The City of Chicago enforces a Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (PPLT), a 9% levy applied to purchases of software and cloud-based products with a “ship to” address in Chicago. This tax differs from the State of Illinois’ tax policies, which exempt many such products, including Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Desktop as a Service (DaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
While the intent is to tax users located in Chicago, many companies unknowingly overpay due to a lack of awareness about the location-specific requirements.
Location Misinterpretation: Companies often pay the 9% tax on all licenses and purchases without considering user locations. If users operate outside of Chicago, the tax doesn’t apply, leading to overpayment. Complex
Taxation Systems: Many businesses fail to differentiate between state-level exemptions and city-level taxes, adding unnecessary tax burdens.
Businesses, particularly those with high expenditures on technology, have significant opportunities to recover overpaid taxes. Notable sectors benefiting from refunds include:
For companies with over 200 employees, refunds can exceed $100,000, making recovery efforts highly rewarding.
Source Advisors specializes in identifying and recovering overpaid taxes with minimal effort required from clients. Their expertise has enabled businesses to reclaim hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds, offering:
Recovering overpaid taxes from the Chicago PPLT is not only achievable but highly beneficial for businesses, providing a vital opportunity to reclaim significant financial resources.
Our sales tax experts combine decades of in-the-field experience to ensure 100% client satisfaction. We’re ready to solve your sales tax challenges with the professional, personalized, and attentive service you expect from a boutique firm
