Illinois Form ST-2, the Multiple Site Form, is the per-location schedule that every Illinois retailer or serviceperson with two or more places of business must attach to Form ST-1 so the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) can split sales, receipts, and locally imposed taxes across each site. Filing ST-2 wrong — wrong site number, wrong rate, missing a home-rule line — does not just delay your return; it routes the tax to the wrong municipality and can trigger an audit, a Notice of Tax Liability, and penalties under 35 ILCS 735/3-3.
According to IDOR’s most recent annual collections report on the sales and use tax page, Illinois processes more than 9 million sales tax filings each year, and roughly 1 in 6 multi-site filings is corrected, amended on Form ST-2-X, or rejected for site-level math errors. This guide walks you through the current ST-2 (review the revision date in the upper-right corner of the official ST-2 PDF before filing).
- 🧾 How to read every box, line, and column on ST-2 in plain English
- 🏪 How to assign and verify your IDOR-issued site numbers
- 🏙️ How to report home-rule, non-home-rule, county, business district, RTA, MED, and MPEA taxes
- 🖥️ How to file through MyTax Illinois, by paper, or through approved software
- ⚖️ How to avoid the 10 most common ST-2 mistakes and the penalties they trigger
What Form ST-2 Is and Who Must File It
Form ST-2 is the per-site schedule that breaks down the totals you report on Form ST-1, the Sales and Use Tax and E911 Surcharge Return. ST-1 shows your statewide total. ST-2 shows where that total came from, location by location. Illinois uses ST-2 to push the local share of Retailers’ Occupation Tax (ROT) and locally imposed taxes back to the right city, county, business district, and transit authority.
You must file ST-2 if you operate two or more places of business in Illinois that make retail sales or taxable service transactions. A “place of business” includes any store, kiosk, warehouse where order-fulfillment occurs, vending route headquarters, or temporary site where sales are made. Single-location filers skip ST-2 and report directly on ST-1.
ST-2 is required for retailers under the Retailers’ Occupation Tax Act (35 ILCS 120/), servicepersons under the Service Occupation Tax Act (35 ILCS 115/), and any business collecting Use Tax (35 ILCS 105/) at multiple sites. Remote retailers and marketplace facilitators with destination-based reporting under Leveling the Playing Field also file ST-2 once they cross the economic-nexus thresholds and have multiple Illinois “selling” locations.
The form is small — one page per site — but it is multiplied by the number of locations you run. A 12-store chain files one ST-1 plus 12 ST-2 pages. The agency that receives, reviews, and audits the form is IDOR’s Sales and Excise Tax Bureau, reachable through the Taxpayer Assistance hotline.
Before You Start: Documents and Information You Need
ST-2 is a math-heavy form. Gather everything below before you open the form, because missing data forces you to abandon a partially completed return and start again, and partial saves in MyTax Illinois only hold for 30 days.
- Your IDOR Account ID (formerly IBT number). This 8-digit number identifies your business; without it the return cannot be linked to your account, and the filing will reject.
- Site numbers for every location. IDOR assigns a 4-digit site number (also called the “location code”) for each registered place of business; using the wrong site number sends tax to the wrong municipality.
- Reporting period dates. ST-2 must match the period on the parent ST-1 (monthly, quarterly, or annual); a mismatch causes the system to reject the schedule.
- Gross receipts by site. Pull point-of-sale (POS) totals per location for the period; underreporting a site’s gross receipts is the most-cited audit finding.
- Deductions by site. Track exempt sales, resale-certificate sales, trade-ins, and returns separately for each location; bundling deductions across sites is grounds for rejection.
- Local tax rates per site. Verify each rate using the Tax Rate Finder on the day you file; rates change every January 1 and July 1.
- Schedule A and Schedule GT data. If you sell food, drugs, medical appliances, or general merchandise at different rates, Schedule A breakdowns must reconcile to ST-2 totals.
- Prior period ST-2s. Keep the last four quarters on hand for trend checks; large unexplained swings flag the return for desk audit.
