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                                                                                                                                                                                        WH 1 
                                                                                                                                                                                        Rev. 11/14 

                                        Ohio Employer Withholding Tax
                                                       General Guidelines
Who Must Register                                                                                                              6.  Services not in the course of the employer’s trade or business 
All employers maintaining an ofﬁ ce or transacting business in Ohio                                                             to the extent paid in any medium other than cash; 
and required to withhold federal income tax must register by one                                                               7.  Residents of Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and 
of these three ways:                                                                                                            Pennsylvania, due to reciprocal agreements with Ohio.  

By Internet: Register online through the Ohio Business Gateway                                                                 Who Is an Employee for Withholding Purposes 
(OBG) at  business.ohio.gov and follow the instructions for Ohio                                                               Every individual who performs services subject to either the con-
Taxation – New Account Registration; OR                                                                                        trol and/or will of an employer, whether as to what shall be done 
By Telephone: Call 1-888-405-4089, listen for the message and                                                                  and/or how it shall be done, is an employee for purposes of Ohio 
then press 2 to connect with an agent; OR                                                                                      income tax. It does not matter that the employer permits the em-
                                                                                                                               ployee considerable discretion and freedom of action, so long as 
By Paper: Complete Ohio form IT 1, Application for Registration                                                                the employer has the legal right to control either the method and/ 
as an Ohio Withholding Agent, and mail it to the address shown on                                                              or result of the services. 
the form or fax it to us at (614) 387-2165. 
                                                                                                                               All employees, except residents of Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, 
An Ohio withholding account number will be assigned to new with-                                                               West Virginia and Pennsylvania, who work in and/or perform per-
holding agents after registration. All forms and correspondence                                                                sonal services in Ohio are subject to withholding of Ohio income 
must reﬂ ect this account number.                                                                                              tax to the extent of compensation paid for their services in Ohio. 

