# Ohio income tax rates for 2026: the new flat 2.75% rate, plus city and school district tax

Source: https://taxbracketsdesk.com/state-taxes/ohio-income-tax-rates
Publisher: Tax Brackets Desk (taxbracketsdesk.com), independent editorial site
Topic: State Income Tax
Last updated: 2026-10-13

> Ohio income tax rates for 2026 are 0% on the first $26,050 of taxable nonbusiness income and a flat 2.75% above it, after House Bill 96 removed the 3.125% top bracket used for 2025. Business income stays at 3% after its own deduction. Most Ohioans also owe a city income tax, and many owe a school district income tax.

## Key facts

- Ohio rate, tax year 2026: 0% up to $26,050; 2.75% above
- Ohio top rate, tax year 2025: 3.125% over $100,000
- Taxable business income: 3% flat
- 2025 personal exemption: $2,400, $2,150 or $1,900 by income; $0 at $750,000+
- School districts with an income tax (2025 list): More than 200, at 0.25% to 2%
- Example city rate: Columbus 2.5%

## What are the Ohio income tax rates for 2026?

For tax year 2026, Ohio charges nothing on the first $26,050 of taxable nonbusiness income and 2.75% on income above that amount. Ohio Revised Code section 5747.02, as amended by House Bill 96 (the 2025 state budget, signed June 30, 2025), sets the 2026 tax at $332 plus 2.75% of the amount over $26,050. There is no higher bracket.

That makes Ohio a flat-rate state with a large zero bracket, and at 2.75% its rate is now below the flat rates in [Pennsylvania](https://taxbracketsdesk.com/state-taxes/pennsylvania-income-tax-rate) (3.07%) and [Michigan](https://taxbracketsdesk.com/state-taxes/michigan-income-tax-rate) (4.25%); the [state income tax rates](https://taxbracketsdesk.com/state-taxes) hub compares more states. The 3.125% rate on income above $100,000, which applied to 2025, is gone for 2026. As of September 2026, the Ohio Department of Taxation's Annual Tax Rates page lists schedules only through 2025; the 2026 table will appear in the 2026 IT 1040 instructions, usually published around the start of the filing season.

Taxable business income, such as pass-through profits from an S corporation or sole proprietorship, is taxed separately: the first $250,000 is deductible and the rest is taxed at a flat 3%.

## How are Ohio brackets structured? 2024 to 2026 compared

Ohio collapsed its brackets in steps. The table below shows the nonbusiness income schedules the Department of Taxation published for 2024 and 2025, and the 2026 schedule in the revised statute.

| Taxable nonbusiness income | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| $0 to $26,050 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| $26,050 to $100,000 | $360.69 + 2.75% over $26,050 | $342 + 2.75% over $26,050 | $332 + 2.75% over $26,050 |
| Over $100,000 | $2,394.32 + 3.5% over $100,000 | $2,394.32 + 3.125% over $100,000 | Same line as above: $332 + 2.75% over $26,050 |

Ohio income tax on taxable nonbusiness income (IT 1040, line 7)

The ohio income tax rate on high earners fell the most. On $150,000 of taxable nonbusiness income, the 2025 schedule gives $3,956.82 and the 2026 schedule gives $3,740.63. The zero bracket at $26,050 is not indexed for inflation.

## Ohio exemptions and credits that lower the tax

Ohio has no standard deduction. Instead you subtract a personal exemption for yourself, your spouse and each dependent, and the amount depends on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). The 2025 IT 1040 instructions use this scale:

| Modified AGI | Exemption per person |
| --- | --- |
| $40,000 or less | $2,400 |
| $40,001 to $80,000 | $2,150 |
| $80,001 to $749,999 | $1,900 |
| $750,000 or more | $0 |

Ohio personal and dependent exemption, tax year 2025

- **Exemption credit.** If MAGI less exemptions is under $30,000, you get a $20 credit for each exemption.
- **Joint filing credit.** Married couples filing jointly where each spouse has at least $500 of qualifying income, and MAGI is under $750,000, can claim this credit for 2025.
- **Retirement and senior credits.** Ohio offers several small credits for retirement income and for filers 65 and older; they apply when MAGI less exemptions is under $100,000.

> **2026 exemption amounts:** House Bill 96 also changed who gets exemptions and the joint filing credit at high incomes for later years. Use the 2026 IT 1040 instructions, when published, for the 2026 exemption table rather than the 2025 figures above.

