Effective January 1, 2021, Chicago’s Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax increases from 7.25% to 9% on charges for cloud services, specifically the non-possessory lease of a computer to input, modify, or retrieve data supplied by the customer. 9% is the rate generally applied to personal property leases in Chicago so this brings the tax rate for cloud services in line with the tax rate for other leases. The city had previously increased the tax rate on charges for cloud services from 5.25% to 7.25% effective January 1, 2020. For our previous news item on Chicago’s Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax, click here. (Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax (7550) webpage, City of Chicago website)