Illinois income tax calculator: How would Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed graduated income tax affect you?

Senate Democrats in Springfield approved legislation for a state graduated income tax, a top legislative priority for Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The plan tweaks an earlier proposal by Pritzker, changing rates for higher incomes and splitting off rates for single filers vs. joint or married filers.
Pritzker has proposed a graduated income tax as a way to fix Illinois’ shaky finances. The proposal would increase taxes for the wealthy and lower taxes for the great majority (97 percent of state taxpayers) by applying different tax rates on different levels of income. Currently everyone pays a flat income tax of 4.95 percent.
The state House still needs to approve the measure in order for it to go before voters in the November 2020 election.
Graduated income tax calculator
This calculator uses state base income, the starting point for determining what you owe.
Enter the number of exemptions. If you are a single filer making more than $250,000 or a joint filer making more than $500,000, do not enter any exemptions.
Taxes at current rate
Current tax rate: 4.95%
Taxes at proposed graduated rate
Proposed effective tax rate: 0%
Difference:
Note: This calculator does not include Pritzker’s proposals to increase the current property tax credit by 1 percentage point, from 5 percent to 6 percent, and create a per-child tax credit of up to $100 for individuals earning less than $80,000 and joint filers earning less than $100,000.
Charting the tax rates
Income blocks for single and joint filers start to differ for filers who earn more than $250,000.
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$250,001
to $350K
$350,001
to $750K
More than
$750K
$250,001
to $500K
$500,001
to $1M
More than
$1M
SINGLE
AND JOINT
$100,001 to $250K
$10,001 to $100K
Marginal rates
Once income reaches $750,000 for single filers and $1 million for joint, all income is taxed at 7.99%
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SINGLE
AND JOINT
$250,001
to $350K
$350,001
to $750K
More than
$750K
$10,001
to $100K
$100,001
to $250K
$250,001
to $500K
$500,001
to $1M
More than
$1M
Once income reaches $750,000 for single filers and $1 million for joint, all income is taxed at 7.99%
Marginal rates
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SINGLE
AND JOINT
$250,001
to $350K
$350,001
to $750K
More than
$750K
$10,001
to $100K
$100,001
to $250K
$250,001
to $500K
$500,001
to $1M
More than
$1M
Once income reaches $750,000 for single filers and $1 million for joint, all income is taxed at 7.99%
Marginal rates
Brief history of Illinois income tax
1969
Republican Gov. Richard Ogilvie was forced to ally with Mayor Richard J. Daley to get the votes needed to establish the state’s first income tax.
1970
Illinois voters approve a new state constitution mandating that income tax be a flat rate. Article IX, Section 3: “A tax on or measured by income shall be at a non-graduated rate.”
1983
Gov. Jim Thompson and the legislature pushed through a $1 billion package of tax increases to keep the state afloat right at the fiscal year deadline. The hike was set for one year.
1989
An income tax hike came with increases in cigarette and gas taxes and a property tax break. The revenue was intended for education and local government funding.
2011
Gov. Pat Quinn says the state’s “fiscal house was burning” as state leaders ushered through the 67 percent increase. The plan at the time was to start to ratchet the rate down in 2015.
2015
The same law that increased the income tax hit its built-in rollback phase and dropped back to 3.75 percent at the start of 2015. Debate over the issue figured prominently in the November 2014 gubernatorial election in which Republican Bruce Rauner, who was in favor of the rollback, defeated Democratic incumbent Quinn, who argued the state couldn’t afford to lose the income.
2017
The majority Democrats pulled in a group of Republican state representatives and one senator to break the nearly two-year deadlock without a budget. The legislature overrides Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto to hike individual and corporate income taxes.
Individual income tax rate over time
Chart does not show the Illinois corporate income tax rate, which is 7 percent.
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Individual income tax rate
Current rate: 4.95%
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Individual income tax rate
Current rate: 4.95%
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Individual income tax rate
Current rate: 4.95%
Source: Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office, Illinois Department of Revenue, Illinois state comptroller, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Tribune archives
Created by the Chicago Tribune dataviz team. On Twitter @ChiTribGraphics