The information required for registration includes:                                                                            Reports and Forms That Must Be Filed: 
1.  Federal employer identiﬁ cation number;                                                                                     
2.  Type of business and business code;                                                                                        Ohio Withholding Exemption Certiﬁcate:      Each employee must  
3.  Date payroll anticipated;                                                                                                  complete an Ohio form IT 4, Employee’s Withholding Exemption  
4. Name;                                                                                                                       Certiﬁ cate, or the employer shall withhold tax from the employee’s  
5.  Trade name, if any;                                                                                                        compensation without exemption. 
6.  Business address and/or mailing address; 
7.  Ohio liquor permit number (if applicable); and                                                                             Ohio Withholding Tax Returns: Effective Jan. 1, 2015, in accor-
8.  Name(s) and title(s) of the individual(s) responsible for ﬁling                                                            dance with Ohio Administrative Code rule 5703-7-19, employers 
 returns and making payment of Ohio withholding tax.                                                                           are required to ﬁ le state and school district income tax withholding 
                                                                                                                               returns and make payment of the withheld taxes through the OBG. 
All employers liable for withholding Ohio income tax must register 
within 15 days of the date that such liability begins.                                                                         Employers subject to withholding must make payments in the          
                                                                                                                               amounts required to be withheld. The withholding tax forms that 
Who Must Withhold                                                                                                              you ﬁ le are based on your ﬁling frequency. Monthly and quarterly 
Every employer maintaining an ofﬁ ce or transacting business within                                                              ﬁlers remit state income tax withholding payments on OBG using 
the state of Ohio and making payment of any compensation to an                                                                 Ohio form IT 501. Employers who have been approved under the 
employee, whether a resident or nonresident, must withhold Ohio                                                                opt out provision to ﬁ le paper state income tax withholding returns, 
income tax.                                                                                                                    remit withholding tax payments using Ohio form IT 501, mailed to 
                                                                                                                               the Ohio Department of Taxation with remittance made payable to 
Withholding is not required if the compensation is paid for or to:                                                             the Ohio Treasurer of State. Partial-weekly        ﬁlers are required to 
1.  Agricultural labor as deﬁ ned in Division G of Section 3121 of                                                             pay withheld taxes by EFT and do not ﬁ le or send in form IT 501. 
 Title 26 of the United States Code; 
2.  Domestic service in a private home, local college club, or local                                                           Filing Frequency: An employer’s ﬁ   ling and payment frequency for  
 chapter of a college fraternity or sorority;                                                                                  state income tax withholding is determined each calendar year by the  
3.  Service performed in any calendar quarter by an employee un-                                                               combined amount of state and school district taxes that were with-
 less the cash remuneration paid for such service is $300 or more                                                              held or required to be withheld during the 12-month period ending  
 and such service is performed by an individual who is regularly                                                               June 30 of the preceding calendar year (i.e., the “look-back” period). 
 employed by such employer to perform such service.                                                                            Quarterlypayments     must be remitted with Ohio form IT 501 on OBG 
4.  Services performed for a foreign government or international                                                               by the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter,  
 organization;                                                                                                                 if the combined amount of taxes that were withheld or required to be  
5.  Services performed by an individual under the age of 18 in the                                                             withheld was $2,000 or less during the look-back period. Employers  
 delivery or distribution of newspapers or shopping news, not                                                                  who registered on or after July 1 of the preceding calendar year will  
 including delivery or distribution to any point for subsequent                                                                also remit quarterly, unless notiﬁ ed otherwise.   
 delivery or distribution or when performed by such individual 
 under the age of 18 under an arrangement where newspapers                                                                     Monthlypayments    must be remitted with Ohio form IT 501 on OBG 
 or magazines are to be sold by him at a ﬁ xed price, his com-                                                                 within 15 days following the end of each month, if the combined  
 pensation being based on the retention of the excess of such                                                                  amount of taxes that were withheld or required to be withheld was  
 price over the amount at which newspapers or magazines are                                                                    greater than $2,000 but less than $84,000 during the look-back period. 
 charged to him; 
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WH 1
Rev. 11/14
Partial-weekly payments must be remitted by EFT within three marked “CORRECTED BY EMPLOYER” and one copy should
banking days from the end of each partial-weekly period in which be submitted to the Ohio Department of Taxation and two copies
the employer had payroll, if the combined amount of taxes that were to the employee. If the W-2 or 1099-R is lost or destroyed, two
withheld or required to be withhheld was $84,000 or more during the substitute copies must be submitted to the employee and one
look-back period. to the Ohio of Department of Taxation marked “REISSUED BY
EMPLOYER.”
There are two partial-weekly withholding periods each week that 2. Over- or under-withholding – quarterly, monthly (form IT 501)
consists of a consecutive Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and partial-weekly (form IT 942) ﬁlers.
or a consecutive Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. A partial-weekly a. If the error is discovered in a subsequent period of the same
withholding period cannot extend from one year into the next. calendar year, make the adjustment by reducing or increasing
the tax due on your next form IT 501 or EFT payment.
Also, partial-weekly ﬁ lers must ﬁ le form IT 942, Ohio Employer’s
b. If an error is discovered after the annual reconciliation form IT
Quarterly Reconciliation of Income Tax Withheld, for each calendar
941 has been ﬁ
quarter on OBG. The form is due no later than the last day of the led, complete an amended reconciliation, form
IT 941X for that year. For EFT
month following the end of each calendar quarter. ﬁlers, ﬁle an amended form IT
942, Ohio Employer’s EFT 4th Quarter/Annual Reconciliation
Note: If the tax withheld by an employer during a pay period reaches of Income Tax Withheld, through OBG.
$100,000 or more, payment of the accumulated taxes (excluding
payment of school district income taxes) is due by the ﬁ rst banking Employer’s Liability for Withheld Tax
day after the pay date on which the accumulated taxes equal or Each withholding agent is liable for the tax required to be withheld.
exceed $100,000. If the employer is a partial-weekly ﬁ ler, payment For purposes of assessment and collection, amounts required to be
must be made by EFT. withheld and paid to the Ohio Department of Taxation are considered
to be a tax on the employer. The ofﬁ cer or the employee having
Ohio Annual Report control or supervision of or charged with the responsibility of ﬁling
1. To Employees (forms W-2 or 1099-R). On or before Jan. 31 of the the report and making payment shall be held personally liable for
succeeding calendar year, an employer required to withhold shall any failure to ﬁ le the report and/or pay the tax as required by law.
furnish to all employees on whom tax was or should have been
withheld, two copies of the report of compensation paid during the Interest and Penalties
calendar year and of the amount deducted and withheld as tax. If an employer fails to pay the tax deducted and withheld from em-
Employers may use federal form W-2 or 1099-R. ployees by the due date, interest shall accrue on the unpaid tax at
2. To the Ohio Department of Taxation (Ohio form IT 941). An em- the rate provided for under Ohio Revised Code section 5703.47.
ployer who is required to remit quarterly or monthly shall ﬁ le form Interest on the tax due is charged in addition to any penalty that
IT 941, Ohio Employer’s Annual Reconciliation of Income Tax may be incurred for late ﬁ ling and/or late payment of a tax due.
Withheld, on or before Jan. 31 of the succeeding calendar year. If an employer fails to pay the tax deducted and withheld from
3. To the Ohio Department of Taxation (Ohio form IT 942). An employer employees’ compensation by the due date, a penalty of 50% may
who is required to remit partial-weekly shall ﬁ le form IT 942, Ohio be assessed on the tax due, unless it is shown the failure was for
Employer’s EFT 4th Quarter/Annual Reconciliation of Income Tax reasonable cause and not willful neglect.
Withheld, no later than the last day of the month following the end
of the calendar year. Form IT 942 is ledﬁon OBG. EFT ﬁlers do not If a return, or Ohio forms IT 501, IT 941, IT 942 or IT 3 is not ﬁled,
ﬁle form IT 941. or is ﬁ led after the due date, the penalty is the greater of: $50 per
4. To the Ohio Department of Taxation (Ohio form IT 3). An em- month up to a maximum of $500 or 5% per month up to a maximum
ployer required to withhold shall ﬁ le on or before the last day of of 50% of the tax due.
February of the succeeding calendar year form IT 3, Transmittal
of Wage and Tax Statements. Employers are no longer required What Records To Keep
to send us paper copies of federal form W-2. If the information Every employer required to withhold Ohio income tax is required to
is not submitted electronically, the Ohio Department of Taxation maintain accurate records of all persons from whom tax is collected
may request W-2s periodically when conducting compliance for a period of four years from the due date.
programs. If you elect to send your state W-2 information to
us on magnetic media, you must comply using an approved Records must include:
format. Employers with 250 or more W-2 Copy A forms must ﬁle 1. Amounts and dates of all compensation paid and taxes withheld
them electronically using the EFW2 format. Electronic format by pay period.
information is also available on the department’s Web site at 2. Names, addresses, school district of residence, principal county
tax.ohio.gov. of employment (nonresidents) and Social Security numbers of
all employees receiving compensation.
Corrections 3. Periods of employment, including periods during which compen-
1. To Employee and the Ohio Department of Taxation (W-2 or sation is paid while absent due to sickness or injury.
1099-R). An employer must furnish a corrected W-2 or 1099-R 4. Copies of Ohio forms IT 501, IT 941, IT 942 and IT 3 ﬁ led with
if, after the original form has been given to an employee, an the Ohio Department of Taxation.
error is discovered. Corrected statements should be clearly 5. Forms W-2 and 1099-R.

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