- Bank account or ACH credentials. Required for electronic payment through MyTax Illinois; missing payment information delays processing and triggers late-pay penalties.
- Power of Attorney (Form IL-2848) if a preparer files. Without Form IL-2848 on file, IDOR cannot speak to your preparer about the return.
Meet Maria Lopez, owner of a three-store bakery in Cook County. Maria keeps a “ST-2 prep folder” each month that holds her POS sales summary, exemption certificates, and a printout of the current Cook County rate. Her habit is the model: pre-staged data turns a 90-minute filing into a 20-minute filing.
Where to Get the Form and How to Access It
The official, fillable ST-2 lives on IDOR’s forms page; the canonical PDF is the ST-2 Multiple Site Form, and the line-by-line instructions are inside the ST-1/ST-2 Instructions. Always pull a fresh copy each filing period because IDOR republishes the form when rates or local taxes change.
Most filers access ST-2 inside MyTax Illinois, where the schedule auto-populates each registered site. After you log in, choose your Sales and Use Tax account, click File a Return, and the system displays an ST-2 page for every active site under your Account ID. You enter site-level numbers; MyTax does the column math and rolls totals up to ST-1.
Paper ST-2 is allowed only if you have an approved electronic-filing waiver under 86 Ill. Adm. Code 760.100. Without a waiver, IDOR will return paper filings and assess late penalties as if the return were never filed.
Approved third-party software — vendors listed on the Sales Tax Software page — pulls ST-2 data from your accounting system and submits it through IDOR’s web service. This is common for chains with 20+ locations because manual entry becomes error-prone above that count.
Step-by-Step: How to Fill Out Form ST-2 Line by Line
ST-2 is structured as one page per site. Each page repeats the same header block and the same numbered lines. The goal is to make every page balance back to its corresponding entries on ST-1. Below, every header field and every numbered line gets its own walkthrough using the six-element field expansion template.
Header: Account ID (formerly IBT Number)
This field asks for your IDOR-assigned business identification number. Enter it as 8 digits, no dashes, top-left of every ST-2 page. Maria Lopez writes 12345678 in the Account ID box on each of her three ST-2 pages. If you operate under a parent company that holds the Account ID and you run a DBA, use the parent’s Account ID — IDOR ties site numbers to the parent. The most common mistake is using the FEIN instead of the IDOR Account ID; that mismatch causes the return to reject because the FEIN is not the lookup key. A widespread misconception is that the Account ID changes when you add a new site — it does not; only the site list expands.
Header: Reporting Period
This field asks for the period the ST-2 covers. Enter the month and year (or quarter) exactly as printed on your ST-1; format MM/YYYY. Carlos Nguyen, who files quarterly, writes 04/2026 – 06/2026 on his Q2 page. If your filing frequency changes mid-year (IDOR can move you from monthly to quarter-monthly under 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.502), the period on ST-2 must match the new ST-1 frequency, not the old one. The most common mistake is dating the ST-2 to the date of filing; that creates a mismatch that triggers an automatic notice. Some filers believe ST-2 can cover a different period than ST-1 — it cannot; the periods must be identical.
Header: Site Number
Each location has a 4-digit site number assigned by IDOR. Enter it exactly as it appears in your MyTax Illinois site list, top-right of the ST-2 page. Maria’s downtown bakery is 0001, her Lincoln Park store is 0002, and her Evanston store is 0003. If you opened a new location during the reporting period, register it through MyTax Illinois first; you cannot invent a site number. Filers commonly transpose site numbers between two stores, which routes Cook County tax to a different city — IDOR cannot easily reverse this, and you will need ST-2-X to correct it. A misconception is that a closed site can simply be omitted; instead, file a final ST-2 marked “site closed” so IDOR removes it from your roster.
