What late-report fines add up to

A late annual financial report in Illinois does not cost one flat penalty. It costs a little more every day, for each report, until the Comptroller receives a compliant one. Here is how the numbers build, using the schedule in the law and the Comptroller's own fines FAQ.

Every fee figure on this page is an estimate, before any reduction. The law calls them fees; the Comptroller's notices call them fines.

The schedule in the law

The Comptroller may charge a fee for each late audit or report: US$5 a day for the first 15 days past due, US$10 a day for days 16 to 30, US$15 a day for days 31 to 45, and US$20 a day from day 46 on. The law adds that these amounts may be reduced at the Comptroller's discretion.

The same schedule appears four times: for townships and districts in the Governmental Account Audit Act, for cities and villages in the Municipal Code, for TIF reports, and for counties.

After day 45, every extra day adds US$20.

Five things that move the number

1. It is per report, per fiscal year. The Comptroller's FAQ says fines are assessed for each non-compliant report for each fiscal year. A unit that owes both its annual financial report and its audit for the same year can draw two fees, and each late year adds up on its own.
2. It starts with fiscal 2025. The FAQ says the fines affect units that are late on their fiscal year 2025 reports and every year after. Older late reports carry no daily fee, but they stay on the public late list.
3. The clock starts the day after your due date. The report is due 180 days after your fiscal year ends, or 240 days if you ask for the 60-day extension in Comptroller Connect. A unit that files inside the extension window without having asked for it is still fined from day 181.
4. It stops only when a compliant report is received. A rejected report or a draft loses its received date, and the fees keep running. Under the no-audit route, the board's Certified Copy of Vote can take up to 5 business days to be approved, and the clock runs while you wait.
5. It can be reduced. After you file, the Comptroller's office sends instructions for asking for an abatement. The FAQ asks units to hold those requests until then.

How you hear about it

The Comptroller sends three fine notices. The first comes about 3 months after your due date, or about 1 month after your final due date if you had an extension. The next two follow a month apart. After the third notice, the fine is certified as a debt owed to the Comptroller's office.

Bigger than the fee: an audit you did not order

If a report is still not filed by the date in the Comptroller's written notice, the law says the Comptroller shall have an audit made, and the unit pays the auditor's actual compensation and expenses. The Comptroller may decline when the books are inadequate or unavailable, or when the cost would be an unreasonable burden on the unit. Either way, the unit stays on the list until it files.

What the October 13, 2026 list adds up to

The Comptroller's late list dated October 13, 2026 names 456 local governments and 978 late reports. Of those, 499 reports at 433 units are for fiscal 2025 or later, the years the fines cover.

The longest overdue of these was 412 days past due on the list date, about US$7,790 on the schedule.

Which years to file first

If your unit is late on years both before and after fiscal 2025, the fiscal 2025 and later reports are the ones adding to the fee every day. Once a compliant report is received, its fee stops growing. The older years still need filing to come off the list.