Illinois sales tax for salons
Are haircuts and salon services taxable in Illinois?
No. In Illinois, the service part of a barber or beauty shop charge is not subject to the Retailers' Occupation Tax; only products sold to clients are taxed. Below: each kind of service, the products you sell, the rate and the permit a salon needs, each answered from the Illinois Department of Revenue's own publications, rules or statutes, read on October 25, 2026.
- Haircuts
- Not taxable
- Nails
- Not taxable
- Products you sell
- Taxable
- State rate
- 6.25%
Administered by Illinois Department of Revenue.The agency's page The state's own words
Services
Which salon services are taxable in Illinois?
No. In Illinois, the service part of a barber or beauty shop charge is not subject to the Retailers' Occupation Tax; only products sold to clients are taxed.
- Hair services
- Not taxable
- Nail services
- Not taxable
- Skin care and waxing
- Not taxable
Hair services: haircuts, color, styling, perms and shaves. Nail services: manicures, pedicures and enhancements. Skin care: facials, waxing and other hair removal, and makeup.
Products
Do salons charge sales tax on products in Illinois?
Yes. Products a salon sells to clients over the counter, such as package cosmetics, hair tonics and lotions, are subject to Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax. The state rate is 6.25% plus local tax.
The rate
What is the sales tax rate in Illinois?
- Statewide tax
- Retailers' Occupation Tax
- State rate
- 6.25%
- Local sales taxes
- Yes, added by cities, counties or districts
The rate a client pays depends on the salon's address: look it up with the Illinois Department of Revenue.
The permit
Does a salon need a sales tax permit in Illinois?
Illinois Business Registration Application (Form REG-1). Register with the Illinois Department of Revenue before your first sale, online through MyTax Illinois or by mailing Form REG-1; registration is free.
- Registration
- Illinois Business Registration Application (Form REG-1)
- State fee
- Free
Good to know
What else Illinois says about salons and sales tax
- Products a salon transfers as part of a service, such as color or shampoo used during a treatment, fall under the Service Occupation Tax rather than the Retailers' Occupation Tax.
- On a combined charge for a service and products, only the part for the products transferred is taxable; the service component is not.
- Local sales taxes apply on top of the state rate, so the total depends on the salon's address; IDOR's Tax Rate Finder looks up the rate by location.
Sources
What Illinois's official pages say
Each answer above, in the words of the Illinois Department of Revenue's own publications, rules or statutes, read on October 25, 2026. This is not tax advice: rules and rates change, so confirm with the Illinois Department of Revenue or an accountant.
- Hair services
“they are not required to remit Retailers' Occupation Tax measured by their receipts from engaging in such service occupations”
ilga.gov - Nail services
“The service component of a sale of service remains nontaxable.”
tax.illinois.gov - Products you sell
“When barbers or beauty shop operators sell tangible personal property to purchasers for use or consumption apart from their rendering of service”
ilga.gov - The tax and its rate
“the tax imposed by this Act is at the rate of 6.25% of gross receipts from sales”
ilga.gov “Online tool used to look-up by individual location either origin-based or destination-based sales tax rates, including locally imposed sales taxes.”
tax.illinois.gov - The permit
“Form REG-1, Illinois Business Registration Application”
tax.illinois.gov “There is no registration fee.”
tax.illinois.gov - The agency
“You are required to register with the Illinois Department of Revenue if you are liable for reporting or paying any type of”
tax.illinois.gov - Also good to know
“For information concerning the application of the Service Occupation Tax to purchases by barbers and beauty shop operators of tangible personal property which they retransfer as an incident to rendering service”
ilga.gov - Also good to know
“The service component of a sale of service remains nontaxable. The only part of a sale of service that is taxable is the transfer of TPP as part of that sale of service.”
tax.illinois.gov
Questions
Illinois salon sales tax, answered
Are haircuts taxable in Illinois?
Do nail salons charge sales tax in Illinois?
Are facials and waxing taxable in Illinois?
Do salons charge sales tax on products in Illinois?
Does a salon need a sales tax permit in Illinois?
What is the sales tax rate in Illinois?
Plan the rest
Opening or running a salon in Illinois
- Every step to opening a salon in Illinois, as a checklist
- What Illinois requires to license a salon
- What Illinois inspectors check in a salon
- Salon point of sale systems compared, with card fees
Salon sales tax in other states
Ready when you are
Tax sorted? Fill the chairs next
SalonAI plans the business side of your Illinois salon: a website clients can book from in one tap, online booking with deposits, your services and retail on one menu, your Google profile, reviews and client follow-ups. Founden builds and runs it while you do the work.
Built with Founden. Review your setup and running costs before activation.