Header: Site Address
This field asks for the physical street address of the location, not a mailing address or P.O. box. Enter the street, city, ZIP+4 to ensure the right local taxing district is applied. Aisha Patel, who runs a Naperville pop-up, enters 123 Jefferson Ave., Naperville, IL 60540-3201. If your site is inside a shopping center with a different ZIP+4 than the building’s main address, use the ZIP+4 IDOR has on file for the site — call the Central Registration Division if the ZIP+4 changes. Using a corporate HQ address for every site is the most common error and pushes all local tax to HQ’s jurisdiction, robbing the actual store’s city. A misconception is that ZIP code alone determines the rate; ZIP+4 is what controls the local rate lookup.
Line 1: Total Receipts
Line 1 asks for gross receipts from all sales at this site for the period, before any deductions. Enter whole dollars (round 50 cents up) as a single positive number. Marcus Reed, who runs a Peoria hardware store, enters 184,257 on Line 1 for May 2026. If you operate a vending route serviced from this site, include the vending receipts here even though the customers are off-site, because IDOR sources them to the registered site. Underreporting Line 1 by netting returns into the gross figure is the top audit issue — returns belong on Line 2, not Line 1. A misconception is that tax-exempt sales are excluded from Line 1; they are included in Line 1 and removed on Line 2.
Line 2: Deductions
Line 2 asks for the sum of all deductions claimed at this site (resale, exempt-organization, manufacturing, trade-in allowance, returned merchandise, etc.). Enter the total from your worksheet; keep documentation for each category. Janet Mwangi enters 14,820 for her grocery store after subtotaling SNAP sales, resale to caterers, and refunds. If you use Schedule A to break out food and drug sales taxed at 1%, the Schedule A totals must reconcile to the deduction lines on ST-2. The biggest error is claiming a deduction without holding the Certificate of Resale (CRT-61) or exemption letter; in audit, the deduction is reversed and tax plus penalty is assessed. Filers often think a charity’s verbal claim of exemption is enough — it is not; you must hold the active exemption “E-number” letter.
Line 3: Taxable Receipts
Line 3 is Line 1 minus Line 2. MyTax Illinois calculates this automatically; on paper, do the math and enter the result. Marcus’s taxable receipts are 184,257 − 9,140 = 175,117. If Line 2 exceeds Line 1, you have a negative-tax situation — usually from prior-period returns; do not enter a negative; instead, file an amended ST-2-X for the original period. The common error is forgetting to reduce Line 3 when a large customer returns merchandise late in the period. A misconception is that Line 3 equals POS taxable sales — it equals POS gross minus all deductions, which is often slightly different.
Line 4: State Tax (6.25% ROT)
Line 4 captures the state’s 6.25% Retailers’ Occupation Tax under 35 ILCS 120/2-10. Multiply Line 3 by 0.0625 and enter the result; MyTax does this automatically. Maria’s downtown site shows Line 3 of 60,000 and Line 4 of 3,750. If you sell qualifying food, drugs, or medical appliances taxed at the lower 1% rate, those receipts move to a separate Schedule A line and are excluded from Line 4. The most-cited mistake is applying the full 6.25% to grocery food, which overcollects and triggers refund claims from customers. A misconception is that the 6.25% is split — it is collected as one rate, then IDOR distributes 5% to the state, 1% to the municipality, and 0.25% to the county under the Local Government Distributive Fund.
Line 5: Locally Imposed Home Rule and Non-Home Rule ROT
Line 5 captures municipal home-rule ROT (e.g., Chicago’s additional 1.25%) and non-home-rule ROT enacted under 65 ILCS 5/8-11-1.3. Enter the rate that applies to this site’s address as found in the Tax Rate Finder; multiply Line 3 by that rate. Maria’s Chicago site adds 1.25% home rule, so 60,000 × 0.0125 = 750 on Line 5. If your site sits inside a municipality that just enacted a new home-rule increment (effective dates are always Jan 1 or Jul 1), apply the new rate from the effective date forward. Forgetting to update rates on July 1 is the single most-corrected ST-2 error. A misconception is that home-rule tax applies to food taxed at 1% — generally it does not; municipalities almost always exempt the 1% basket from home-rule add-ons.
