Active duty military stationed overseas for all of 2025 and an Illinois resident. Why do I have to pay sales tax on items that I bought at my overseas base?

keith-becker123 — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 21:04:33 GMT

I've been stationed overseas for years and this is the first time TurboTax has me paying sales tax on items I bought at my overseas base. None of these items have ever been to Illinois.

Re: Active duty military stationed overseas for all of 2025 and an Illinois resident. Why do I have to pay sales tax on items that I bought at my overseas base?

SteamTrain — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 21:58:28 GMT

Not sure you should report those..

From the actual Q&A Page from the IL dept of Rev

" Illinois law requires you to pay tax at Illinois rates on purchases you make for use or consumption in Illinois

when you buy goods from businesses located outside Illinois and bring them into Illinois or
when you have the goods delivered to you from businesses located outside Illinois."

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...and you aren't bringing those purchase into IL.

However if you buy gifts for family, and send them to IL......maybe so.

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Use Tax for Individuals - Questions and Answers

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Not sure how IL views it if you leave service and return to IL to live with some of those items...say...5 yrs from now.

topic Active duty military stationed overseas for all of 2025 and an Illinois resident. Why do I have to pay sales tax on items that I bought at my overseas base? in Tax help for military filers

Active duty military stationed overseas for all of 2025 and an Illinois resident. Why do I have to pay sales tax on items that I bought at my overseas base?

Re: Active duty military stationed overseas for all of 2025 and an Illinois resident. Why do I have to pay sales tax on items that I bought at my overseas base?