Berwyn, IL Local Taxes & Fees: Parking Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Daily rate
- $0.50 per vehicle per 24-hour period or fraction
- Weekly rate
- $2.50 per week
- Monthly rate
- $10.00 per month
- Who collects
- Lot or garage operator, remitted to the City Collector
- Filing schedule
- Quarterly, due the last day of the following month
- Late filing penalty
- 10% of tax liability plus 5% monthly interest
- Record retention
- At least four years after the calendar year ends
Summary
In the City of Berwyn, Illinois, anyone who parks in a lot or garage that charges for parking pays a city tax of $0.50 per 24-hour period, $2.50 per week or $10.00 per month. The operator collects it and sends it to the City Collector every calendar quarter.
§ 897.02 IMPOSITION; RATE; EXEMPTIONS; COLLECTION. ... (A) There is hereby levied and imposed upon the use and privilege of parking a motor vehicle in or upon any parking lot or garage, as defined in this chapter, in the city, a tax of $0.50 for each motor vehicle parked in or on each parking lot or garage for every 24-hour period or any fraction thereof. If a motor vehicle is parked in or on a parking lot or garage for which a charge is made on a weekly or monthly basis, the amount of tax shall be $2.50 per week or $10.00 per month. ... (C) The tax imposed by this chapter shall not apply to residential off-street parking of house or apartment tenants required by the Planning and Zoning Code of the city or to other lessee accommodations, wherein an arrangement for the tenant parking is provided in the house or apartment lease or in a separate writing between the landlord and tenant, whether the parking charge is payable to the landlord or to the operator of the parking lot or garage.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 897 of the Berwyn Code of Ordinances, adopted by the City Council as Ord. 93-50 on 9-14-1993, taxes the use and privilege of parking a motor vehicle in a parking lot or garage in the city. Under § 897.01, a parking lot or garage is any building, structure, premises or enclosure, covered or not, other than a public way, where two or more motor vehicles are stored or parked for hire, charge, fee or other valuable consideration.
The rate in § 897.02(A) is $0.50 for each vehicle for every 24-hour period or any fraction of one. Where the lot charges by the week or month, the tax is $2.50 per week or $10.00 per month. For any other period, the applicable figure is multiplied by the number of days, weeks or months involved. Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays do not raise or lower the weekly or monthly tax, and it is owed whether or not the vehicle sits in the space on every day.
The person who buys the parking, called the recipient, bears the tax. The operator must secure it when collecting the price and pay it over to the City Collector. If the driver receives an invoice or receipt, the tax must be stated and charged separately on that document. Tenant parking is exempt when the Planning and Zoning Code requires the spaces and the charge appears in the house or apartment lease or a separate landlord-tenant writing.
Operators carry the paperwork. Section 897.06 requires numbered tickets, with a three-part ticket unless the lot has an automated gate dispenser, and a sticker on every vehicle parked by the week, month or any period longer than a day. Section 897.05 requires books showing daily vehicle counts and tax receipts, kept at least four years after the end of the calendar year in which they were created. Returns and payment are due for each calendar quarter on or before the last day of the first month after the quarter ends (§ 897.07). The City Collector may enter the premises to inspect books and records, and interfering is unlawful (§ 897.04). All proceeds go to the city's Corporate Fund.
Violations & Fines
A person who fails to file a remittance return when due owes a late filing penalty of 10% of the total tax liability for the reporting period, and unpaid tax bears interest at 5% per month or fraction of a month until paid (§ 897.10). Chapter 897 has no separate penalty clause, so § 897.99 sends other violations to the general penalty in § 202.99: a fine of up to $2,000 per violation, with each day the violation continues a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who actually pays the Berwyn parking tax?
Are apartment tenants charged the tax on their assigned parking?
How often does a Berwyn parking operator file a return?
What records must a lot or garage keep?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Berwyn
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