## Does Ohio have local income taxes?

Yes, and for many workers the local tax is larger than the state tax. Ohio has two separate layers: municipal income tax and school district income tax.

### City and village income tax

Most Ohio cities and villages tax wages earned inside their borders, and many also tax their own residents who work elsewhere, often with a credit for tax paid to the work city. Columbus, for example, charges 2.5% on wages, salaries, commissions and business net profits. Municipal returns are filed with the city or with a collection agency the city uses, not with the state.

### School district income tax

Some school districts levy their own income tax on residents only; working in a taxing district does not make you liable. On the 2025 list in the IT 1040 booklet, more than 200 districts levy the tax at rates from 0.25% to 2%. A district using the traditional base taxes MAGI less exemptions, while an earned income base district taxes only wages and self-employment income. You file school district tax on Form SD 100.

Use The Finder on tax.ohio.gov to look up both your city and your school district by street address before you file.

## Worked example: Ohio income tax for an Ohio resident

A single Columbus resident earns $60,000 in wages, works in Columbus, has no other income and lives in a school district with no income tax. The state figures use the 2026 statutory schedule and, because the 2026 exemption table is not yet published, the 2025 exemption of $2,150.

1. Ohio taxable nonbusiness income: $60,000 minus a $2,150 exemption equals $57,850.
2. Amount over $26,050: $31,800. Times 2.75% equals $874.50.
3. Ohio income tax for 2026: $332 plus $874.50 equals $1,206.50 (the 2025 schedule would give $1,216.50).
4. Columbus city tax: 2.5% of $60,000 equals $1,500.
5. Total state and city income tax: about $2,706.50, and the city takes the larger share.

If the same person lived in a district with a 1% traditional-base school tax, add roughly $578 (1% of $57,850). For the federal tax on this salary, see [tax on a $60,000 salary](https://taxbracketsdesk.com/tax-calculators/tax-on-60000-salary).

## What to do after the 2026 Ohio rate change

1. Check Ohio withholding. The Department of Taxation issued new employer withholding tables effective August 1, 2026. Compare your year-to-date Ohio withholding with the estimate from the example above, and give your employer a new Form IT 4 if it is far off.
2. Confirm city withholding. If you work in one city and live in another, ask payroll whether they withhold for both; if not, you may owe your home city with a return in spring.
3. Look up your school district number. Enter it on the IT 1040 even if your district has no tax.
4. Plan quarterly payments. Ohio expects estimated payments when tax after withholding and credits is more than $500; our [estimated taxes guide](https://taxbracketsdesk.com/estimated-taxes) covers the federal side.

## Common questions

### Is Ohio now a flat tax state?

Yes, for 2026 and later. Ohio taxes taxable nonbusiness income above $26,050 at one rate, 2.75%, and income below that at 0%.

### How much is Ohio state income tax on $50,000?

For a single filer with $50,000 of MAGI and a $2,150 exemption (the 2025 amount), taxable income is $47,850. Under the 2026 schedule the tax is $332 plus 2.75% of $21,800, or $931.50, before city or school district tax.

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

Usually where you work, through employer withholding. Many home cities also tax residents and give a full or partial credit for tax paid to the work city, so you may owe the difference to your home city.

### Does Ohio tax Social Security?

No. Ohio deducts Social Security benefits included in federal AGI on the Ohio Schedule of Adjustments, so they are not subject to Ohio income tax.

### What is Ohio's income tax rate on business income?

After the business income deduction of up to $250,000, remaining taxable business income is taxed at a flat 3%, separate from the nonbusiness schedule.

## Sources

- [Ohio Department of Taxation, Annual tax rates](https://tax.ohio.gov/individual/resources/annual-tax-rates)
- [Ohio Department of Taxation, 2025 IT 1040 and SD 100 instructions](https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/tax.ohio.gov/forms/ohio_individual/individual/2025/it1040-booklet.pdf)
- [Ohio Revised Code 5747.02, tax rates (as amended September 30, 2025)](https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5747.02)
- [Ohio Department of Taxation, Employer withholding tables effective August 1, 2026](https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/tax.ohio.gov/employer_withholding/2026%20Withholding%20Tables/WHT_PercentageMethod_2026.pdf)
- [City of Columbus Income Tax Division, General income tax information](https://www.columbus.gov/Government/City-Auditor/Income-Tax-Division/General-Income-Tax-Information)