“Short-term rental” means an owner-occupied, tenant-occupied, or non-owner-occupied dwelling including, but not limited to, an apartment, house, cottage, or condominium, located in this State where:
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provided, however, that a dwelling shall be considered a single room if rented as such.
“Re-renters of hotel rooms” are persons who are not employed by a hotel operator but who, either directly or indirectly, through agreements or arrangements with third parties, collect or process the payment of rent from a guest of a hotel for a hotel room located in Illinois and either
Persons who obtain those rights or authorities are not considered re-renters of hotel rooms if they operate under a shared hotel brand with the operator.
Effective July 1, , hosting platforms for short-term rentals are subject to Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax if they meet the definition of “re-renters of hotel rooms” as defined above. Public Act (P.A.) 104-.
Register with IDOR electronically using MyTax Illinois.
If you are not already registered, select “Register a New Business (Form REG-1)” and complete the registration application. When registering your business, you must provide a complete list of all of your properties in Illinois. If you are a re-renter, you must register a changing location for each municipality or, if not in a municipality, county where you rent rooms.
If you choose to register using the paper application, complete and sign Form REG-1, Illinois Business Registration Application, and submit it via , fax, or mail to:
CENTRAL REGISTRATION DIVISION 3-222
ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
PO BOX
SPRINGFIELD IL -
Fax: 217 785-
:
Allow six to eight weeks for processing.
Once your business is registered, you can activate your MyTax Illinois logon. Please allow 24 hours from your registration confirmation before activating a logon for MyTax Illinois. To activate a logon for a business, select the taxpayer ID type. You can use one of the following options to validate the activation:
This activation process is to help ensure only individuals who are authorized by their organization gain access to a business’s tax information.
Once you have activated your MyTax Illinois logon, if you are a Corporation, S-Corp, Partnership, or LLC organization type and are registered for other tax accounts, you can register for the Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax (HOOT) or other new tax types through your existing MyTax Illinois logon, by selecting “More…” and then selecting “Register for New Tax Accounts.”
Sole proprietorships can only register for new tax accounts by selecting “Register a New Business (Form REG-1)” and completing Form REG-1, the Illinois Business Registration Application, on the MyTax Illinois home screen.
We will issue you a Certificate of Registration (Certificate) when you register for HOOT. The Certificate lists your Account ID, your business name, address, the effective date, the tax for which you are registered, and the date the Certificate will expire.
MyTax Illinois is the primary method you should use to obtain and print or download a copy of your Certificate. If you are unable to print or download a copy of your business’s Certificate, you can also contact our Central Registration Division by at or at 217 785- to request a paper copy be mailed to you.
If you change the location of your business or, if you are a multiple location filer and one of your locations changes, you can update your registered locations on your HOOT account using MyTax Illinois. It is important for you to keep this information up to date to ensure that IDOR allocates the tax you collected to the proper jurisdiction.
Note: Re-renters of hotel rooms apply tax rates based on where the hotel is located. As a result, permanent locations are not utilized during the registration process by re-renters of hotel rooms. Add a changing location for each municipality or, if not in a municipality, county where you rent rooms.
If you change the structure of your business (for example, changing from a sole proprietor to a corporation), you must tell us to discontinue the old business entity, and register the new business entity by completing a new Form REG-1, Illinois Business Registration Application.
Note: Certificates cannot be transferred.
In addition, you must update your registration information with IDOR. MyTax Illinois allows you to close your existing business, register a new one, and maintain your existing locations on your HOOT account. You can also contact our Central Registration Division or send us a completed paper registration form depending on the change or update needed.
You must complete and file Form CBS-1, Notice of Sale, Purchase, or Transfer of Business Assets, if, outside your usual course of business, you sell or transfer
Form CBS-1 must be filed with IDOR at least ten (10) days prior to the sale date or it will not be processed. See 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130. for more information.
Yes. Beginning on July 1, , re-renters of hotel rooms who rent, lease, or let hotel rooms are subject to HOOT on the receipts from those rentals and must file Form RHM-1, Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax Return (and Form RHM-7, Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax Multi-Site Schedule, if the re-renter has receipts from multiple sites) and pay the collected taxes to IDOR. P.A. 103-.