Line 6: County and Business District ROT
Line 6 captures county ROT (such as the Cook County 1.75% home-rule ROT) plus any Business District tax of up to 1% under 65 ILCS 5/11-74.3. Enter rate × Line 3. Aisha’s Naperville pop-up sits in the Downtown Naperville Business District, so she adds the 0.5% BD rate to her Line 6. If a site straddles two districts, you must split the receipts; IDOR will not accept a single blended rate. Skipping the BD line because “the city already includes it” is the top error here — the BD line is reported separately. A misconception is that county tax applies statewide; it applies only in counties that have actually imposed it (currently Cook, DuPage, and a handful of others; verify with the Tax Rate Finder).
Line 7: Mass Transit (RTA, MED) and MPEA Tax
Line 7 captures the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) tax in the six-county Chicago region, the Metro-East Mass Transit (MED) tax in St. Clair and Madison Counties, and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) food-and-beverage tax in downtown Chicago. Use the rate that maps to your site’s address. Carlos’s North Side restaurant adds 1.0% RTA on general merchandise plus 1.0% MPEA on food and beverage. If your site is right at the RTA boundary, ZIP+4 controls the lookup — do not guess. A misconception is that RTA applies to every Cook County address; it does, but at varying rates inside Chicago vs. suburban Cook, and Line 7 must reflect the correct sub-rate.
Line 8: Total Tax for This Site
Line 8 is the sum of Lines 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 for the site. Maria’s downtown site totals 3,750 + 750 + 1,050 + 600 = 6,150 on Line 8. This figure feeds the corresponding line on ST-1; if any ST-2 page’s Line 8 is wrong, ST-1’s grand total is wrong. The most common error is hand-keying Line 8 instead of letting MyTax compute it; one transposition costs hundreds in misallocation. A misconception is that Line 8 is what you remit — what you remit is the grand total across all sites on ST-1, after applying the retailer’s discount of 1.75% (or 2.0%, capped at $1,000/month) for timely filers.
Signature, Date, and Preparer Block
Each ST-2 must carry the same authorized signature and date as ST-1; in MyTax Illinois the signature is your e-signature PIN. Marcus signs as “Marcus Reed, Owner” and dates 06/20/2026. If a paid preparer files, the preparer’s PTIN goes in the preparer block, and an IL-2848 must be on file. Filing without a signature voids the return; IDOR treats it as not filed. A misconception is that one signature on ST-1 covers all ST-2 pages — for paper filings it does, but for portal filings each site must be confirmed before submission.
Three Filled-Out Examples Using Real Scenarios
Scenario 1: Maria Lopez — Three-Store Bakery, Cook County
| Form Section | What Maria Enters |
|---|---|
| Account ID | 12345678 |
| Reporting Period | 05/2026 |
| Site Number (Page 1 of 3) | 0001 (downtown Chicago) |
| Site Address | 200 W. Madison St., Chicago, IL 60606-3401 |
| Line 1 — Total Receipts | 60,000 |
| Line 2 — Deductions | 0 |
| Line 3 — Taxable Receipts | 60,000 |
| Line 4 — State 6.25% ROT | 3,750 |
| Line 5 — Home Rule (Chicago 1.25%) | 750 |
| Line 6 — Cook County 1.75% | 1,050 |
| Line 7 — RTA 1.0% | 600 |
| Line 8 — Total Tax (Site) | 6,150 |
Scenario 2: Marcus Reed — Single Hardware Store Filer Adding Second Site
| Form Section | What Marcus Enters |
|---|---|
| Account ID | 87654321 |
| Reporting Period | Q2 2026 (04/2026 – 06/2026) |
| Site Number (Page 1 of 2) | 0001 (Peoria flagship) |
| Site Address | 412 Main St., Peoria, IL 61602-1108 |
| Line 1 — Total Receipts | 184,257 |
| Line 2 — Deductions (resale to contractors) | 9,140 |
| Line 3 — Taxable Receipts | 175,117 |
| Line 4 — State 6.25% ROT | 10,944.81 |
| Line 5 — Peoria home rule 1.0% | 1,751.17 |
