USA State Payroll Rates + Resources: State of Ohio: Filing State Income Taxes, W-2s, and 1099s

This documentation outlines the processes and requirements associated with filing state income taxes as well as how to file W-2s and 1099s, if needed, in the state of Ohio.

State Income Tax and School District Withholding 

Each employee must complete an Ohio IT 4, Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate, or the employer shall withhold tax from the employee’s compensation as if they have claimed zero exemptions.

Employees can claim up to the number of exemptions they are entitled to. In other words, if they are only eligible for 1 exemption, then they can claim 1 or 0 exemptions, but not 2 or more.

For the IT-4, if you agree to withhold additional taxes from your employee's paycheck, your employee may be eligible to have additional taxes withheld. Taxes will be withheld based on the number of exemptions and, if approved, the additional amount they have listed for each pay period.

The IT-4 also asks the employee for their school district name and number so that taxes can be withheld from their paycheck for school district income taxes. All Ohio employers are required to withhold school district income taxes if the district the employee listed on their IT-4 is a taxing school district.

If they are unsure if they live in a taxing school district, they can use The Finder on the Ohio Department of Taxation’s website.

State Income Tax and School District Withholding Reporting & Deposits 

Employers are required to file Ohio employer and school district withholding returns and make payment of these taxes withheld on the Ohio Business Gateway (OBG).

An employer’s filing and payment frequency for Ohio employer withholding tax purposes is determined for each calendar year by the combined amount of Ohio and school district income taxes that were withheld or required to be withheld during the 12-month period ending June 30 of the preceding calendar year (look-back period).

Reporting and Deposits:

Every employer liable for Ohio withholding tax must keep on file the Ohio IT 4, Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate, for each employee. This provides a record of the school district name and number in which the employee resides. Employees must update the Ohio IT 4 whenever previous information becomes insufficient or incorrect.

Your school district income tax withholding filing frequency is the same as your employer withholding filing frequency for all filers except partial-weekly filers. All partial-weekly filers are required to file school district withholding monthly.

 Annual Reconciliations

An employer who is required to remit quarterly or monthly shall file the Ohio IT 941, Ohio Employer’s Annual Reconciliation of Income Tax Withheld, no later than the last day of the month following the end of the calendar year. Ohio IT 941 must be filed electronically at the OBG.

An employer who is required to remit partial-weekly shall file the Ohio IT 942, Ohio Employer’s EFT 4th Quarter/Annual Reconciliation of Income Tax Withheld, no later than the last day of the month following the end of the calendar year. The Ohio IT 942 is filed on OBG.