Re-renters of hotel rooms that are headquartered outside of Illinois and have no presence in Illinois other than their businesses as re-renters, conducted remotely, shall determine on a quarterly basis, ending on the last day of March, June, September, and December, whether they meet either of the following thresholds for the preceding 12-month period:
If you are a monthly filer, your return is due on or before the last day of the month following the month for which you are filing.
If you are a quarterly filer, your return is due on or before the last day of the month following the quarter for which you are filing.
If you are an annual filer, your return is due on or before January 31 of the year following the year for which you are filing.
Note: You must file monthly unless IDOR notifies you to do otherwise.
Hotel operators must collect HOOT from rooms rented through re-renters and remit the tax to IDOR, as well as report the tax on Form RHM-1. Hotel operators should not claim rentals made through re-renters as exempt for resale. The Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax Act does not authorize this exemption. Hotel re-renters must remit HOOT collected for the hotel operator’s receipts to the hotel operator instead of remitting it directly to IDOR on the hotel operator’s behalf.
Hotel re-renters owe tax on the entire charge to a guest for the rental of a hotel room, including any fee, charge, or commission received from a guest specifically in connection with the re-rental of hotel rooms. When filing Form RHM-1, hotel re-renters should claim a deduction on Line 4 of Form RHM-1 for the cost of the room and the taxes that were paid to a hotel operator for the rental of the hotel room. Enter the description “re-renter deduction” and deduct the amount paid to the hotel operator for the re-rental of hotel rooms, including tax paid. Re-renters with multiple Illinois locations should complete Form RHM-7, reporting taxable receipts (not including any local or Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) taxes you collected or any other allowable deductions) from the re-rentals for each location and include those totals on Line 7 of Form RHM-1.
The total of all other deductions must equal the amount on Line 4 of Form RHM-1. IDOR will disallow any deduction that is not itemized.
You may take the following deductions on Form RHM-1:
Each of these items is deductible under all IDOR-collected state and Chicago area hotel taxes.
If an item is not listed above, it most likely is not an allowable deduction on Form RHM-1.
Note: Receipts from the sale of food and beverages, prepaid cards, barber shop services, laundry services, vending services, promotions, photos, magazines, and sundries may be subject to Illinois sales tax.
* To properly document a deduction for a room rented or leased to qualified organizations chartered by the United States Congress for the purpose of providing disaster relief that possess an active Illinois Sales Tax Exemption Identification Number issued by IDOR, you should verify the organization’s Illinois Sales Tax Exemption Identification Number is valid and active by using the Exemption Lookup tool, available at mytax.illinois.gov. You should also retain a copy of the employee identification badge that belongs to the representative from the organization renting or leasing the room from you.
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A permanent resident is a person who has the right to occupy any room in a hotel for at least 30 consecutive days. When you have a binding contract with a permanent resident for at least 30 days, no hotel tax is due. However, if the contract is terminated before the end of the first 30 days, you owe hotel tax for the period up to the time when the contract was terminated.
If your guest stays for 30 consecutive days or more and has paid hotel tax, your guest has a legal right to request a refund of hotel tax paid. Therefore, if requested, you should refund the amount of tax paid to your guest. If you do not refund the amount of tax paid, you are liable to pay that amount to us. IDOR does not refund hotel tax to hotel guests.
When you do not know whether a guest is a permanent resident at the end of the period for which you are filing Form RHM-1 because the guest’s first 30 days have not ended, you owe hotel tax on receipts from that rental. If the guest later stays for 30 days, the receipts from that rental for the first 30 days, or portion thereof, upon which you have already paid tax should be deducted on Form RHM-1, Step 1, Line 3, for the next month. Be sure to include a breakdown with that month’s RHM-1 explaining the deduction.
A foreign diplomat is an official from a foreign country who is stationed in the United States while working as a diplomat, consular officer, or staff member at a foreign mission. This individual has been issued a tax exemption card. Each card contains the individual’s picture and either a blue, a green, a yellow, or a red stripe. A blue-striped card exempts the individual from paying hotel tax. A red-striped card exempts the individual from paying hotel tax over a minimum purchase amount listed on the face of the card. A yellow-striped or green-striped card exempts the individual from paying hotel tax unless hotels are listed as a restricted category on the face of the card, (e.g., exempt on purchases, except hotels).
The United States Department of State, Office of Foreign Missions, issues two types of tax exemption cards:
In order to receive the exemption, your guest must provide you with proper identification.