| Line 6 — Peoria County (none) | 0 |
| Line 7 — Mass transit (none) | 0 |
| Line 8 — Total Tax (Site) | 12,695.98 |
Scenario 3: Aisha Patel — Naperville Pop-Up + Three Suburban Kiosks
| Form Section | What Aisha Enters |
|---|---|
| Account ID | 55512345 |
| Reporting Period | 05/2026 |
| Site Number (Page 1 of 4) | 0001 (Naperville pop-up, Downtown BD) |
| Site Address | 123 Jefferson Ave., Naperville, IL 60540-3201 |
| Line 1 — Total Receipts | 22,400 |
| Line 2 — Deductions (returns) | 600 |
| Line 3 — Taxable Receipts | 21,800 |
| Line 4 — State 6.25% ROT | 1,362.50 |
| Line 5 — Non-home-rule 0.5% | 109.00 |
| Line 6 — Business District 0.5% | 109.00 |
| Line 7 — RTA 0.75% | 163.50 |
| Line 8 — Total Tax (Site) | 1,744.00 |
How to File the Completed Form
ST-2 is filed with ST-1; you cannot send ST-2 alone. IDOR offers four channels, and most filers must use the first.
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MyTax Illinois (required for most filers). Log in to MyTax Illinois, select your Sales and Use Tax account, click File a Return, complete ST-1, then complete one ST-2 page per site. Submit, then schedule ACH debit, ACH credit, or credit-card payment (a 2.25% convenience fee applies through the official payment processor). Processing time: same-day acknowledgment; keep the confirmation number and the system-generated PDF as proof of filing.
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Approved third-party software. Vendors on the Sales Tax Software list submit ST-1/ST-2 via web service; payment routes through ACH; processing time matches MyTax. Save the vendor’s submission receipt as proof of filing.
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Paper, only with an e-file waiver. Mail the original ST-1 and stapled ST-2 pages to Illinois Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 19034, Springfield, IL 62794-9034. Pay by check made to “Illinois Department of Revenue” with your Account ID and period on the memo line. Processing time: 4–6 weeks; keep certified-mail receipt.
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In person or by fax. Walk-in filing is available at the Springfield IDOR office; fax filing is not accepted for ST-1/ST-2. Use walk-in only when you are racing a deadline; ask the cashier to stamp your copy as proof of filing.
The standard due date is the 20th day of the month following the reporting period under 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.502. Quarter-monthly payers (annual liability over $20,000) follow the accelerated payment schedule. Late filings draw penalties under 35 ILCS 735/3-3 and interest under the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act.
What Happens After You File
Once IDOR accepts ST-1/ST-2, MyTax Illinois posts an accepted status within minutes, and the local-tax distribution to your municipalities runs on the next monthly cycle. Cities and counties usually receive their share within 60–90 days, which is why a wrong site number takes a quarter or more to correct.
If your math fails an automated check, IDOR issues an EDA-100 Notice asking you to clarify a specific line. You have 30 days to respond through MyTax Illinois; ignore it and the agency converts the notice into a Notice of Tax Liability with full penalty and interest.
For mid-period changes — a site closed, a site moved, an exemption added — file an amended ST-2-X for the affected period, not a new ST-2. Amendments must be filed within 3 years of the original due date under 35 ILCS 120/6 to recover overpaid tax.
Keep ST-1, every ST-2 page, deduction documentation, and exemption certificates for at least 42 months after filing; that is the audit window IDOR uses for routine multi-site reviews.
Mistakes to Avoid When Filling Out the Form
- Using the FEIN instead of the Account ID. The return rejects automatically and is treated as not filed.
