regulation
Illinois publishes draft 0.2% digital-asset tax rules, open through Oct 30
The Illinois Department of Revenue's draft implementing rules for the state's Digital Asset Tax Act clarify who owes the 0.2% levy, when, and how DEX transactions are treated.
The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) released draft implementing rules on September 25, 2026 for the state's Digital Asset Tax Act (DATA), the first US state-level transaction tax specifically on crypto. The rules are open for public comment through October 30, 2026, with the underlying statute set to take effect January 1, 2027.
The DATA was enacted as part of the FY2027 Illinois budget in mid-2026. What just landed is the operational text — who registers, what counts as a taxable event, how brokers price transactions, and where the perimeter of the levy stops.
What the tax hits
- Rate: 0.2% of the US-dollar value of each covered digital-asset activity.
- Applies to: exchanges, transfers, custody and wallet services provided by a digital asset broker.
- Payable regardless of profit or loss. The tax is on the transaction, not on gains.
- Effective: January 1, 2027, if the rules clear the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) filing after the comment period.
Brokers are the collection point. IDOR defines them as exchanges, custodians and platforms that facilitate exchange, transfer or storage of digital assets in the course of business. Every in-scope broker must register with the state before January 1, 2027 on a form IDOR will publish, and name the party responsible for filing returns and remitting the levy, per Crypto.news.
Pricing rule and the DEX carve-out
Two operational specifics stand out.
How to price the transaction. The broker sets the USD value at the moment the covered activity is completed. It can use its own spot price if it operates a market, or a benchmark from a regulated market-data provider if it does not. IDOR does not prescribe a specific benchmark.
Where DeFi falls. The draft states that decentralized-exchange transactions generally fall outside the levy when users do not provide "valuable consideration" to a digital asset broker. In practice, a swap on a permissionless AMM with no intermediating broker is not the target; a swap routed through a US-facing DEX aggregator that takes a fee likely is. IDOR has not defined the boundary in the draft; that will move in the comments.
Where the rules sit today
Per BDO's implementation note and Jones Day's brief, the draft has not been filed with the Illinois Secretary of State or submitted to JCAR yet. Public comments run to October 30; IDOR then has to file and clear JCAR before the January 1 effective date. That is a tight schedule for a rule with unresolved ambiguities on DeFi scope.
Numbers block
- Tax rate: 0.2% of USD value per transaction
- Effective date: January 1, 2027 (subject to JCAR clearance)
- Draft released: September 25, 2026
- Public comment window: through October 30, 2026
- Broker registration deadline: before January 1, 2027
- Statutory authority: Illinois Digital Asset Tax Act (DATA), FY2027 budget
- Administering agency: Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR)
- Sources: Crypto Briefing, Crypto.news, BDO, Jones Day
What to watch
- The DEX line. How IDOR draws "valuable consideration to a broker" will decide whether US-facing DEX aggregators and MEV searchers with Illinois nexus register.
- Custody scope. The custody-service leg of the levy could reach institutional custodians and stablecoin issuers with Illinois-domiciled customers; the draft does not clarify residency tests.
- The pricing-benchmark question. Without a prescribed reference, brokers will land on whatever's cheapest to source; expect an amendment in comments to pin this down.
- JCAR timing. With comments closing October 30 and the statute effective January 1, IDOR has roughly nine weeks to process comments, refile and clear JCAR. Any material change forces a re-notice.
Context
Wyoming and New York tax crypto on income and gains through their existing frameworks. Illinois is the first US state to enact a transaction-level levy specifically on digital assets — closer in structure to a stamp duty than to a capital-gains regime. That distinction matters: the tax hits activity, not outcome, and the collection burden lands on brokers rather than end users. If IDOR clears JCAR on schedule, this becomes the first live template for state-level transaction taxes on crypto in the US; other states with budget gaps will read the draft as an experiment they may replicate.