Illinois · Payroll registration
Illinois payroll tax registration, done for you.
Illinois gives you a deadline most states do not: newly created businesses must register with Employment Security within 30 days of start-up. Two agencies, two forms. Form REG-1 with the Department of Revenue and Form REG-UI-1 with Employment Security, both available through MyTax Illinois.
Last updated:
Who you are dealing with
Illinois Department of Revenue
- Handles:
- Withholding income tax and other business tax registrations
- System:
- MyTax Illinois
- Form:
- Form REG-1, Register a New Business, found under the Register tile in MyTax Illinois
- Phone:
- 217-785-3707 (Central Registration)
Illinois Department of Employment Security
- Handles:
- Unemployment insurance employer account
- System:
- MyTax Illinois
- Form:
- Form REG-UI-1, Report to Determine Liability Under the Unemployment Insurance Act, filed electronically or as a completed and signed paper form
- Phone:
- 1-800-247-4984
Illinois Department of Employment Security, payroll registration
State fee. $0. Neither agency charges to register. Our flat fee covers preparing and filing each registration.
Our fee. $180 per state, flat. State fees are passed through at cost.
When you have to register
Register with Employment Security within 30 days of start-up. Unemployment liability itself attaches once you have paid $1,500 in wages in a single calendar quarter, or employed one or more persons for 20 weeks in a calendar year. Separately, new employees must be reported within 20 days of hire.
What comes next
Worth knowing that Illinois then expects filings on every account type you registered, independently, until each is closed, and the withholding closure later sits on Line B of the final IL-941.
How long it takes
Illinois does not publish a turnaround we could confirm from the agency. What it does publish is the 30 day registration deadline with Employment Security, which is the number to plan around.
What we do
We work out which accounts you need, submit each registration, and hand you the account numbers, rates, and deposit schedules your payroll system asks for. One remote hire. $180 per state, plus state fees at cost. We submit within 2 business days. You keep the client. We never email them.
Hiring in more than one state? State payroll tax registration covers the withholding and unemployment accounts payroll software will not open.
What makes Illinois harder than average
- Thirty days from start-up, not from first payroll. Illinois ties the Employment Security registration deadline to when the business started rather than to when you first paid anyone, which is earlier than most states measure from.
- Three separate clocks at the beginning. Thirty days to register with Employment Security, 20 days to report each new hire, and the liability tests running in the background. None of them are the same number.
- The same $1,500 and 20 weeks test as three other states. Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Illinois all use $1,500 in a quarter or one worker across 20 weeks. It is close to a national default and it is still not universal, which is exactly why people assume wrongly in New York and California.
- Every account you register keeps expecting returns. Illinois continues to expect filings across sales and use, withholding, and income and replacement tax independently. Registering for something you do not need creates an obligation that outlives the decision.
How Illinois compares
What triggers registration in Illinois is not what triggers it next door. The table sets the thresholds side by side.
Questions and answers
How long do I have to register in Illinois?
Newly created businesses must register with Employment Security within 30 days of start-up. That is measured from when the business started, not from your first payroll.
When does unemployment liability attach?
Once you have paid $1,500 in wages in a single calendar quarter, or employed one or more persons for 20 weeks in a calendar year. Either test alone is enough.
Which forms do I need?
Form REG-1 with the Department of Revenue for withholding and other tax registrations, and Form REG-UI-1, the Report to Determine Liability Under the Unemployment Insurance Act, with Employment Security. Both can go through MyTax Illinois.
Do I have to report new hires separately?
Yes. New employees must be reported within 20 days of the date of hire, which is a separate obligation from either registration.
What do you need from me to start?
The legal name and FEIN, entity type, Illinois locations, the date the business started, your first payroll date, and which tax types you actually need so you are not registered for something that will keep expecting returns.
Agency details verified 2026-08-03
About the provider
Regcrest LLC is a document preparation and filing service based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, founded in 2026. It prepares and files state payroll and sales tax registrations, account closures, and resale certificates on behalf of the businesses that instruct it, and works behind accounting firms, bookkeepers, and payroll providers as well as directly with businesses.
Regcrest LLC is not a CPA firm and not a law firm. It gives no tax or legal advice. It files in all 50 states, and publishes a full page for the 29states it has verified against the agency's own material so far, each one showing the date it was checked. For anything that turns on your specific situation, ask a licensed accountant or attorney.