Illinois Lawmakers Approve 0.2% Digital-Asset Tax in FY2027 Budget

Illinois lawmakers have approved a 0.2% tax on certain digital-asset activity involving Illinois customers as part of the state’s fiscal 2027 budget package, advancing the measure over objections from crypto industry groups.

The provision appears in Senate Bill 3019, Illinois’ omnibus revenue and finance bill for the budget year. Under the enrolled text, the tax would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, if the measure becomes law.

In practical terms, the proposal is aimed at digital-asset brokers — such as trading platforms, exchanges and custodial firms — rather than individual traders filing a separate state crypto tax return. The bill says the broker that makes or effectuates the covered sale or other business activity must collect the tax from activity involving an Illinois customer, register with the Illinois Department of Revenue, file monthly returns and remit the money to the state.

The enrolled bill states: “Beginning January 1, 2027, a tax is imposed … at the rate of 0.2% of the value of the digital asset.” More specifically, the statutory language says the levy applies “on the privilege of receiving any digital asset business activity by a customer in this State” at “0.2% of the value of the digital asset.”

The measure also reaches some firms based outside Illinois. A digital-asset broker is treated as maintaining a place of business in the state if it has a physical presence in Illinois or, even if headquartered elsewhere, has at least $100,000 in gross receipts from sales of digital-asset business activity to Illinois customers during a rolling 12-month period.

The tax was folded into Illinois’ broader FY2027 budget package, which contemporary coverage put at roughly $55.9 billion to $56 billion and included multiple revenue provisions. Budget and legal reporting at the time said the digital-asset tax was expected to raise about $60 million a year, though that estimate comes from outside reporting and budget materials, not from the statutory text itself.

Some coverage described the levy as a possible first-in-the-nation state-level tax on crypto trading, though that characterization has come from reporting rather than the bill’s text. Illinois already enacted a broader digital-asset oversight regime in 2025 through the Digital Assets and Consumer Protection Act, and the tax would add a new compliance layer for firms serving customers in the state.

The measure drew pushback from the Digital Chamber, a crypto industry trade group, and the Illinois Blockchain Association, a state industry organization. In a joint letter to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, as quoted by Bloomberg Law, the groups called the proposal “substantively unsound, procedurally deficient, and economically destructive” and urged him to remove it before signing the budget package.

The legislative action is complete, but the bill’s final status was not confirmed in the available research. The Illinois House passed SB3019 on May 27, 2026, and the Senate concurred on June 1, 2026. The bill was then enrolled and posted on the Illinois General Assembly website. As of June 17, 2026, however, the research did not identify an official release confirming that Pritzker had signed or vetoed the measure.

That distinction matters because the tax has been approved by lawmakers and included in the enrolled budget bill, but this article does not treat it as enacted law absent confirmation of the governor’s action.

The bill also carries notable enforcement language. It says a person who willfully fails or refuses to pay tax owed to the Department of Revenue, or who accepts money due to the department and does not remit it, is guilty of a Class 3 felony.