If you live in Columbus, Ohio, expect to pay four layers of tax: an 8% sales tax at the register, a flat 2.5% Columbus city income tax on earnings, Ohio state income tax of 2.75% on taxable income above $26,050, and property tax of roughly 1.48% of a home’s market value. Some addresses also owe a separate school district income tax. Your exact bill depends on where in the metro you live, what you earn, and what you own.
Sales Tax
Most purchases inside Columbus city limits are taxed at a combined rate of 8%. That total is Ohio’s 5.75% state sales tax plus a 2.25% local component that funds Franklin County services and the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA).1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 5739.02 – Levy of Sales Tax – Purpose – Rate – Exemptions2Ohio Department of Taxation. Sales and Use Tax Rate Change Effective April 1, 2025 The current rate took effect April 1, 2025, after COTA passed a permanent 0.5% increase across its service district.
Columbus mostly sits in Franklin County, but a few neighborhoods spill into Delaware or Fairfield County, and the rate there depends on whether the address is inside the COTA transit district:
- Delaware County inside COTA: 8.00%
- Delaware County outside COTA: 7.00%
- Fairfield County inside COTA: 7.75%
- Fairfield County outside COTA: 6.75%
Sales tax applies to retail goods and certain services. Businesses collect it at the register and remit it to the state.
Columbus City Income Tax
Columbus charges a flat 2.5% income tax on wages, salaries, and other earned compensation.3City of Columbus, Ohio. General Income Tax Information Every Columbus resident has to file a city return, no matter where they work. Non-residents who earn income within city limits owe the tax only on what they earned locally.
If your employer is in Columbus, the 2.5% is usually withheld from your paycheck automatically. If you work for a company outside the city that doesn’t withhold Columbus tax, you have to pay it yourself, either through quarterly estimated payments or with your annual return. Anyone expecting to owe $200 or more for the year is required to make the quarterly payments.
Credit for Taxes Paid to Another City
Columbus is more generous than many Ohio cities on this. If you live in Columbus but work in another Ohio city that also levies an income tax, Columbus gives you a full 100% credit for the tax paid to that city, up to the 2.5% Columbus rate.3City of Columbus, Ohio. General Income Tax Information If your work city charges 2%, you’d owe Columbus just the remaining 0.5%. If your work city charges 2.5% or more, you owe Columbus nothing extra, though you still have to file.
Deadline and Penalties
The individual return for tax year 2025 is due April 15, 2026. File or pay late and the city can add a 15% penalty on the unpaid balance.4CCA – Division Of Taxation. Penalty and Interest Rates Interest accrues on top of that at the federal short-term rate, rounded to the nearest whole percent, plus five percentage points.
Ohio State Income Tax
On top of the city tax, Ohio takes its own cut. Starting in tax year 2026, Ohio uses a flat structure: no state income tax on the first $26,050 of taxable income, then 2.75% on everything above that. The base tax is $332 plus 2.75% of income over the threshold. Business income reported on a personal return is taxed separately at a flat 3%.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 5747.02 – Tax Rates
A worked example makes the combined load clearer. A Columbus resident earning $75,000 in wages would owe roughly $1,875 in city tax (2.5% of $75,000) and about $1,678 in state tax ($332 plus 2.75% of the $48,950 above the threshold). That totals around $3,553 in state and local income tax before anything federal.
Property Tax
Columbus real estate taxes work on a millage system. One mill equals one dollar of tax per $1,000 of assessed value, and Ohio sets assessed value at 35% of the appraised market value.6Ohio Department of Taxation. Real Property Tax – General A home appraised at $300,000 has a taxable value of $105,000.
Actual millage varies by neighborhood because addresses fall under different combinations of school districts, library levies, and other special taxing authorities. Based on Franklin County Treasurer estimates, a home inside Columbus city limits faces an effective rate of about 1.48% of market value. On a $300,000 home that comes to roughly $4,440 a year. A home in Hilliard, Whitehall, or another nearby suburb will land on a different rate depending on its own set of overlapping levies. Property owners get bills twice a year.
Homestead Exemption
Ohio’s homestead exemption reduces the taxable value of a primary residence by up to $29,000 in assessed value. To qualify, the homeowner has to be 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled, with modified adjusted gross income of $41,000 or less. On a home assessed at $105,000, the exemption would drop the taxable value to $76,000. You apply through your county auditor’s office.
School District Income Tax
Some Columbus-area addresses owe a separate income tax to their local school district. It is independent of both the city and state income tax, and it only applies if the school district has voted to impose one. As of January 2026, 210 Ohio school districts levy this tax.7Ohio Department of Taxation. School District Income Tax
Rates run from 0.25% to 2.00% depending on the district.8Ohio Department of Taxation. School District Tax Year 2026 The state collects the tax for the school board, and the revenue stays within the district. To find out whether your address owes one, and at what rate, enter your address into the Ohio Department of Taxation’s online lookup tool, “The Finder.” Your four-digit district number also appears on the Ohio IT 1040. Using the wrong code sends your payment to the wrong district, so it is worth confirming.