The Cook County Audit and Investigation Referral Form is a Cook County Department of Revenue form for identifying businesses that may be operating in violation of a County Home Rule Tax, such as the amusement, gas, alcoholic beverages, parking or tobacco taxes. It identifies the owner or operator and the business, the tax involved, the type of violation and what you saw. On this page you can fill out the form online on FillingPDF and download or print the completed PDF; the form is published by Cook County at the official URL, and it goes to the Department of Revenue by mail or fax.
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What is Cook County Audit and Investigation Referral Form?
The Cook County Audit and Investigation Referral Form, printed on the PDF as the Cook County Department of Revenue Investigation/Audit Referral Form, is the form used to identify businesses that may be operating in violation of a County Home Rule Tax and to describe the circumstances for the Department's review.
Cook County lists the form among its tobacco tax resources. It describes the form as provided for identifying businesses in violation of any County Home Rule Tax, including the Amusement Tax, Gas Tax (Diesel Fuel and Gasoline), Alcoholic Beverages Tax (Liquor), Sales of New Motor Vehicle Tax, Parking Lot and Garage Operations Tax, Tobacco Tax and Use Tax on titled property. It is not a Cook County property tax form, and none of those taxes is a property tax.
The form has these parts:
- Date of the complaint, the owner/officer/operator and the business.
- Section 1, the tax type (check all applicable).
- Section 2, the type of violation or complaint: not remitting tax, collecting but not remitting tax, under-reporting tax, or other.
- Section 3, illegal cigarette sales: unstamped packs, loose (individual) cigarettes, counterfeit cigarettes or counterfeit cigarette stamps.
- Section 4, whether the owner, officer or operator was hostile or irate at the time of the visit.
- Your own name and contact details, with fields for a department or agency.
It is a referral, not a tax return. Taxpayers paying their own cigarette tax use a different document, the Cigarette Tax Return 2707.
Who needs to file Cook County Audit and Investigation Referral Form?
The form is for anyone who believes a business is not complying with a Cook County Home Rule Tax and wants to report it to the Cook County Department of Revenue. The Department provides it to identify businesses operating in violation of those taxes.
The reporter section asks for a name, a contact number and/or a department or agency number, an address, a city or township name and a department or agency name, each marked as applicable only where relevant. The form therefore has room for a government department or agency to submit a referral as well as a private person.
You do not use this form to pay or report your own tax. A self-pay cigarette tax return, the Cigarette Tax Return 2707, exists for purchases of cigarettes made over the internet, by mail, by phone or outside Cook County where no Cook County Cigarette Tax has been paid. Wholesale dealers buying tax stamps or claiming stamp refunds use their own forms, listed on the Cook County tobacco tax page.
When to file Cook County Audit and Investigation Referral Form
Use the form when you believe a business has committed or is committing one of the violations listed on it. The form prints no due date and no filing window. It asks for the date you file the complaint at the top of the page and for a description of the incident or circumstances that support your belief that the violation or violations have occurred or are occurring. Questions about the form go to the Department of Revenue at (312) 603-6962.
Documents you need
- Additional sheets describing the incident or circumstances, only if the space on the form is not enough; the form says to attach them if necessary.
How to fill out Cook County Audit and Investigation Referral Form
Enter the date of the complaint
At the top, enter the date next to Date Filing Complaint.
Identify the owner, officer or operator
Under Identify Owner/Officer/Operator, enter the name, street address, city, state and ZIP, individual contact number, date of birth, title and driver license or state ID number, as far as you know them.
Identify the business
Under Identify Business, enter the business name, street address, city, state and ZIP, business contact number and municipal license number. In the kind-of-business field, name the type of business, for example a grocery store.
Check the tax type in Section 1
Under 1.) Tax Type, check all applicable boxes, from Alcoholic Beverages and Amusement to Tobacco, General Business License (unincorporated) or Other.
Check the violation in Section 2
Under 2.) Type of violation/complaint, check all that apply: Not remitting tax, Collecting but NOT remitting tax, Under-reporting Tax or Other.