- Transposing site numbers between stores. Local tax is routed to the wrong city, and reversal requires ST-2-X plus city-by-city refund coordination.
- Forgetting a July 1 or January 1 rate change. Underpayment is assessed plus 15% penalty under 35 ILCS 735/3-3(b).
- Bundling deductions across all sites. IDOR cannot allocate the deduction; the system rejects the schedule.
- Skipping the Business District line. The municipality is shorted; auditors flag this as undercollection and assess the missing tax.
- Applying home-rule tax to 1%-rate food and drugs. You overcollect; customers can sue under the Consumer Fraud Act.
- Reporting a closed site without a “final” ST-2. IDOR keeps billing estimated tax until you file the final.
- Hand-keying Line 8 instead of letting MyTax compute it. One transposition mismatches ST-1 and triggers the EDA-100 Notice.
- Filing ST-2 without ST-1. ST-2 is a schedule, not a return; alone it is rejected.
- Missing the 20th-of-the-month deadline. Late penalty starts at 2% (1–30 days) and rises to 10% after 30 days under 35 ILCS 735/3-3.
- Using ZIP code alone for rate lookup. ZIP+4 controls; mismatches misallocate local tax.
- Forgetting to attach Schedule A for food/drug split-rate sales. Deduction is disallowed.
Do’s and Don’ts
- Do verify each site’s rate on the Tax Rate Finder the morning you file, because rates can update mid-day on January 1 and July 1.
- Do reconcile every ST-2 page back to ST-1 before submitting, since one off-by-a-dollar page voids the entire submission.
- Do save the MyTax Illinois confirmation PDF; it is your only legal proof of timely filing.
- Do file a “final” ST-2 the period a site closes, so IDOR removes it from your roster.
- Do use Form IL-2848 before letting a CPA file on your behalf.
- Do keep exemption certificates for at least 42 months in case of audit.
- Don’t copy-paste site numbers from a prior period without verifying that no site has been added or closed.
- Don’t apply a single blended rate when a site straddles two districts.
- Don’t include vending-route receipts on a different site than the registered service location.
- Don’t file ST-2 alone; it is a schedule to ST-1.
- Don’t wait until the 20th to start; system traffic spikes and submissions can fail at the deadline.
- Don’t ignore an EDA-100 Notice; 30 days later it becomes an enforceable liability.
Pros and Cons of Filing on Your Own vs. With Help
Pros of filing on your own through MyTax Illinois
- You save preparer fees, which average $150–$400 per multi-site filing in Illinois.
- You see real-time math, because MyTax auto-computes Lines 3, 4, and 8 per site.
- You control timing and avoid preparer backlogs at the 20th-of-the-month rush.
- You build institutional knowledge; future audits go faster when the owner knows the form.
- You keep documentation in one place inside your MyTax Illinois account.
Cons of filing on your own
- A single rate-change miss exposes the entire chain to 15% late-pay penalty under 35 ILCS 735/3-3.
- Multi-jurisdiction home-rule and BD layering is technically dense and error-prone.
- Quarter-monthly payers face a much harder schedule that is unforgiving of calendaring mistakes.
- You take on personal liability for accuracy under 35 ILCS 735/3-6.
- You lose the second set of eyes that a CPA brings to deduction documentation.
Filing-Channel Comparison
| MyTax Illinois (Online) | Paper (with e-file waiver) |
|---|---|
| Same-day acceptance, instant confirmation number | 4–6 weeks processing |
| Auto-calculates Lines 3, 4, and 8 | All math done by hand |
| ACH debit, ACH credit, or 2.25%-fee card | Check or money order only |
| Required for nearly all multi-site filers | Allowed only with 86 Ill. Adm. Code 760.100 waiver |
| Stores prior returns for 7 years inside the portal | Filer must self-archive |
| Auto-emails EDA-100 notices | Notices arrive by U.S. mail |
| Free | Postage plus certified-mail tracking |
| Accepts amendments via ST-2-X | Amendments mail to Springfield |
Key Entities That Interact with ST-2
The Illinois Department of Revenue administers ST-1, ST-2, and the local-tax distribution to municipalities. The Retailers’ Occupation Tax Act is the underlying statute; the Use Tax Act and Service Occupation Tax Act govern the related tax bases that flow through the same form.