If a foreign diplomat has a
he or she may rent rooms on behalf of the mission and obtain tax-exempt lodging for visitors or nonaccredited persons. The individual using the card does not need to stay at the hotel. He or she may pay the hotel bill with a mission credit card or a mission check, but may not use a personal credit card, check, or cash.
The foreign diplomat may not use his or her personal tax exemption card to pay for hotel rooms of those outside his or her immediate family.
If you would like more information about foreign diplomats and their exemption from hotel tax, request a copy of Diplomatic Tax Exemption Program by contacting:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
OFFICE OF FOREIGN MISSIONS
77 WEST JACKSON BLVD., SUITE
CHICAGO, IL
: 312 353-
Fax: 312 353-
or by writing to:
OFFICE OF LEGAL SERVICES (5-500)
ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
101 WEST JEFFERSON STREET
SPRINGFIELD, IL
No. The receipts you receive from selling food, beverages, or other tangible personal property are not subject to hotel tax.
If you provide complimentary food to your guests and do not operate a restaurant that is open to the public, you incur a use tax liability on the cost of the food. This tax is generally paid to a grocer upon purchase. If you sell food to your guests and operate a restaurant that is open to the public, your receipts are likely subject to Illinois sales tax. You must be registered separately with us to report and pay sales tax on these items.
If you do not properly identify a deduction you claim on Form RHM-1, you will be automatically assessed for the tax due, plus penalty and interest. If the deduction is allowable, you must file Form RHM-1-X, Amended Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax Return, identifying the allowable deduction you are claiming. If, after reviewing your return, the deduction is allowed, the assessment will be withdrawn in full. If, after review, the deduction is not allowed, you will owe the full assessment.
If you made an error on your Form RHM-1 (e.g., failed to claim an allowable deduction), you must file Form RHM‑1-X, Amended Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax Return, to correct the error. You must pay any additional tax due. Penalty and interest will be due on the additional tax if you do not file the amended return and pay the additional tax due by the due date of the original return. If your amended return shows that you have overpaid tax, you must indicate this fact and request a refund or credit.
You must maintain support in your books and records for specific deductions claimed. For example, documentation such as a copy of an employee identification badge must be maintained for a hotel operator to claim a deduction for receipts from rooms rented or leased to qualified organizations chartered by the United States Congress for the purpose of providing disaster relief that possess an active Illinois Exemption Identification Number issued by IDOR. Deductions claimed on Form RHM-1 that are not properly itemized and supported in your books and records may be disallowed when reviewed by IDOR.
John Boyne’s novel ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ was first published in and adapted into a best-selling film two years later. It is an international best-seller and as of it had sold seven million copies. Teachers across the UK use it as a tool to teach about the Holocaust in both History and English lessons.
Many people who have read the book or watched the film adaptation believe that it is a true story based on real people and real events. However, it is important to understand that the book is a work of fiction. The events portrayed could never have happened. In this blog I outline some of the book’s historical inaccuracies and stereotypical portrayals of major characters that help to perpetuate dangerous myths about the Holocaust.
Bruno is the main character in the book. He is a young German boy whose father, a high-ranking Nazi, takes a new job meaning the family have to move to a new place. Bruno is nine years old but doesn’t seem to be aware of the war around him, who the Jews are or even who Adolf Hitler is. As a young German boy, and the son of a senior SS officer, Bruno would have been, by law, a member of the Hitler Youth. He would have attended a German school where students regularly swore oaths to Hitler and where antisemitic propaganda infiltrated every part of the curriculum. Children were taught that the war was something to be proud of as it meant that Germany would become a great power once more.
Bruno’s characterisation perpetuates the belief that most German civilians were ignorant of what was happening around them. In fact the general public in Germany and in occupied Europe were well aware that Jewish people were being persecuted, forced to emigrate and eventually deported. There were also many who knew that Jewish people were being killed. Many Germans profited from the Holocaust as Jewish properties and belongings were ‘Aryanised’, which meant they were taken from their Jewish owners and given instead to ‘ethnic’ Germans. A minority of German civilians resisted Nazi ideology. Nazi authorities stamped out resistance to the regime quickly and brutally.
Shmuel is a young Jewish boy who Bruno meets whilst exploring near his new home. The first time they meet, Shmuel is behind the barbed wire of a concentration camp. Over the course of the story the two boys create a friendship despite being separated by the barbed wire fence.
