Hi All, Thank you so much for the input! I also called RITA, Municipalities, and a school district governing body.
Bottom line - I need to move to a tax-optimized location! :))
Here is my simplified summary for anyone starting in Ohio :)
Taxes that may apply:1) State (form IT-1040, can be eFiled for free).
2) School District tax (form SD-100)
3) Local tax for your residence location (Filed through RITA website)
4) Local tax for your working location (Not filed, but can be withheld by the employer in W2 Box 19. Use this number when file via RITA)
How to figure out what to file:1) State - everyone. Use W2 Box 16 & 17.
2) School District - go to Tax.Ohio.gov > The Finder > School District Income Tax > Lookup By Address > Enter your Address and see the Results.
IF results say 0.00% - DO NOT NEED TO PAY/FILE.
IF results say >0%, then need to file SD-100. To fill out SD-100, grab from Finder: School District name and School District number.
To figure out if you are in "Traditional" or "Earned income" school district, go to The Finder > School District Income Tax. See "Download Tax Rates and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Boundary Data". Click on "County and School District". In this PDF, blue(*) entries are Earned Income, black entries are Traditional. This information is needed to fill out SD-100.
3) Residence tax: I called RITA to check what city/municipality I should be paying my taxes to.
Then, go to RITA
https://www.ritaohio.com/. Set up individual account. Follow eFiling instructions. Pretty clear here. Can pay right away by card.
What to do with Residence vs Work location taxes?If the locations are the same - great! RITA is enough.
If the locations are not the same, there are 2 options:
(a) ask employer to withhold taxes for an additional locality. If the employer agrees, then you get 2 W2 forms: one with Box19 for work location taxes, and the other with Box 19 for residence taxes. RITA eFiling can accommodate both.
(b) employer may not do it. Or you may not chose to go through the employer. Then, RITA estimates your taxes online and you can pay quarterly. Either way, someone has to pay your residing location income taxes.
Because you pay local taxes for your working location, you may be eligible for a tax credit for your residing location. In my case, 50% was credited. Some areas can give full, 100% credit. Some do not give any. RITA's eFiling system will guide through this.
What about SD?SD may or may not be withheld from the paycheck. If withheld, then it appears on Box19 on an additional W2 form. If not withheld, then same as with local taxes - either ask employer to withhold, or pay online (cannot say for sure if you need to pay estimated tax quarterly because I am lucky not to pay SD tax).
Notice: one can have as many W2 forms as types of local taxes withheld.
Let me know if I am forgetting anything.
Hopefully this will help anyone new to Ohio.