OSCPA staff report

If it seems like the Dec. 15 due date for municipal 4th quarter estimated tax payments is arriving quickly, it’s because it is – and it’s because it’s nearly seven weeks earlier than in previous years. The change was a provision of House Bill 5, Ohio’s municipal income tax reform bill.

This deadline applies to any individuals, corporations, S-corporations, partnerships, LLCs and trusts making estimated payments. That provision requires every taxpayer of these types with an annual tax liability of $200 or more – withholding excepted – to report and pay estimated taxes by the 15th day of the fourth, sixth, ninth and 12th months of a taxable year.

The change was included in HB 5 as a compromise to several Ohio cities, who feared losses from the soon-to-be-implemented five-year Net Operating Loss requirement set to take effect Jan. 1, 2017.

For calendar year taxpayers, those dates are April 15, June 15, Sept. 15 and – in the only change that differs from the state’s deadline – Dec. 15. (See chart below.)

As before, the payments cities may require may not exceed 22.5%, 45%, 67.5%, and 90%, respectively, of taxpayers’ estimated annual liability.