The Ohio Department of Taxation plans to conform to the accelerated federal Form W-2 filing due date of January 31. The change is planned effective for calendar year 2016, with forms due by January 31, 2017. Note, however, that only employers filing 250 or more Forms W-2 are currently required to file Forms W-2 with the Department.

Also, starting with calendar year 2016 Forms W-2 (due in 2017), the Department is asking employers to show school district information in box 20 when reporting school district withholding.

Ohio will match accelerated Form W-2 deadline

According to the Department representative, it is planned that the state will adopt the federal deadline for submission of Forms W-2 effective for calendar year 2016, accelerating the deadline to January 31, 2017. A tax alert will be issued later this year confirming the change.

Currently, only employers with 250 or more Forms W-2 for the year are required to submit them to the Department. The Department is not currently equippred for electronic filing; therefore, Form W-2 data must be submitted on CD-ROM.

As we previously reported, the Department proposed that all employers file Forms W-2 and 1099-R electronically, as is required for all other withholding tax and school district withholding tax returns and payments. (Proposed change to Ohio Administrative Code rule 5703-7-19.)

According to the representative, this proposed regulation change has not yet been promulgated. As a result, only employers filing 250 or more Forms W-2 must submit these forms for calendar year 2016 to the Department on CD-ROM.

Addition of school district information to Forms W-2

Starting with calendar year 2016 Forms W-2, the Department requests that employers show the four-digit school district number and the school district name in box 20 when reporting school district withholding. According to the Department, this added information will assist in distinguishing between city and school district withholding amounts.

Many Ohio localities have both a city income tax as well as a school district income tax. The Department has discovered that thousands of Forms W-2 each year list a city name twice with two different tax withholding amounts — one for the amount of city income tax withheld and one for the amount of school district income tax withheld. This has caused some individuals to mistakenly claim the wrong withholding amount or add both withholding amounts together when filing their city and/or school district income tax returns.

For assistance in locating the correct school district number and name, employers may access a website called The Finder which provides the school district number for every school district in Ohio. The Department plans to post example Forms W-2 to its website.

This is considered a voluntary change — employers are strongly encouraged to show the school district information, but penalties will not be imposed for failure to comply. (Email response to inquiry.)

For more information on Ohio withholding taxes, go to the Department's website.

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