Ohio Paycheck Calculator & Income Tax Rates (2026)

Ohio taxes all taxable income at a single 2.75% rate, after a 0% band on the first $26,050. The only thing that changes your bill is the deduction that comes off the top first.

With a flat state rate the marginal state rate is constant, but the overall effective rate still rises because federal brackets are progressive.

Ohio's joint deduction are the same as single brackets, so the marriage effect here comes from the deduction and the federal side. On $100,000 a joint return keeps $82,676 versus $77,091 for a single filer.

Ohio moves to a flat income tax for 2026. HB 96, the state budget signed in June 2025, finishes a compression that began in 2005 with nine brackets and a 7.185% top rate: the top rate fell to 3.5% in 2024, 3.125% in 2025, and for 2026 every dollar of nonbusiness income above roughly $26,000 is taxed at 2.75%, with income below that line owing nothing. Ohio uses the same brackets for every filing status, a built-in marriage penalty that a joint filing credit only partly offsets. The state tax is the smaller half of the story. Business owners deduct their first $250,000 of business income and pay a flat 3% above it, while most workers pay a municipal income tax—Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo and Akron charge 2.5%—that nearly matches the state rate, plus a school district income tax in about 200 districts. A Columbus resident's combined marginal rate on wages is about 5.25%, above the flat rates in Indiana or Pennsylvania.

Ohio has no standard deduction and no itemized deductions; the return starts from federal adjusted gross income and subtracts a personal exemption of $2,400 per person for income up to $40,000, $2,150 up to $80,000 and $1,900 above that. The real breaks are credits and targeted deductions: the $250,000 Business Income Deduction, a joint filing credit of up to $650 for two-earner couples, a nonrefundable earned income credit at 30% of the federal amount, and a $4,000-per-beneficiary deduction for 529 contributions.

More than 600 Ohio municipalities levy an income tax on wages and business profits earned inside their borders, at 0.5% to 3%: Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo, Akron and Dayton 2.5%, Youngstown 2.75%, Cincinnati 1.8%. The tax is owed where the work is done, with a credit from the home city. About 200 school districts add their own 0.25% to 2% on residents. Since 2022, remote employees owe municipal tax where they actually work, so staff working from a township home owe no city tax.

The state sales tax is 5.75%, and counties plus transit authorities add 0.75% to 2.25%: Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) pays 8%, Hamilton County (Cincinnati) 7.8%, Franklin County (Columbus) 7.5%, and the statewide average is a little over 7.2%. Groceries for home consumption are exempt under the state constitution, prescription drugs are exempt, and an August sales tax holiday that in 2024 and 2025 ran for two weeks covered most items priced $500 or less.

Ohio's effective property tax rate runs about 1.3% to 1.5% of market value, above the national average, with the highest bills in the Cleveland and Columbus suburbs. Homes are assessed at 35% of market value, and the 2023–2024 reappraisals raised values 30% to 40% in many counties, though tax reduction factors keep voted levies from collecting more than before. The homestead exemption shields $28,000 of value for homeowners 65 and older or disabled with income under about $40,000, and $56,000 for disabled veterans.

Social Security is fully exempt, as are military retirement pay and Railroad Retirement benefits. Other retirement income—private and public pensions, including OPERS and STRS, 401(k) and IRA withdrawals—is taxed at 2.75% once income clears the zero bracket, with a retirement income credit of up to $200 and a $50 senior citizen credit for filers 65 and older with income under $100,000. Lump-sum distributions get a one-time credit. The bigger break is local: Ohio municipalities cannot tax pensions, Social Security or investment income, and school districts using the earned-income base cannot either, so a retiree in Columbus avoids the 2.5% city tax entirely while a working neighbor pays it. Districts on the traditional base do tax retirement income.

High earners gain most from HB 96: a $300,000 salary pays 2.75% for 2026 versus 3.5% two years earlier, and Ohio's state rate now undercuts every neighbor, Indiana included, though city taxes claw back 2% to 2.5% in Columbus, Cleveland or Cincinnati. Business owners win outright: the first $250,000 of pass-through profit is state-tax-free. Dual-income couples face a marriage penalty from single-status brackets, partly offset by the joint filing credit. Retirees pay nothing on Social Security, little on pensions, and escape city taxes entirely. Remote workers in untaxed townships avoid the local layer altogether.

The median household income in Ohio is $56,000, which is $46,352 a year ($3,863 a month) after all taxes. That is close to the national median. After adjusting for cost of living, the purchasing power of that take-home is equivalent to $51,503 in an average-cost area.

Ohio ranks #11 of 50 for raw take-home pay and #7 for cost-adjusted purchasing power at $100,000. The 4-place gap between the two reflects a below-average cost of living that boosts real purchasing power. The best state (Alaska) leaves $79,125; the worst (Oregon) leaves $70,932. Ohio is $2,034 behind the leader.

City and Local Income Tax Calculators in Ohio

Ohio Tax Questions, Answered

Compare Ohio with Other Midwest States

Salary Guides for Ohio

Specific Salaries in Ohio