Illinois payroll tax registration
What to set up in Illinois before the first payroll, in date order, with each agency, online portal and deadline. Enter the first employee's start date and the first pay date to see the dates.
Setup steps before the first payroll
- Workers' comp
Get workers' compensation coverage
- Deadline
- Before anyone starts work
- Source
- iwcc.illinois.gov/about/insurance.html (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Posters
Hang the required posters
- Deadline
- Before anyone starts work
- Source
- labor.illinois.gov/employers/posters.html (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- State tax accounts
Register with IDOR for withholding on MyTax Illinois (Illinois Business Registration Application), giving the date Illinois payroll begins
- Deadline
- Before the first payroll; new registrants pay monthly and file IL-941 quarterly
- Agency
- Withholding: Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) (opens in a new tab)
- Returns
- Monthly payer with quarterly Form IL-941 returns: "If you are a new registrant you are assigned to the monthly payer and quarterly return schedule."
- Source
- tax.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/tax/research/publications/pubs/documents/pub-130.pdf (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Date depends on the deadline belowState tax accounts
Register with IDES for an unemployment account on MyTax Illinois
- Deadline
- Within 30 days of start-up
- Agency
- Unemployment: Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) (opens in a new tab)
- Source
- ides.illinois.gov/employer-resources/tax-employer-information.html (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- New hire reporting
Report each new hire
- Deadline
- Within 20 days of the start date
- Online
- Not confirmed
- Source
- ides.illinois.gov/employer-resources/taxes-reporting/new-hires.html (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- State tax accounts
Pay withholding monthly; file the first IL-941 and UI-3/40
- Deadline
- UI-3/40 by the last day of the month after the quarter of the first pay dateJanuary 31, 2027 is a Sunday; whether Illinois moves it to the next business day is not confirmed.
- Source
- ides.illinois.gov/employer-resources/tax-employer-information.html (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Federal dates for this pay date
Federal returns follow the compliance calendar, which dates them for every employer:
A 501(c)(3) organization generally owes no FUTA tax and files no Form 940 (Form 940 instructions (opens in a new tab)).
Not confirmed: no official source settled it on the check date, so none is shown.
Not needed in Illinois
- No state paid leave program funded through payroll.labor.illinois.gov/faqs/paidleavefaq.html (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Also in Illinois
- Whether any city or county taxes wages: not confirmed.
More on Illinois
WORKLIO HCM
Hiring in a new state? We help open the accounts.
We help open state withholding and unemployment accounts when you hire somewhere new, and our registration service can register your employer tax accounts for you: withholding, unemployment and paid leave contributions where the state's tax agency collects them. After that, Worklio HCM calculates, deposits and files your payroll taxes in every state and locality, new-hire state reporting is automatic, and rates and rules update without you noticing.
Registration in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Sources
The agency page or document behind each fact, as checked.
- tax.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/tax/research/publications/pubs/documents/pub-130.pdf (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- ides.illinois.gov/employer-resources/tax-employer-information.html (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- iwcc.illinois.gov/about/insurance.html (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- labor.illinois.gov/employers/posters.html (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- ides.illinois.gov/employer-resources/taxes-reporting/new-hires.html (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- labor.illinois.gov/faqs/paidleavefaq.html (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the relevant agency or your advisor. You remain responsible for registering and for your employment taxes.