Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a)
Federal law affects the authority of the State of Illinois to subject certain
employees of railroads, motor carriers, merchant mariners, and air carriers to
Illinois income taxation. By virtue of the provisions of federal laws cited in
this Section, compensation that would otherwise be subject to Illinois income
taxation and withholding by virtue of IITA Sections 302(a) and 304(a)(2)(B) is
subtracted from adjusted gross income in determining Illinois base income (and
is not subject to Illinois income tax withholding) pursuant to IITA Section
203(a)(2)(N), which provides a subtraction from adjusted gross income for
an amount equal to all amounts included in adjusted gross income that
are exempt from taxation by this State by reason of the statutes of the United
States.
1) Railroad Employees.
49 USC
11502(a) states that no part
of the compensation paid by a rail carrier subject to the jurisdiction of the
Surface Transportation Board to an employee who performs regularly assigned
duties as an employee on a railroad in more than one state shall be subject to
the income tax laws of any state or subdivision of that state, other than the
state or subdivision thereof of the employee's residence.
2) Motor Carrier Employees.
49 USC
14503(a)(1) states that no
part of the compensation paid by a motor carrier providing transportation
subject to the jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board or by a motor
private carrier to an employee who performs regularly assigned duties in 2 or
more states as an employee with respect to a motor vehicle shall be subject to
the income tax laws of any state or subdivision of that state, other than the
state or subdivision thereof of the employee's residence.
3) Merchant Mariner Employees.
46 USC
11108 states that no part of the compensation
paid by a merchant mariner to an employee who performs regularly assigned
duties in more than one state shall be subject to the income tax laws of any
state or subdivision of that state, other than the state or subdivision of the
employee's residence.
4) Air
Carrier Employees.
49 USC
40116(f)(2) states that no
part of the compensation paid by an air carrier to an employee who performs
regularly assigned duties as an employee on an aircraft in more than one state,
shall be subject to the income tax laws of any state or its subdivision other
than the state or subdivision of the employee's residence and the state or
subdivision in which the employee's scheduled flight time would have been more
than 50% of the employee's total scheduled flight time for the calendar
year.
b) Examples
1) EXAMPLE 1: A is a locomotive engineer
employed by Interstate Railway. Interstate operates a rail yard in Illinois.
Interstate also operates in Missouri, where it has a rail yard, as well as its
administrative and payroll offices. A is a resident of Missouri. A is assigned
to, and primarily reports to, the Illinois rail yard of Interstate and drives
locomotives for Interstate on trips that go throughout the United States.
However, on occasion, A is required to report to the Missouri rail yard of
Interstate and drive locomotives on trips that originate in Missouri. Pursuant
to
49 USC
11502(a), Interstate may
only withhold the Missouri personal income tax on A's wages, and A is not
subject to Illinois income tax on the wages paid by Interstate.
2) EXAMPLE 2: A is an airline pilot for
World-Wide Airlines. World-Wide provides passenger and freight service to
various destinations throughout the United States from an airport in Missouri,
as well as from an airport in Illinois. A lives in Missouri, but A reports to
and flies out of the World-Wide airport in Illinois. A primarily flies to
destinations outside of Illinois. Less than 50% of A's compensation (as
determined by flight time in Illinois versus flight time everywhere) is earned
within Illinois. Therefore, A is only subject to Missouri income taxation on
his or her compensation from World-Wide.
3) EXAMPLE 3: The facts are the same as in
Example 2, except that A pilots commuter planes between airports in Illinois.
In this situation, A will be subject to Illinois income taxation by virtue of
the fact that A earns more than 50% of his or her compensation within the State
of Illinois.