, however, be 0.25% unless the Regional Transportation Authority in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties has an "airport-related purpose" and the additional 0.50% of the 0.75% tax on aviation fuel is expended for airport-related purposes.  If there is no airport-related purpose to which aviation fuel tax revenue is dedicated, then aviation fuel is excluded from the additional 0.5% of the 0.75% tax.  

2)         The tax imposed pursuant to this subsection and all civil penalties that may be assessed as an incident thereof shall be collected and enforced by the Illinois Department of Revenue. [70 ILCS 3615/4.03(f)]

b)         Passing on the Tax

Servicemen are required to collect the Regional Transportation Authority Service Occupation Tax [70 ILCS 3615/4.03] (when applicable) from purchasers of service in conformance with the requirements of the Service Occupation Tax Regulations (86 Ill. Adm. Code 140).  The legal incidence of the Regional Transportation Authority Service Occupation Tax is on the serviceman.  Nevertheless, the General Assembly has authorized persons subject to this tax to reimburse themselves for their serviceman's Regional Transportation Authority Service Occupation Tax liability by separately stating that tax as an additional charge that may be stated in combination, in a single amount, with State tax servicemen are authorized to collect under the Service Use Tax Act [35 ILCS 110], pursuant to such bracket schedules as the Department has prescribed.  (See 86 Ill. Adm. Code 150.Table A.)

c)         Exclusion from "Cost Prices"

Any amount added by a serviceman to the selling price of tangible personal property sold to a serviceman for retransfer as an incident to service because of Regional Transportation Authority Service Occupation Tax, or because of the Illinois Service Occupation Tax [35 ILCS 115], and reimbursing amounts collected pursuant to the Home Rule County Service Occupation Tax Act [55 ILCS 5/5-1007], Home Rule Municipal Service Occupation Tax Act [65 ILCS 5/8-11-5], Non-Home Rule Municipal Service Occupation Tax Act [65 ILCS 5/8-11-1.4], or any other local service occupation tax administered by the Department and collected from the purchasing serviceman, shall not be regarded as a part of the selling prices that are subject to the Regional Transportation Authority Service Occupation Tax.

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 5286, effective March 21, 2023)