How to Fill Out and Submit RITA Form 10A: Documents and Filing

RITA Form 10A is the application you file to get back Ohio municipal income tax that a RITA city withheld from your pay when you didn’t owe it. Common reasons include working outside the city that took the tax, being under 18, or a payroll error at the wrong rate or for the wrong city. Download the PDF from ritaohio.com, attach your W-2 and the required supporting documents, and mail the package to RITA’s processing center in Broadview Heights. You have three years from the date the return was due or the tax was paid, whichever is later, to submit the claim.¹

Reasons RITA Will Accept a Claim

Form 10A lists the specific reasons it will approve. The most common one: you’re a non-resident and some or all of your workdays happened outside the withholding city. Non-residents owe local tax only for days they were physically inside the city limits, so an employer that withheld based on the office address rather than your actual location has taken too much.²

Other accepted reasons on the form:

You were under 18. Ohio law exempts the income of individuals under 18 from municipal income tax, and as of 2024 employers are not required to withhold for any Ohio municipality on employees under 18. If withholding happened anyway, it’s refundable.³⁴
The employer withheld at a rate higher than the municipality’s actual rate.
Tax was withheld for a city where you didn’t actually work.
The employer withheld too much tax for your city of residence.
You’re an over-the-road truck driver who passed through municipalities without stopping to perform services at a fixed location.
You had unreimbursed business expenses. This is the only claim type that does not require employer certification.⁵

The Occasional Entrant Rule

If you worked in a RITA municipality on 20 or fewer days during the calendar year, the occasional entrant exemption under Ohio Revised Code 718.011 may apply, and any tax withheld for those days is refundable. A “day” counts only if you spent more time performing services in that city than in any other municipality that day. Travel time to your first work location and between job sites counts as time at your principal place of work, not at the city you traveled through.⁶

The exemption doesn’t apply if the city is your principal place of work, if you worked at a construction or temporary worksite expected to last more than 20 days, or if you’re a professional athlete, entertainer, or public figure performing in that capacity.⁶

Documents You Need Before You Start

RITA won’t process Form 10A without the right paperwork attached. An incomplete packet gets sent back, not held. Gather these first:

Your W-2, showing local wages in Box 18 and municipal tax withheld in Box 19. Attach a copy.⁷
Employer certification on page 2 of the form. A supervisor or payroll officer must sign it for every claim type except unreimbursed business expenses. The certification confirms the withholding was excessive, that the employer hasn’t already refunded the amount, and that no adjustments to the employer’s withholding account will be made for the same claim.⁵
Travel log and days-worked calculation on page 3. Required for claims based on days worked outside the city. The log has to account for every workday of the year and show where you physically performed services each day.⁸
A pay stub covering your 18th birthday, if you’re claiming a partial-year minor exemption. It can substitute for the employer certification in that case.⁵

The top of the form asks for your legal name, Social Security number, current home address, the tax year, and your employer’s name and federal identification number. Double-check the employer’s local account number on your W-2. RITA uses it to match your claim against the employer’s withholding records.

Calculating the Refund

The math depends on why you’re filing. Simple claims — wrong city, wrong rate, minor exemption for the full year — are straightforward subtraction: total tax withheld minus what you actually owed (often zero) equals your refund.

Claims based on days worked outside the municipality use a ratio on page 3. Divide days worked outside the city by total workdays for the year, then multiply that percentage by the total municipal tax withheld. If you worked 200 days total and 140 of them outside the city, your outside percentage is 70 percent. On $1,000 withheld, that’s a $700 refund.

Vacation, sick leave, and holidays don’t count as workdays. Exclude them from both sides of the fraction. The ratio should reflect only days you actually performed services. Transfer the figures to the corresponding lines: total tax paid, total tax owed based on your actual work location, and the difference as your refund request.

Sign and date the form. Your signature affirms the information and calculations are accurate.

Where to Mail It

Form 10A cannot be e-filed or emailed. Mail the completed form with all attachments to:⁵

Regional Income Tax Agency
PO Box 470638
Broadview Hts., OH 44147-0638

Copy everything before you seal the envelope: the form, the W-2, the signed employer certification, the travel log. If RITA asks for clarification or reviews the log, you’ll want the exact record of what you sent. Send it by certified mail or with tracking so you have proof of the postmark date, which matters if you’re close to the three-year deadline.¹

The form and instructions live on RITA’s individual form downloads page at ritaohio.com. You’ll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the PDF.⁹

What Happens After You File

RITA asks that you allow 90 days from receipt of your claim for processing.¹⁰ During peak spring filing season the wait can run longer. Approved claims are paid by check or electronic deposit. If an examiner finds a math error or disagrees with part of the calculation, you’ll get an adjusted amount and a notice explaining the change.

Keep your supporting records for at least three years after filing. Ohio municipalities can audit returns within that window.¹¹

If your refund totals $10 or more, the municipality issues a Form 1099-G reporting the payment to you and to the IRS.¹² Whether the refund is federally taxable depends on whether you deducted the local tax on a prior federal return. If you itemized and claimed the state and local tax deduction that included this municipal tax, the refund is generally taxable in the year you receive it. If you took the standard deduction in the year the tax was withheld, the refund typically isn’t taxable because you got no federal tax benefit from paying it.

If RITA Denies or Reduces Your Claim

A denial or reduction comes as an assessment notice explaining why. You have 60 days from receiving that notice to file a written appeal with the local board of tax review, and the appeal must state why you believe the assessment is wrong. The board schedules a hearing, issues a written determination, and mails it to you and the tax administrator. If you disagree with the board’s decision, you can appeal further under Ohio Revised Code Section 5717.011.¹¹

Sign Only What’s True

Ohio Revised Code Section 718.35 makes it a criminal offense to knowingly file a false or fraudulent claim with a municipal tax administrator, including preparing or helping prepare a fraudulent return, statement, or claim, or altering records a claim is based on, with intent to defraud the municipality.¹³ Prosecution for fraud can be brought within six years, versus three years for standard violations.¹¹ The travel log and employer certification draw the closest scrutiny. Make sure both reflect reality before you sign and mail the form.

1
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 718.19 – Requests for Refunds
2
City of Cincinnati. Income Taxes
3
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 718.01 – Definitions
4
Regional Income Tax Agency. Business FAQs – Employer Withholding – Exemptions for Minors
5
Regional Income Tax Agency. Form 10A – Application for Municipal Income Tax Refund
6
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 718.011 – Occasional Entrant Exemption
7
Johns Hopkins University Human Resources. W-2 Wage and Tax Statement
8
Regional Income Tax Agency. Guidelines for Form 10A Municipal Income Tax
9
Regional Income Tax Agency. Individuals – Form and Instructions
10
Regional Income Tax Agency. Individuals – Refunds
11
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 718.12 – Penalties and Interest
12
Monroe, OH. Refunds/1099-G Statements
13
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 718.35 – Fraud