Grocery Bags, Alcohol And Rideshares Are All Getting More Expensive With New Chicago Taxes

CHICAGO — From grocery bags to rideshare trips to alcohol purchases, a variety of routine expenses will be impacted by new taxes going into effect early this year in Chicago.

Below is a roundup of the new taxes that will affect people living in and visiting Chicago in the new year, according to the city:

• Checkout bag tax, effective Jan. 1: Bags will be taxed 15 cents each, up from 10 cents.
• Alcoholic beverages tax for off-premises consumption, effective March 1: Alcoholic beverages bought in a retail sale for off-premises consumption will be taxed at 1.5 percent of the purchase price.
• Ground transportation congestion zone surcharge, effective Jan. 6: Rideshare single rides with a pickup, dropoff or both in a congestion zone between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. will be charged an additional $1.50 per vehicle. Another 60 cents per vehicle will be added for shared rides on weekdays only during the same timeframe.
• Personal property lease transaction tax, effective Jan. 1: There will be a 15 percent tax on the lease or rental price for all leases.
• Motor vehicle lessor tax, effective Jan. 1: Leasing vehicles in the city on a daily or weekly basis will come with a 50-cent tax per vehicle per rental period.
• Social media amusement tax, effective Jan. 1: Social media platforms that collect consumer data on more than 100,000 Chicago users per year, based on the number of users whose consumer data a platform collects per month, must pay 50 cents per monthly number of Chicago users over 100,000.
• Internet and mobile sports wagering amusement tax, effective Jan. 1: Primary sports licensees operating in Chicago must pay 10.25 percent of the adjusted gross sports wagering receipts from wagers placed at or within five blocks of a facility where sports wagering is allowed or from wagers made online and verified as having been placed in the city.
• Boat mooring tax, effective Jan. 1: Mooring or docking fees will be taxed at 23.25 percent, with nonprofits taxed at 7 percent.

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/4ptsFfA.