As an audience we learn a lot about Bruno, so he becomes a real little boy in our imaginations. However, Shmuel is only ever depicted as a one-dimensional victim. Shmuel has no personality or individuality, so the audience doesn’t build an emotional connection with him. This means it is harder for the reader to empathise with Shmuel and his situation.
Shmuel’s characterisation portrays Jewish victims as passive and unresisting. However, Jewish resistance did exist both in and outside the concentration and death camps. At Auschwitz-Birkenau a group of Sonderkommando (Jewish prisoners forced to do the terrible work of herding people into the gas chambers, then removing the dead bodies) successfully managed to blow up one of the crematoria and kill a number of guards. It is important that people understand that Jewish people did not go to their deaths without trying to save themselves.
Shmuel’s story is also historically inaccurate. For readers of the book it is clear that the camp is probably the Auschwitz concentration camp complex as Bruno calls it ‘Out-With’. If a young boy like Shmuel had entered Auschwitz-Birkenau then it is very likely he would have been sent straight to the gas chambers on arrival, just like the majority of children who arrived there, as the Nazis didn’t consider them useful as forced labour. A small number of children were chosen for medical experimentation but these children were kept away from the main camp. Even if Shmuel had been selected for forced labour he would not have had the opportunity to spend most of his days sitting on the outskirts of the camp.
The story’s conclusion leaves many readers upset. Bruno digs a tunnel under the wire, crawls into the camp, then he and Shmuel go looking for Shmuel’s missing father. Both boys are swept up in a group of prisoners being taken to the gas chamber, where all of them are murdered. The emotional focus of the story is on Bruno’s family and their distress as they realise what has happened to their son. The reader’s attention remains with the experience of the concentration camp commandant and his wife whose son has been killed in what is portrayed as a tragic accident.
Because the focus of the story remains on Bruno’s family, the book does not engage with the main tragedy of the Holocaust: that none of the people in the gas chamber should have been there. Due to the way in which Shmuel’s character is portrayed in the novel, his character doesn’t engage the reader’s sympathy in the way that Bruno does. Shmuel represents the 1.5 million children murdered by the Nazi regime in Auschwitz-Birkenau, in the death camps of occupied Europe and in the killing fields where millions of civilians were shot into mass graves, yet the reader’s sympathy is directed towards a Nazi concentration camp commandant and his family.
Some educators will argue that ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ helps raise awareness of the Holocaust in people who would not otherwise be interested, and there is perhaps some truth in that. However, in an educational context it is important however that this book is only used as a piece of fiction and that teachers make clear to young people that historically the book is not factual. There are very many survivor accounts of the Holocaust that are accessible to young people, or novels that are more accurately based in fact and less problematic from a historical and ethical point of view, that teachers could use in the classroom. Our learning programme for children and young people is based on the life stories of 16 children and young people who escaped or survived the Holocaust. Here are some of the alternative publications we suggest teachers look into.
Survivors of the Holocaust: this graphic novel by Huddersfield-based Fettle Animation is based on the real-life testimony of six survivors all of whom also feature in the ‘Through Our Eyes’ exhibition. The book was painstakingly researched but is accessible for young people. The book is based on a series of award-winning animations produced in partnership with the BBC.
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr: the award-winning writer and illustrator of The Tiger who Came to Tea and the Mog stories was born into German Jewish family who fled Germany in and came to the UK in . This semi-autobiographical book gives a childs-eye view of the Second World War.
Hitler’s Canary by Sandi Toksvig is based on Sandi’s family experience. In Denmark the Danish population came together and were able to save the majority of Danish Jews by helping them flee to neutral Sweden or hiding them within Denmark, this is the story of one families role in the rescue.
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is the most famous piece of writing by a victim of the Holocaust. Anne is a real child writing about her real experiences living under Nazi rule whilst in hiding in Amsterdam. There are also versions available that are suitable for primary school students.
Once by Morris Gleitzman tells the story of a young Jewish boy’s search for his parents. The novel is told through Felix’s eyes so the atrocities he witnesses in Nazi occupied Poland are told from a child’s perspective.
We have first-hand filmed survivor testimony on our website that is available to use for free, this can be found here.
Hannah May Randall
31/5/19
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