Short-term rentals in Skokie, explained properly.

The Village states that training provided by the Village of Skokie is a requirement of all short-term rental operators in Skokie, and that it must take place before the property is listed for rent as a short-term rental. The page links to a registration form for STR Operator Training.

This is the definition the Village's page gives for the pilot program. We haven't reviewed the pilot ordinance text yet, so confirm with the Village how stays of other lengths are treated.

The Village Board approved the 18-month pilot program on February 2, 2026, and the page says the program officially began on May 1, 2026. The page also says its link to the full pilot program ordinance reflects updates approved by the Board of Trustees on October 5, 2026.

Neighbors can report an issue with a short-term rental in Skokie by calling the 24/7 hotline at (847) 474-9913 or using the Village's STR complaint web form at any time. For a non-urgent concern the page also points to the Village's Access Skokie form. Questions about the pilot program go to [email protected] or (847) 933-8223.

The Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax Act (35 ILCS 145) defines "hotel" to include short-term rentals, and the Department of Revenue says the tax applies to sleeping room rentals of fewer than 30 consecutive days, including rentals by hosts of houses, apartments, condominiums and individual rooms. Section 3(a) imposes a tax at the rate of 5% of 94% of gross rental receipts, and Section 3(b) imposes an additional tax at 1% of 94% of gross rental receipts; receipts from permanent residents (guests with the right to occupy for at least 30 consecutive days) are excluded. The Act says the tax is in addition to other occupation or privilege taxes imposed by any municipal corporation or political subdivision. The Department collects only the state tax and the Chicago-area hotel taxes; all other local hotel taxes are paid directly to the local taxing authority. The state components are not added to any city or county tax here to make one total; the Tax Rate Database on the Department's site is the source for current published rates.

The Department's bulletin says a person must register for a Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax Account if in the business of renting, leasing or letting rooms for periods of fewer than 30 consecutive days; registration is through MyTax Illinois or Form REG-1. Publication 106 says Form RHM-1 must be filed by anyone in that business, and that a return must be filed for every reporting period even when there are no receipts (a zero return). Monthly filers file by the last day of the month after the month reported; quarterly filers by the last day of the month after the quarter; annual filers by January 31 of the next year. The publication says to file monthly unless the Department notifies otherwise. Receipts from guests who stay 30 consecutive days or more as permanent residents are not taxed. Where a hosting platform collects and remits the tax for a booking, the platform section covers who reports it.

Section 3(b-10) of the Act, effective July 1, 2026, makes a hotel marketplace facilitator that meets the tax remittance threshold the hotel operator for those rentals; the definition now includes hosting platforms for short-term rentals. The threshold is cumulative gross rental receipts of $100,000 or more in the previous 12 months, tested each quarter. Publication 106 (R-08/26) says such platforms file Form RHM-1 and must register a changing location for each municipality or, if not in one, county where they rent rooms. Before July 1, 2026, the June 2025 bulletin says hosting platforms that meet the "re-renter" definition were subject to the tax from July 1, 2025. The official statute database prints two different texts of Section 3 from Public Act 104-468 (Article 35 and Article 70), both effective June 16, 2026; only the Article 35 text has the marketplace facilitator rules in subsection (b-10), and Publication 106 follows it. The Department collects only state and Chicago-area hotel taxes, so a platform's remittance does not cover local hotel taxes that a city or county collects itself; each place's page covers its own local tax. Marked needs-review until the two statute texts are reconciled.

The Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax Act defines "hotel" to include short-term rentals and defines "hosting platform" and "short-term rental" for tax purposes (a dwelling where at least one room is rented for fewer than 30 consecutive days and all accommodations are reserved in advance). Those definitions set who owes state tax; they do not license operators or set where short-term rentals may operate, so licensing, zoning and local limits come from each city or county, shown on each place's page. We reviewed the tax statute and the Department of Revenue pages only; we did not review other Illinois statutes or 2026 bills on short-term rentals, so this is marked needs-review and a later session could change it.