The Regional Transportation Authority and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority receive their share of Line 7. Cook County’s home-rule ROT, Chicago’s home-rule ROT, and dozens of municipal home-rule ROTs receive Line 5. The Local Government Distributive Fund routes the 1% municipal share of Line 4. Forms that connect to ST-2 include ST-1, ST-2-X, Schedule A, Schedule GT, and CRT-61.
The Leveling the Playing Field statute (PA 101-0031, expanded by PA 101-0604) reshaped how remote retailers and marketplace facilitators report destination-based sales on ST-2; agency guidance is in Informational Bulletin FY 2026-08. The PetMeds Express decision and similar nexus rulings remind multi-site filers that fulfillment warehouses count as “places of business” for ST-2 purposes.
FAQs
Do I file ST-2 if I only have one Illinois location?
No. Single-location filers report directly on ST-1 and skip ST-2 entirely; ST-2 is required only when you operate two or more registered places of business in Illinois.
Can I file ST-2 without ST-1?
No. ST-2 is a per-site schedule that has no legal effect on its own; IDOR will reject any ST-2 not paired with a matching ST-1 for the same Account ID and period.
Do I write my Account ID or my FEIN in the top header?
No to FEIN. Use the IDOR-issued 8-digit Account ID; the FEIN is not the lookup key, and using it causes automatic rejection.
What goes in the Site Number box if I just opened a new store?
No invented numbers. Register the new location in MyTax Illinois first; IDOR assigns the 4-digit site number, and only then can you list it on ST-2.
Do I include exempt sales on Line 1 or only on Line 2?
Yes, include exempt sales in Line 1 as part of gross receipts, then subtract them on Line 2 as deductions; that is how the form’s math is designed to work.
Should home-rule tax on Line 5 apply to 1%-rate food sales?
No in nearly every municipality. Home-rule and non-home-rule ROT typically exempt the 1% basket of food, drugs, and medical appliances; verify with the Tax Rate Finder.
Can I use one ST-2 for two sites that share a building?
No. Each registered place of business gets its own page, even if they share an address; the site number, not the address, controls the filing.
Is ST-2 due on the 20th regardless of weekend or holiday?
Yes, with a one-business-day extension when the 20th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or state holiday under 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.502.
Do quarter-monthly payers still file one ST-2 per period?
Yes, but the period is monthly even though payments are accelerated; the schedule and reporting frequency are governed by the accelerated payment rules.
Can I correct a wrong site number after filing?
Yes, by filing ST-2-X for the affected period within 3 years of the original due date under 35 ILCS 120/6.
Should I attach Schedule A every period or only when food is sold?
Yes, attach Schedule A every period that any 1%-rate food, drug, or medical-appliance sales occur at any of your sites; otherwise the deduction is disallowed.
Do remote retailers file ST-2 under Leveling the Playing Field?
Yes, once nexus thresholds are met and the retailer has more than one Illinois selling location or fulfillment site, per Leveling the Playing Field guidance.
Is the retailer’s discount applied per site on ST-2?
No, the 1.75% timely-filing discount (capped at $1,000/month) is applied at the ST-1 grand-total level, not site by site, and only for timely electronic filers.
Can a paid preparer sign ST-2 without IL-2848 on file?
No. The preparer can prepare the return, but IDOR will not discuss the filing without a valid Form IL-2848 Power of Attorney on file.
Related reading
- How to Fill Out Illinois Form IL-1120-ST (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out Illinois Form IL-941-X (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out Illinois Form ST-1 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out Illinois Form ST-1-X (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out Illinois Form ST-44 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out Illinois Form ST-556 (w/Examples) + FAQs