Illinois freezes state gas tax

Illinois lawmakers approved a $55.9 billion fiscal 2027 budget early Monday that includes a six-month pause in the state’s scheduled motor fuel tax increase. The budget package heads to Gov. JB Pritzker, who said he looks forward to signing it. The pause delays a 1.3-cent increase that had been set to take effect on July 1 under Illinois’ inflation-linked fuel tax law. The budget also includes a 10-day back-to-school sales tax holiday in August and new taxes on some businesses. ### What exactly did lawmakers freeze? The Illinois General Assembly did not cut the gas tax; it postponed the next automatic increase. Capital News Illinois, in reporting carried by Central Illinois Proud, said the budget “freezes the 1.3-cent gas tax increase that’s slated for July 1, pushing it to January.” (centralillinoisproud.com) The Illinois Department of Revenue had previously published the July 1, 2026 rate change. That bulletin said gasoline was due to rise to 49.6 cents a gallon and diesel to 57.1 cents a gallon for the period running through June 30, 2027. The annual adjustment is tied to the Consumer Price Index and, for 2026, reflected a 2.68% increase. (centralillinoisproud.com) ### When will drivers see the change? July 1 is the date Illinois officials said the pause begins. NBC Chicago, citing the governor’s office, reported that drivers will pay less at the pump starting in July because the scheduled increase will be paused for six months. (tax.illinois.gov) December is when the pause is set to end, according to the same report. That means Illinois drivers avoid the summer increase, but the underlying inflation-linked tax structure remains in place unless lawmakers change the law again. ### How much relief does this actually provide? (nbcchicago.com) The immediate effect is limited to the size of the delayed increase. For gasoline, that is 1.3 cents a gallon versus the rate that had been scheduled for July 1. For a driver buying 15 gallons, that works out to about 19.5 cents per fill-up before any retailer pricing differences. That arithmetic is an inference based on the state’s published tax rate and the size of the postponed increase. (nbcchicago.com) House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch framed the move as targeted relief. “No state can stop costly tariff schemes, reopen the global supply chain, or bring down the price of oil, but we can take charge of what we can control to provide people with some relief right now,” Welch said in a release cited by NBC Chicago. (centralillinoisproud.com) ### Why was this in the budget at all? Senate Democrats budget leader Elgie Sims said the plan was built around economic and federal-policy uncertainty. “It’s allowed us to be prepared for the great reality we face today,” Sims said during debate, according to Central Illinois Proud. “The reality of federal cuts. The reality of chaos coming from Washington.” (nbcchicago.com) Republicans said the relief was too narrow and too temporary. Rep. Joe Sosnowski, a Rockford Republican, said, “We’re not going to raise the gas tax in July, we’re just going to wait a couple more months,” according to the same report. ### What else is in the package? The fiscal 2027 budget includes a sales tax holiday on school supplies from Aug. 7 through Aug. 16, Central Illinois Proud and NBC Chicago reported. (centralillinoisproud.com) It also raises revenue through measures affecting social media companies, digital assets, fantasy sports, tobacco and other categories. Gov. JB Pritzker said the budget was designed with “widespread affordability” in mind and said he looked forward to signing it. Once signed, the next milestone is July 1, when the six-month pause on the scheduled fuel-tax increase is due to take effect. (nbcchicago.com) (centralillinoisproud.com)