Updated August 7, 2026. Quick answer: every figure Clear Money Guide holds about Illinois, on one page, each one copied from a dataset that cites its own statute or agency. Built for reporters on deadline — take any line, follow the link for the source.
What stands out about Illinois
These are the figures where Illinois differs most from the rest of the country — selected by counting how many jurisdictions share each value, not by editorial preference.
- Formation fee: $150 standard; $400 for a series LLC — the only jurisdiction of the 48 we have data for
- Grace period days: 30 days or one month — one of only 2 of 47
- Authority: statute and regulation — one of only 3 of 30
- Salary history ban: yes — one of only 9 of 49
What dying costs here
- Small estate limit: 150000
- Small estate scope: personal_only
- State estate tax exemption: 4000000
Source and full detail: the cost-of-dying index. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Estate and property law status
- Authorized: yes
- Statute or act: 5 ILCS 312/6-102.5 (Illinois Notary Public Act), added by P.A. 102-0160 signed 2021-07-23; rules at 14 Ill. Admin. Code 176.700-176.710
- Effective date: 2023-06-05
- Conditions: Two-way audio-video allowing direct contemporaneous sight-and-sound; THE SIGNATORY MUST BE PHYSICALLY LOCATED IN ILLINOIS at the time of the act; identity by personal knowledge, credible-witness testimony, or valid government photo ID; each page must be clearly shown and legible during the sessio…
- Association name: Illinois Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association
- Death benefit limit: $300,000
- Cash surrender limit: $100,000
- Annuity limit: $250,000
- Aggregate limit: $300,000
- Statute citation: 215 ILCS 5/531.03(3) (Illinois Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Law)
- Free look days: 10 days
- Trigger: the date the policy is delivered to the policy owner
- Extended windows: 20 days from delivery for replacement life insurance — but only where the replacing insurer elects that option instead of delaying issuance
- Refund basis: refund of any premium paid, including any policy fees or other charges; for replacements exercising the 20-day option, an unconditional refund of all premiums paid
- Grace period days: 30 days or one month
- Coverage during grace: the policy shall continue in force; if the policy becomes a claim during the grace period before the overdue premium (or the deferred premiums of the current policy year) is paid, the amount of such premium or premiums with interest thereon may be deducted in any settlement under the policy
- Variations: Section 224 does not reach industrial, group, or annuity and pure endowment contracts, so no industrial/weekly-premium grace period is set by this section.
Source and full detail: notary rules by state · guaranty association limits · life insurance free-look periods · life insurance grace periods. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Working and earning here
- Quit deadline: At separation if possible, but no later than the next regularly scheduled payday
- Fired deadline: At separation if possible, but no later than the next regularly scheduled payday
- Statute citation: 820 ILCS 115/5, 820 ILCS 115/14
- Has law: Yes
- Disclosure trigger: in the job posting
- Employer threshold: 15+ employees
- Covers remote roles: yes
- Effective date: 2025-01-01
- Salary history ban: yes
- Local ordinances: none identified
- Authority: statute and regulation
- Reciprocity: yes – statutorily authorized; specific partner states NOT verified
- Contested: no
Source and full detail: final paycheck laws by state · pay transparency laws by state · paid family leave by state · the convenience-of-the-employer rule. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Renting here
- Return deadline: If the landlord supplies no itemised damage statement: full deposit within 45 days of vacating. If deductions are claimed: itemised statement within 30 days of vacating; if only estimates were given, paid receipts within a further 30 days.
- Interest required: conditional
- Statute citation: 765 ILCS 710/1; 765 ILCS 715/1-3
Source and full detail: security deposit law by state. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Starting a business here
- Formation fee: $150 standard; $400 for a series LLC
- Annual report: $75 (+$50 per series)
- Franchise tax: none found for LLCs in the sources searched
- Publication requirement: none identified
- Expedite options: $250 total for 24-hour service on articles of organization ($100 over the $150 standard fee); $500 for a series LLC
- Statute citation: 805 ILCS 180/50-10 (fees); 805 ILCS 180/50-1 (annual report); 805 ILCS 180/50-15 (penalty)
- Five year total: at least $525
Source and full detail: LLC cost by state. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Tax treatment here
- Has law: Yes
- Treatment: ordinary income
- Rate: 4.95% flat
- Preferential mechanism: none
- Tax year: 2026
- Statute citation: 35 ILCS 5/201(b)(5.4)
Source and full detail: capital gains tax by state. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
For journalists: how to cite this
Clear Money Guide, Illinois Money Statistics 2026. https://clearmoneyguide.com/state-money-statistics/illinois/. Every figure on this page is copied from a Clear Money Guide dataset that states its own primary source and the date it was read — follow the section links for the statute or agency behind any number. Free to reuse with attribution under CC BY 4.0.
What this sheet does and does not contain
This sheet aggregates; it does not research. Every figure is copied from the owning page linked in each section, and a figure we do not own is simply absent — not estimated, not inferred from a neighbouring state. That is why sheets differ in length: this one states 49 figures, and a state where we hold less will show fewer. A short sheet means we have less, not that the state has less.
Statutory law changes. Each linked owner page carries the date its figures were read; check there before relying on anything here. See also Illinois financial adviser statistics and all 51 state money sheets.
General information about published law and public data, not legal, tax or investment advice. No advertising appears on this page and we earn nothing from it.