Illinois Tax Deadline

The state of Illinois residents is subject to state income taxes. The tax deadline has been extended for the 2024 tax season due to COVID-19. Since thousands of Illinois residents earned their income during 2023 from different sources such as freelancing jobs, unemployment compensation, or similar.

This means taxpayers need more time to gather their tax forms that report the income earned. This adds up to the duration of preparing a tax return so the Illinois state tax department gave one more month to taxpayers to file their state income tax returns. However, the tax deadline extension only applies to filing and paying the state income tax returns. If you need to make estimated tax payments, the deadline endures the same on April 15.

How to file Illinois state income tax return?

The process of filing a state income tax return for Illinois is the same as filing a federal income tax return. It’s the tax form that you’ll use differently though. File IL-1040. This is your state income tax return. If you’re filing taxes electronically whether it be through the Free File or a paid tax preparation service, you might get to file your state income tax return for free. If that’s the case, take it and file your state income tax return along with your federal income tax return.

Get IL-1040 to file your Illinois state income tax return.

Illinois state taxes are deductible

Regardless of where you reside or work, the state taxes paid are deductible for federal income taxes. You can deduct as much as $10,000 in state and local taxes paid. This deduction is also known as the SALT deduction. Make sure that you figure out the exact amount paid in state and local taxes so you get these taxes paid subtracted from your taxable income. That’s one of the reasons why tax preparation services take you to figure out state income taxes first, then your federal income taxes. This enables everything to be calculated much more smoothly so there are no errors on your tax return.