An Ohio tax district summary is the record of which local income taxes apply to a specific address: a school district tax, a municipal (city or village) tax, both, or neither. As of January 2026, 210 school districts and more than 600 cities and villages levy their own income tax, each with its own rate and filing requirements separate from your state and federal returns. The only reliable way to pull your summary is to run your street address through the state’s lookup tool, called The Finder.
Look Up Your Districts With The Finder
The Finder is maintained by the Ohio Department of Taxation and is the one source that will tell you with certainty which districts tax your address.1Ohio Department of Taxation. The Finder Don’t guess from your mailing address. Mailing addresses and municipal boundaries are not the same thing, and getting this wrong means filing in the wrong district or missing a filing entirely.
You’ll need your full street address, zip code, and county. On The Finder, choose the “Tax District Summary” option and enter the address. The tool returns:
- Your school district name and four-digit code
- Your school district’s tax type (traditional or earned income) and rate
- Your municipality’s income tax rate
- The agency that collects the municipal tax
Save or print the results. You’ll need the four-digit school district number for Form SD 100 and the municipal details for your city return.
School District Income Tax
School district taxing authority comes from Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5748, which lets a local board of education place an income tax on the ballot for voter approval.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5748 – School District Income Tax If your district has one, you file Form SD 100 using the district’s four-digit number, which typically appears in box 14 or boxes 19 and 20 on your W-2.3Ohio Department of Taxation. School District Income Tax
Districts use one of two tax bases, and which one applies is set by the district itself.
Traditional Base
The traditional base is the broader of the two. It starts with your modified adjusted gross income (your federal AGI with certain Ohio adjustments) minus personal exemptions. Wages, interest, dividends, capital gains, pensions, IRA distributions, and most other income sources are all taxable. Retirement income is not exempt under this method.4Ohio Department of Taxation. Guide to Ohio’s School District Income Tax
Earned Income Base
The earned income base is narrower. It covers only wages, salaries, other employee compensation, and net self-employment earnings, to the extent those amounts are included in your modified adjusted gross income. Interest, dividends, capital gains, pensions, and Social Security benefits are all excluded.4Ohio Department of Taxation. Guide to Ohio’s School District Income Tax If you’re retired and live in an earned income district, you likely owe nothing to that district.
Withholding
If you live in a taxing school district, give your employer an IT 4 showing the district name and four-digit number so they withhold correctly. School district withholding is separate from any municipal withholding already on your paycheck.3Ohio Department of Taxation. School District Income Tax If you move into a taxing district mid-year, update the IT 4 right away to avoid owing a lump sum at filing.
Municipal Income Tax
Cities and villages draw their authority from ORC Chapter 718.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 718.04 – Authority for Tax on Income and Withholding Tax Unlike school district tax, which is based on residency alone, municipal tax can hit income earned inside the city limits even if you live somewhere else.6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 718.01 – Definitions Rates vary widely. Some small villages charge under 1%; a few cities go as high as 3%.7Regional Income Tax Agency. Tax Rates Table
The municipal base covers wages, salaries, commissions, net business and self-employment profits, and, for residents, lottery and gambling winnings. Interest, dividends, and retirement income are not typically included.6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 718.01 – Definitions
Who Collects It
Many municipalities outsource collection to one of two regional agencies. The Regional Income Tax Agency (RITA) handles hundreds of member communities. The Central Collection Agency (CCA) serves Cleveland and surrounding municipalities. Both run online filing portals, process payments, and conduct audits. Some larger cities keep their own tax bureaus. The Finder tells you which applies to your address, so you know where to file.
Filing Deadline
Municipal returns generally follow the state’s April 15 deadline.8Ohio Department of Taxation. Due Dates Some municipalities and collection agencies set different extension rules, so confirm with your specific city or its administrator.
If You Live in One City and Work in Another
This is where Ohio’s local tax trips people up. If you live in City A and work in City B, both have a claim. City B taxes you as a nonresident on wages earned there. City A taxes you as a resident on all your income.
To prevent double taxation, most Ohio municipalities grant a credit against your resident tax for income tax paid to the work city, capped at the home city’s rate.9Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 718.02 – Income Subject to Tax The math usually breaks down this way:
- If the work city rate equals or exceeds the home city rate, you pay the work city and owe nothing more at home.
- If the work city rate is lower, you pay the work city, claim the credit, and owe the difference at home. Work in a 1.5% city, live in a 2.5% city, and you’ll owe 1.5% to the work city and 1% to the home city.
- If the work city has no income tax, you owe your full resident rate with no credit available.
The credit only applies to tax actually paid to another Ohio municipality. It does not cover federal tax, state tax, or school district tax. Keep your W-2s and any municipal tax receipts as documentation.
Remote Workers
Ohio’s municipal code addresses remote work directly. It defines a “qualifying remote work location” as any place where an employee works that isn’t the employer’s office or a client site, including a home office.10Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Chapter 718 – Municipal Income Taxes – Section 718.021
For employers who elect this treatment, remote wages are assigned to the employee’s “qualifying reporting location,” generally the employer’s office where the employee would otherwise report. If your employer’s office is in Columbus and you work from home in a suburb, your wages may be treated as earned in Columbus for municipal tax. Whether this applies depends on your employer’s election and how they designate reporting locations. If you work remotely, ask your employer which municipality is being withheld and whether it matches your actual situation.
Moving Mid-Year
Move between taxing districts during the year and you don’t owe a full year to either. School district and municipal obligations are both prorated. For school districts, file an SD 100 for each taxing district where you resided, using each one’s four-digit number.3Ohio Department of Taxation. School District Income Tax On the municipal side, taxable income is typically prorated by the share of the year spent in each city. Live in a taxing city for six months and then move to one without an income tax, and roughly half your annual income is subject to the first city’s rate. Update your IT 4 after moving and notify RITA, CCA, or your city’s tax office.
Penalties
Ohio caps what municipalities can charge. The maximum penalty for filing a municipal return late is $25 per return, and your municipality must waive that penalty the first time you file late, once the return is in.11Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 718.27 – Penalties and Interest
Owing unpaid tax is the expensive part. A municipality can charge up to 15% of the unpaid tax, plus interest until the balance is cleared. Employers who fail to remit withheld taxes face up to 50% of the amount not timely paid.11Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 718.27 – Penalties and Interest Municipalities cannot impose any penalty, interest, or fee beyond what this statute allows.
School district penalties run through the state filing system rather than local ordinances. If you owe school district tax and don’t file or pay, the Ohio Department of Taxation treats it similarly to an underpayment of state tax.
Federal Deduction
Ohio local income taxes are deductible on your federal return if you itemize, subject to the federal state and local tax cap. For 2026 the cap is approximately $40,400 for most filers, a temporary increase enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025. The cap is set to revert to $10,000 in 2030. For Ohio residents paying municipal tax, school district tax, state income tax, and property tax, the cap can bite.