Cincinnati local tax guide
Who pays Cincinnati's local tax
Work location comes first. If your job is in Cincinnati, your employer withholds 1.8% whether you live in Hyde Park, Mason, Covington, or Lawrenceburg. Ohio's reciprocity with Kentucky and Indiana covers state income tax only, so commuters from across the river still pay the city. Cincinnati residents who work in another Ohio city receive credit for that city's tax up to Cincinnati's 1.8% rate, so a resident working in a 2% suburb owes Cincinnati nothing more. A resident working in a place with no city tax owes the full 1.8%.
How Cincinnati's 1.8% tax works
Cincinnati levies a flat earnings tax on wages, salaries, commissions, and business net profit. The city's Income Tax Division administers it directly; Cincinnati does not use RITA or CCA. With roughly 309,000 residents, it is the third-largest city on this site, behind Columbus and Cleveland.
Wages are measured as Medicare wages, so traditional 401(k) deferrals are still taxed by the city. Pre-tax health premiums and HSA contributions through a cafeteria plan do lower the city figure.
Each Hamilton County suburb sets its own rate and credit, so a move from Cincinnati to Norwood, Blue Ash, or Sharonville can change your city tax even if your job stays put. Check the suburb's credit rules before assuming your work-city withholding covers everything.
Worked example: $75,000 in Cincinnati
A single filer earning $75,000 owes $7,670 in federal income tax, $1,288 to Ohio, $4,650 in Social Security, and $1,088 in Medicare. Cincinnati's 1.8% adds $1,350. That leaves $58,954 a year, which works out to $4,913 a month.
Without any municipal tax the same worker would keep $60,304, so the city costs $1,350 a year. A Kentucky resident with the same Cincinnati job pays the same $1,350 to the city but pays state income tax to Kentucky instead of Ohio after filing Form IT 4NR with the employer.
At $100,000 the Cincinnati tax is $1,800 and take-home pay is $75,397. At $150,000 it is $2,700, leaving $107,733.
Withholding, filing, and remote work
Cincinnati employers withhold 1.8% and remit it to the Income Tax Division. Residents with income that was not fully taxed by a work city file a Cincinnati return and pay the difference. If you live in Cincinnati and work in Kentucky, no Ohio city tax is withheld at work, so set aside 1.8% or ask your employer about courtesy withholding.
Hybrid workers who live outside Cincinnati and work from home part of the week can request a refund for the days they did not work in the city. Keep a calendar of office and home days, because the refund depends on it.
How Cincinnati compares with other Ohio cities
Among the Ohio cities on this site, Cincinnati's 1.8% sits near the bottom, below every city at 2% or more and above only Newark (1.75%), Lima, and Lakewood (both 1.5%). The gap with the other big cities is real money: Columbus and Cleveland each take $1,875 at $75,000, which is $525 more than Cincinnati.
North along Interstate 75, Hamilton charges 2%, or $1,500 at the same salary, and Dayton charges 2.5%. A Cincinnati resident who takes a job in Hamilton has the higher Hamilton rate withheld and gets credit only up to Cincinnati's 1.8%, so the commute adds $150 a year.
Tips for Cincinnati paychecks
Kentucky and Indiana commuters: file IT 4NR
Form IT 4NR stops Ohio state withholding for residents of reciprocity states, but Cincinnati's 1.8% still comes out of every paycheck.
Residents working in Kentucky
No Ohio city withholds tax on a Kentucky job, so you owe Cincinnati the full 1.8% at filing. Ask payroll for courtesy withholding or set it aside.
Log your remote days
Nonresidents who work from home part of the week can reclaim the Cincinnati tax withheld for those days, but only with a record of where they worked.