a) In General. A composite return may be
filed on behalf of nonresident individuals, trusts, and estates who derive
income from Illinois and who are partners, or subchapter S corporation
shareholders, or who transact insurance business under a Lloyds plan of
operation (for a definition of an "subchapter S corporation" see IITA Section
1501(a)(28); for a definition of a "Lloyd's plan of operation" see Section
100.5170
). The respective partnership, subchapter S corporation or insurance business
shall file the composite return and shall make composite income tax payments.
The composite return may include income and tax of Illinois residents if the
petition described in subsection (c) is granted. The right to file a composite
return is applicable to taxable years ending on or after December 31, 1987 and
prior to December 31, 2014, except for Lloyd's plans of operation, which may
file composite returns for any tax year ending on or after December 31, 1999.
(See IITA Section 502(f).) Also, partnerships and subchapter S corporations may
continue to report changes to the Illinois income tax liabilities of their
partners and shareholders, and pay any additional tax owed by the partners or
shareholders for any tax year ending on or after December 31, 2008, as provided
in Section
100.5180(b).
b) Eligibility. The right to be included in a
composite return is limited to nonresident and resident individuals, trusts and
estates who are partners of the same partnership, shareholders of the same
subchapter S corporation, and to resident or nonresident taxpayers transacting
an insurance business in Illinois under a Lloyd's plan of operation. The
eligibility of resident individuals, trusts and estates who are not transacting
an insurance business under a Lloyd's plan of operation is conditioned upon
compliance with subsection (c).
EXAMPLE: The Acme partnership consists of a general partner
and 50 limited partners. The general partner is a regular corporation, and the
limited partners consist of 26 nonresident individuals, 20 resident
individuals, a subchapter S corporation, a partnership, a nonresident trust and
an estate. The 26 nonresident individuals, the nonresident trust and the
nonresident estate are automatically eligible to be included in a composite
return. The 20 resident individuals may be included in the composite return
with the nonresidents if the Department grants their petition. None of the
other entities may be included in the composite return.
c) Petition for Residents. Individuals,
trusts and estates that are residents of Illinois may be included in a
composite return if the authorized agent files a petition with the Department
of Revenue and the petition is granted. The Department shall grant the petition
if the authorized agent clearly demonstrates that no other method of filing
would achieve the same degree of compliance and administrative ease for both
the Department and the taxpayers. Factors to be considered in granting the
petition include: the quantity of partners or shareholders involved; the
inability of the authorized agent to file the composite return except in this
manner; and the availability of a reliable method for claiming credit on the
separate returns pursuant to Section
100.5160.
The petition must be filed prior to the end of the authorized agent's taxable
year, and the petition must be granted or denied prior to the due date of the
return without regard to extensions. Petitions should be mailed to:
Illinois Department of Revenue
Attn: Document Perfection Section
Post Office Box 19014
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9014
d) Inclusion of Eligible Members. A composite
return does not have to include all of the individuals who are eligible to be
included in the return. Whether an individual is included in a composite return
is a matter that should be decided by the individual and the entity. Persons
not included in composite returns are required to meet their Illinois filing
and payment obligations separately, and failure to do so could mean the
imposition of civil and criminal penalties.
e) Nonresidents With Other Illinois Source
Income. Nonresident individuals, trusts and estates with Illinois source income
other than from a partnership, subchapter S corporation, or Lloyd's plan of
operation may, but need not, be included in a composite return. If those
nonresidents are included in a composite return for a taxable year ending on or
after December 31, 2008 (December 31, 1999, in the case of a composite return
filed by a Lloyd's plan of operation), they may claim a credit against their
Illinois income tax liability for their share of the tax paid on their behalf
on the composite return. If nonresidents are included in a composite return for
an earlier taxable year, they will not be permitted to claim credits on their
individual returns for their shares of the composite tax payments unless the
authorized agent files a petition with the Department of Revenue requesting
permission for the nonresidents to claim the credit and the petition is
granted. The Department shall grant the petition if the authorized agent
clearly demonstrates that no other method of filing would achieve the same
degree of compliance and administrative ease for both the Department and the
taxpayers. Factors to be considered will be the same as for petitions pursuant
to subsection (c). The petition must be filed prior to the end of the
authorized agent's taxable year, and the petition must be granted or denied
prior to the due date of the return without regard to extensions. If the
petition is granted, credit will be claimed by the nonresidents for their share
of the composite payments in the same manner and amount as permitted resident
individuals under Section 100.5160. Petitions should be mailed to:
Illinois Department of Revenue
Attn: Document Perfection Section
Post Office Box 19014
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9014