Ohio paychecks surprise people twice. The state tax itself is simple now: for tax year 2026 Ohio charges a flat 2.75% on taxable nonbusiness income above the zero-tax threshold, with income below that threshold untaxed, replacing the graduated brackets of earlier years. The surprise is everything underneath it: most Ohio cities levy their own income tax, typically 1% to 3%, and roughly 200 school districts levy a separate school district income tax of about 0.25% to 2%. A worker in Columbus can therefore pay three income taxes, state, city, and school district, while a worker in a township without either local tax pays only the state line. This guide works all three layers.

The state layer: flat 2.75% above the threshold

Ohio consolidated its brackets into a single flat rate for 2026: income at or below the zero-tax threshold is untaxed at the state level, and income above it is taxed at 2.75%. There is no higher bracket, which makes Ohio simpler than a graduated state such as New Jersey, where rates run to 10.75%, and simpler than its own past, when the top rate was 3.5% in 2024 and 3.125% in 2025. The exact threshold figure is set in the Ohio tax tables for the year and should be confirmed in the calculator, which uses the current tables, but the shape is what matters: a flat rate above a floor, not a ladder.

Ohio also allows personal exemption credits that reduce the tax, and the credits phase out at higher incomes. A low earner can therefore owe nothing at the state level even above the threshold, once credits are counted, while a high earner pays close to the full 2.75% on income above the floor. As with every state in this series, the rate applies to taxable income after deductions and credits, not to gross pay.

The city layer: municipal income tax

Most Ohio cities and villages levy a municipal income tax on earned income, typically between 1% and 3%. Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, and Dayton levy 2.5%; Cincinnati levies 1.8%. The tax is usually based on where you work, with a credit for tax paid to the work city when you also owe tax where you live, though the credit rules vary and the credit is often capped.

Collection runs through three channels: the city itself, the Regional Income Tax Agency, RITA, or the Central Collection Agency, CCA, based in Cleveland. Which channel applies depends on the city, and an employee whose employer withholds correctly rarely needs to deal with it directly, but a self-employed worker or a worker with two city obligations does. The calculator on this site models the state line; the city line depends on your work city and must be added from your local rate, which is why Ohio take-home estimates that ignore the city layer overstate pay by 1% to 3% of wages.

The school district layer: the tax people miss

The school district income tax, SDIT, is unique to Ohio. Roughly 200 school districts levy it on residents, at rates generally from 0.25% to 2%, most commonly 1% to 1.5%. It is based on where you live, not where you work, it is filed separately on the Ohio SD 100 form, and it applies if you lived in a taxing district at any point during the year and had income while resident there.

Two measurement methods exist: some districts tax on the state income tax base, others on earned income only, so the same salary can produce different SDIT bills in different districts. Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati school districts levy no SDIT, which is one reason a Columbus resident pays state plus city only, while a resident of a taxing district outside a major city can pay state plus SDIT with no city tax at all. The three layers combine in every permutation, and the only safe question is: what does my address owe, not what does Ohio owe.

Worked example: $75,000 in Columbus, and outside it

Take a worker earning $75,000. The state line, at 2.75% on taxable income above the threshold, is roughly $1,300 to $1,500 after the threshold and credits are counted. In Columbus, the city line at 2.5% of wages is about $1,875, and there is no school district tax, so the state-plus-local total is roughly $3,200 to $3,400. Outside a city, in a district levying 1% SDIT and no city tax, the local line is about $750 and the total is roughly $2,100 to $2,300. Same salary, same state, a gap of about $1,000 a year decided by address.

The table below shows the shape. Exact figures depend on the current threshold, exemption credits, and whether the local base is wages or the state base, so use the calculator for your address and treat this example as the pattern, not the bill.

Mistakes: the state-only estimate and the work-city error

First, estimating Ohio take-home from the state rate alone. The state line is the smallest layer for most city workers, and an estimate that omits it overstates pay by thousands. Second, assuming the local tax follows the work city only: SDIT follows residence, so moving house across a district boundary changes the bill even if the job never moves. Third, assuming a credit wipes out the second city tax: credits are often capped below the full amount paid. Fourth, using a pre-2026 bracket table: Ohio rates fell through 2024, 2025, and 2026, so an old table overstates the state line.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Ohio state income tax rate for 2026?

A flat 2.75% on taxable nonbusiness income above the zero-tax threshold, with income below the threshold untaxed. There is no higher bracket.

Do Ohio cities charge income tax?

Most do, typically 1% to 3% on earned income. Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, and Dayton levy 2.5%; Cincinnati levies 1.8%.

What is the Ohio school district income tax?

A separate income tax levied by roughly 200 school districts on residents, typically 0.25% to 2%, filed separately on form SD 100 and based on where you live.

Do I pay Ohio city tax where I work or where I live?

City tax is generally based on where you work, with a credit, often capped, for tax paid to the work city. School district tax is based on where you live.

How much local tax does a Columbus worker pay?

At 2.5% city tax on $75,000 of wages, about $1,875 a year, with no school district tax, on top of roughly $1,400 of state tax.

Is Ohio take-home pay lower than in a flat-tax state with no local taxes?

Often yes for city workers, because the city and school district layers add 1% to 5% of wages on top of the state rate. Township workers without either local tax pay only the state line.