Describe the incident or circumstances
In the space below Section 2, briefly describe what supports your belief that the violation has occurred or is occurring. Attach additional sheets if necessary.
Complete Section 3 for cigarette sales
If the report involves illegal cigarette sales, check Unstamped Packs of Cigarettes, Loose (individual) Cigarettes, Counterfeit Cigarettes or Counterfeit Cigarette Stamps, and describe the circumstances in the space below.
Answer Section 4 on hostility
Check Yes or No for whether the owner, officer or operator was hostile or irate at the time of the visit. If Yes, describe it briefly.
Add your own contact details
In the reporter section, enter your name, contact number and/or department or agency number, street address, city, state and ZIP. Add the city or township name and the department or agency name if applicable.
Review and download the completed PDF
Check that every applicable box is marked and the description is complete. Download or print the completed PDF from FillingPDF and send it as described under How to submit.
How to submit Cook County Audit and Investigation Referral Form
You can send the completed form to the Cook County Department of Revenue by mail or by fax.
- By mail: Cook County Department of Revenue, 118 N. Clark Street, Room 1160, Chicago, IL 60602.
- By fax: (312) 603-5729.
- Questions about the form: call (312) 603-6962 or visit www.cookcountyil.gov/revenue.
If the space for your description is not enough, attach additional sheets, as the form directs in Sections 2 and 3. The form names no other submission channel and prints no fee. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating this as a property tax form: it reports violations of County Home Rule Taxes such as amusement, gas, alcoholic beverages, parking, tobacco and use taxes.
- Checking only one box in Section 1 or Section 2 when more than one applies; both sections say to check all applicable.
- Squeezing a long account into the space provided instead of attaching additional sheets, which the form allows if necessary.
- Skipping the description of the incident or circumstances that support your belief that a violation has occurred or is occurring.
- Using this form to pay or report your own cigarette tax; the self-pay Cigarette Tax Return 2707 is a separate form issued by the Department of Revenue.
- Leaving Section 4 unanswered, or checking Yes without the brief description the form asks for.
- Mailing the form somewhere other than Cook County Department of Revenue, 118 N. Clark Street, Room 1160, Chicago, IL 60602, or faxing it to a number other than (312) 603-5729.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Cook County Audit and Investigation Referral Form?
It is a Cook County Department of Revenue form for identifying businesses that may be violating a County Home Rule Tax. You name the business and its owner or operator, check the tax type and violation, and describe what supports your belief that a violation has occurred or is occurring.
Is this a Cook County property tax form?
No. The form concerns County Home Rule Taxes, such as the amusement, gas, alcoholic beverages, sales of new motor vehicle, parking lot and garage, tobacco and use taxes. It does not deal with property tax bills, assessments or exemptions.
Where do I send the Cook County referral form?
Mail it to Cook County Department of Revenue, 118 N. Clark Street, Room 1160, Chicago, IL 60602, or fax it to (312) 603-5729. For questions about the form, call (312) 603-6962. The form names no other channel.
Can I fill out the Cook County referral form online?
You can fill out the PDF online on FillingPDF and download or print it. FillingPDF is independent of Cook County and does not send the form to the Department of Revenue; you mail or fax it yourself.
Which illegal cigarette sales can I report on this form?
Section 3 lists four: unstamped packs of cigarettes, loose (individual) cigarettes, counterfeit cigarettes and counterfeit cigarette stamps. Check all that apply and briefly describe the circumstances, attaching additional sheets if needed.
Is there a deadline to submit the referral form?
The form prints no deadline. You use it when you believe a listed violation has occurred or is occurring, and you enter the date you file the complaint at the top of the page.
Does Cook County pay a reward for reporting tobacco violations?
Cook County has a Cigarette Tax Reward Program for people who report violations of the Cook County Tobacco Ordinance, and it points reporters to an online Cigarette Tax Reward Program website. This paper form does not mention a reward; check the Cook County tobacco tax page for the program's terms.
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