Illinois just made history in a way the crypto industry really wishes it hadn’t. Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 3019, known as the Digital Asset Tax Act (DATA), on June 16, imposing a 0.2% privilege tax on digital asset business activities involving Illinois customers. No other US state has a broad-based transaction tax on digital asset services.
The tax takes effect on January 1, 2027, and is projected to bring in roughly $60 million per year for a state that desperately needs the revenue. Illinois has one of the largest pension debts in the country, and this tax was folded into a $55.9 billion fiscal year 2027 budget.
What the tax actually covers
The 0.2% levy isn’t aimed at individual crypto holders buying Bitcoin on their phones. It targets the service providers: exchanges, custodians, wallet providers, and brokers that facilitate the exchange, transfer, or storage of digital assets for Illinois customers.
The tax applies to firms with gross receipts exceeding $100,000, meaning small hobbyist operations likely get a pass, but any meaningful business does not.
