A 15-cent tax on every delivered package: what Chicago's proposed packaging waste tax covers

The 2027 revenue ordinance would charge 15 cents per box or mailer shipped to a Chicago address, with exemptions for medicine and takeout. It is projected to raise $9 million.

By Chicago PoliticsUpdated Oct 23, 2026

If you get packages delivered in Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson's 2027 budget would add 15 cents to each box or mailer. The proposed Chicago Packaging Waste Tax is a small part of the budget, about $9 million a year, but it is the kind of charge residents would see on their own receipts.

Johnson introduced it in his Oct. 21 budget address as a way to raise money, "encourage people to shop local" and reduce waste (watch at 1:33:30). He credited the idea to the leadership of Ald. Walter Burnett (27th).

What the ordinance says

The tax is a new Chapter 3-57 in the 2027 Revenue Ordinance (O2026-0029643). According to the ordinance text:

The rate is $0.15 per package, no matter how many items are inside.
What counts: "covered packaging" is single-use packaging used to prepare, pack or ship goods sold at retail, including corrugated boxes, plastic or paper poly mailers and similar protective coverings.
Who pays: the buyer. The seller collects it at the point of sale and sends it to the City. When a sale goes through a third-party platform, such as an online marketplace, the platform collects it.
Where: retail sales in Chicago, and sales shipped to a Chicago address.
When: Jan. 1, 2027, with the rest of the revenue ordinance.

What's exempt:

the manufacturer's own sealed "original packaging";
packaging used only for prescription and over-the-counter medicines, medical supplies and products such as insulin, syringes, tampons and sanitary napkins;
containers a dine-in or take-out restaurant uses for food and drink;
bags or containers shoppers bring themselves;
wholesale boxes a store lets customers reuse to carry out their purchases;
any bag already covered by the City's checkout bag tax, so the two do not stack.

How the City says it can do this

Illinois law limits the kinds of taxes Chicago can put on services without state approval. Block Club Chicago reported that the City modeled the package tax on its existing checkout bag tax and framed it as a tax on waste, which the City can regulate. The ordinance cites a section of the Illinois Municipal Code, 65 ILCS 5/8-11-6a, as its authority.

What our records add

The bag tax it copies is already on the books. The current checkout bag tax was carried forward in the Council's 2026 revenue ordinance, which passed 29 to 19 in December 2025. That ordinance also set the rules for other consumption taxes the package tax sits beside, including the City's tax on alcohol bought to take home.

Delivery apps get new duties too. The same 2027 revenue ordinance adds a definition of "delivery company," a business that takes alcohol orders and delivers them for a store, and requires those companies to collect and remit the City's off-premises alcohol tax and file monthly returns, according to the ordinance text.

Burnett is undecided on the bigger taxes. Burnett voted no on last year's alternative revenue ordinance. He told Block Club this week that he is undecided on the head tax and the lease tax increase, which are far larger than the package tax.

How each ward voted

29 yea, 19 nay, 2 not voting · Dec 19, 2025 · Passed

Yea Nay Not voting

SO2025-0021719: the roll call, the timeline and the documents

What it would cost

At 15 cents a box, a household that gets 100 deliveries a year would pay $15. The Mayor's office projects $9 million in 2027, CBS Chicago reported. That is about 1% of the $882 million gap the budget is meant to close.

Block Club reported that retailers are expected to pass the tax on to customers. The ordinance itself puts the tax on the buyer and the duty to collect it on the seller.

What's next

The revenue ordinance is in the Committee on Finance. The Budget Committee's department hearings run through Nov. 10. The Council's public hearing on the budget is Dec. 8 at 11:30 a.m., and the budget must pass by Dec. 31.