Illinois Hits Pause on Crypto Tax Until July 2027, Industry Calls Delay a "Major Win" 🏛️

Illinois officials agreed to push back the start date of the state's Digital Asset Tax from January 1, 2027 to July 1, 2027, according to a joint motion filed Thursday in the Sangamon County Circuit Court. The filing asks the court to preliminarily enjoin the tax and stay its effective date, though the agreement still requires judicial approval before it takes effect.

The motion stems from litigation brought by the Chamber of Digital Commerce, also known as The Digital Chamber, and the Illinois Blockchain Association, which sued Illinois Department of Revenue Director David Harris and Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Because the motion is stipulated, both sides are requesting the same outcome. The Digital Chamber announced the deal on X and credited its attorneys at Bellementis PLLC, naming Teresa Goody, Andoni Olta, and Angela Papalaskaris. Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone called the delay a "major win" for the crypto industry and added, "[A] delay is not a repeal. The job isn't done, and we won't stop until this tax is struck down for good."

Governor JB Pritzker signed the Digital Asset Tax Act in June as part of the state's 2027 budget. The law imposes a 0.2% levy on digital asset activity, including purchases and transfers, to be collected by brokers such as major exchanges. Lawmakers estimated the measure could raise as much as $60 million in 2027. Brokers who failed to comply could have faced potential prison time and fines starting January 1.

The Digital Chamber's lawsuit is separate from a separate challenge filed in August by the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association, which argued the tax was unconstitutional. On September 9, those two groups asked the same court to block the tax's January 1 implementation, stating that firms were already spending millions of dollars to build compliance systems without meaningful guidance from the state. As of Thursday, the status of that litigation was unclear in light of the agreed delay. The Crypto Council for Innovation has previously called the law the "most punitive digital asset tax" in the country. Meanwhile, in Washington, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act last month, which would eliminate gain-or-loss calculations on qualifying network fees of $10 or less starting in 2028.