Do Illinois residents need to pay use tax on imports and goods bought from another country?

[blackcat707]

The way the question is worded when I fill in my tax info made me assume that use tax payments would only be required for domestic purchases from another state where sales tax wasn't collected, but I just heard about someone getting audited for not reporting purchases bought from another country and imported into the US, since those are tracked by the government. Does anyone have any information on this that could help me know what kinds of shipments would qualify for this or how to calculate (especially when exchange rates would be involved)? Thanks in advance!

[Mike9241 · Accepted solution]

from Illinois instructions for line 21

Note: If we find that you owe additional tax, we may assess the
additional tax plus applicable penalties and interest. We conduct
routine audits based on information received from third parties,
including the U.S. Customs Service and other states

yes items purchased in  a foreign country are subject to Illinois Use Tax rules

https://tax.illinois.gov/individuals/faqs-use-tax.html 

[Critter-3]

The wording says for items purchased OUTSIDE IL ... a foreign country is definitely OUTSIDE the state of IL.