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Sales tax in Union County, Illinois

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated

There is no single sales tax rate in Union County. It runs from 8.5% to 9.5% depending on the exact address, because cities and special districts inside the county levy their own on top of the 6.25% state rate. The 6.25% state rate applies everywhere in the county; everything above that depends on where you are standing. These rates were read from Illinois's own published schedule and checked on September 9, 2026. The rate in each of the 6 cities is in the table below.

What is the sales tax rate in Union County?

Sales tax rate components in Union County, Illinois
Illinois state rate6.25%
Union County rate2.25%
Lowest combined rate in the county8.5%
Highest combined rate in the county9.5%

The combined figures are the lowest and highest totals anywhere in Union County, so the rows above do not add up to them.

What is the sales tax rate in each city in Union County?

Illinois publishes the rate for every city it taxes. These are the combined rates, state and local together, as listed in Illinois's own rate file.

Sales tax rate by city in Union County, Illinois
CityAugust 1, 2026 to present
Alto Pass8.5%
Anna9.5%
Cobden8.5%
Dongola9.5%
Jonesboro8.5%
Mill Creek8.5%
Unincorporated Union County8.5%

Source: Illinois rate file for August 1, 2026 to present, from Illinois's official rate page.

How much sales tax is that on a purchase in Union County?

At 8.5%, a $100 purchase carries $8.50 in sales tax and a $1,000 purchase $85.00, at the lowest rate in the county. At the highest, 9.5%, the same purchases carry $9.50 and $95.00. That is general merchandise; Illinois taxes some categories, often groceries, differently, as the note below explains.

Among Illinois's 102 counties, Union County's lowest rate ranks 2nd highest. See every Illinois county.

Sales tax in counties next to Union County

Union County borders 7 counties, 2 of them in another state. The lowest rate next door is 5.725% in Cape Girardeau County, MO, which is $27.75 less on a $1,000 purchase than the lowest rate in Union County.

Union County and its neighbors, highest rate first
CountyCombined sales tax
Union County, IL (this county)8.5% to 9.5%
Johnson County, IL7.75% to 10%
Jackson County, IL7.25% to 9.75%
Williamson County, IL7.25% to 9.75%
Perry County, MO6.6% to 9.475%
Alexander County, IL6.25% to 7.25%
Pulaski County, IL6.25% to 7.25%
Cape Girardeau County, MO5.725% to 10.475%

Why the rate here is not the whole story

Illinois charges 6.25 percent statewide on general merchandise. Only 5 percent of that is kept by the state and 1.25 percent is passed straight through to the municipality or county where the sale is sourced, but the whole 6.25 percent is imposed by the state and every location in Illinois pays it. Municipalities, business districts and transit districts then add their own rates on boundaries that do not follow county lines, so a single rate for the whole county does not exist. The county itself levies 2.25 percent countywide. The floor of 8.5 percent is in unincorporated county. The ceiling of 9.5 percent is at Anna. These figures are general merchandise rates. Qualifying drugs and medical appliances are taxed at a lower rate that starts at 1 percent statewide, and since January 1 2026 groceries carry no state rate at all although a municipality or county may impose 1 percent of its own, so neither belongs in the range here.

How do I find the exact rate for an address in Union County?

Use Illinois's own address lookup. In Union County the rate depends on the address, anywhere from 8.5% to 9.5%.

Who has to collect sales tax in Union County?

Any seller with a physical presence in Illinois collects at the rate for the address of the sale; a remote seller does once it passes Illinois's economic nexus threshold. Illinois sales tax covers the statewide rules and what is exempt.

Work out your own numbers

Sources