Tax Private Letter Rulings
PLEASE NOTE: The following Private Letter Rulings (“PLRs”) and General Information Letters (“GILs”) are posted on the Department of Finance web site, in redacted form, for informational purposes. PLRs and GILs are discussed in Uniform Revenue Procedures Ordinance Ruling #3. They are based on the law as it existed at the time and the facts as represented by the requester. Taxpayers and tax collectors should consult the current versions of all relevant ordinances, rulings and regulations, which supersede the information contained in these PLRs and GILs. Any taxpayers or tax collectors with questions should contact the City's Department of Finance or Department of Law for guidance.
Amusement Tax (7510) - September 21, 2012
September 21, 2012 - Exempt amusement per Amusement Tax Ruling #1.
Amusement Tax (7510) - August 15, 2016
August 15, 2016 - Exempt amusement under 4-156-020 (B)(4).
Amusement Tax: Subscribers to Paid Television Programming (7511)
February 28, 2017 - Exemption for educational programming.
E911 Surcharge (2908)
December 5, 2018 - Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) trunks.
Ground Transportation Tax (7595)
October 30, 2013 - Taxability of services provided by a for-profit entity.
Hotel Accommodations Tax (7520) - April 24, 2015
April 24, 2015 - Exemption under 42 USC Sec. 8102.
Hotel Accommodations Tax (7520) - April 19, 2017
April 19, 2017 - Taxability of retreat and conference center.
Occupation Tax – Natural Gas Distributor and Reseller (7571) and Gas Use Tax (7574)
February 3, 2015 - Purchase of natural gas from an alternative gas supplier.
Parking Tax (7530) - May 4, 2011
May 4, 2011 - Parking exemption for employees.
Parking Tax (7530) - September 6, 201
September 6, 2011 - Lease of parking spaces subject to Parking Tax.
Parking Tax (7530) - September 14, 2011
September 14, 2011 - Taxable charges for parking and parking exemption for employees.
Parking Tax (7530) - September 23, 2011
September 23, 2011 - Taxable charges for parking and parking exemption for employees.
Parking Tax (7530) - September 25, 2012
September 25, 2012 - Exemption for hospital employees.
Parking Tax (7530) - January 7, 2013
January 7, 2013 - Exemption only applies when the exempt entity pays for parking directly.
Parking Tax (7530) - March 28, 2017
March 28, 2017 - Online parking aggregators.
Parking Tax (7530) - February 5, 2020
February 5, 2020 - Complimentary parking incidental to lease of commercial office space.
Parking Tax (7530) - September 23, 2021
September 23, 2021 - Residential exemption.
Parking Tax (7530) - April 14, 2022
April 14, 2022 - Residential exemption.
Parking Tax (7530) - April 19, 2022
April 19, 2022 - Residential exemption.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) - October 21, 2010
October 21, 2010 - Safe harbor rate for rentals where cleaning and maintenance are required.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) - November 16, 2010
November 16, 2010 – Taxability of application service providers (ASP’s).
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) - May 12, 2011
May 12, 2011 - Sufficient proof of use outside of Chicago.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) November 20, 2012
November 20, 2012 - Billing service provider not deemed a lessor of personal property.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) - August 28, 2013
August 28, 2013 - Taxability of subscription charges.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) - October 29, 2014
October 29, 2014 - Taxability of software licenses used in Chicago.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) - May 5, 2015
May 5, 2015 – Taxability of “Cross-Connect” charges.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) - August 4, 2015
August 4, 2015 - Subscription to access and view reports.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) - August 5, 2015
August 5, 2015 - Taxability of a nonpossessory computer lease.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) - November 9, 2015
November 9, 2015 - Subscription used to access proprietary research and analysis.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) - November 9, 2015
January 28, 2016 – Taxability of charges for multi-listing service used by members of various realtor associations.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) - May 11, 2016
May 11, 2016 - Products exempt due to proprietary content.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) - June 28, 2016
June 28, 2016 - Application of tax to leased vehicles.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) - June 28, 2016
June 28, 2016 - Taxability of a nonpossessory computer lease.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) July 29, 2016
July 29, 2016 – Taxability of web services that allow remote computer access and online meeting attendance.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) December 7, 2016
December 7, 2016 - Taxability of certain applications and data processing services.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) December 8, 2016
December 8, 2016 - Leases to exempt lessees.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) December 14, 2016
December 14, 2016 - Exempt proprietary information.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550)
March 28, 2017 - Taxability of software - location of use and delivery, exemptions 9 and 10, low rate, separately stated and optional services.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) March 29, 2017
March 29, 2017 – Taxability of products consisting of interactive training sessions.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) April 5, 2017
April 5, 2017 - Nonpossessory computer leases - exemption 10.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) August 2, 2017
August 2, 2017 – Taxability of separate component charges for SaaS platform and other optional features.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) December 15, 2017
December 15, 2017 - Transaction fees for payment processing and fraud management services.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) January 25, 2019
January 25, 2019 - Taxability of peer to peer car rentals.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) June 18, 2019
June 18, 2019 - Taxability of construction related charges.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) January 23, 2020
January 23, 2020 - Subscription to access data delivery platform for non-streaming content.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) January 23, 2020
January 23, 2020 - Subscription offers access to searchable database as well as real time market information.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) January 23, 2020
January 23, 2020 - Real time market information service offerings.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) February 4, 2020
February 4, 2020 – Taxability of network security and connectivity software.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) August 27, 2020
August 27, 2020 - Nontaxable email services.
Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) September 25, 2020
September 25, 2020 - Taxability of a nonpossessory computer lease.
Real Property Transfer Tax (7551) March 16, 2010
March 16, 2010 - Taxability of a property lease.
Real Property Transfer Tax (7551) April 28, 2011
April 28, 2011 - Exempt transfer of property.
Real Property Transfer Tax (7551) January 25, 2017
January 25, 2017 - Transfer with no change to the economic ownership of real property.
Real Property Transfer Tax (7551) March 16, 2017
March 16, 2017 - Exempt transfer of property sold by a governmental body.
Restaurant Tax (7525) August 10, 2017
August 10, 2017 - Exempt status of meals provided.