Ohio payroll tax registration
What to set up in Ohio before the first payroll, in date order, with each agency, online portal and deadline. Enter the first employee's start date and the first pay date to see the dates.
Setup steps before the first payroll
- Workers' comp
Get workers' compensation coverage from the state fund
- Deadline
- Before anyone starts work
- Source
- info.bwc.ohio.gov/for-employers/workers-compensation-coverage/getting-coverage (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- Posters
Put up the Ohio minimum wage poster and other required notices
- Deadline
- Before the first employee starts work
- State tax accounts
Register for Ohio employer and school district withholding in OH|TAX eServices
- Deadline
- Within 15 days of when withholding liability begins (before the first payday)
- Agency
- Withholding: Ohio Department of Taxation (opens in a new tab)
- Returns
- Set at registration from the estimated withholding: quarterly IT 501 if $2,000 or less (due the last day of the month after the quarter); monthly if more than $2,000 and under $84,000 (within 15 days after the month); partial-weekly by EFT at $84,000 or more.
- Date depends on the deadline belowLocal taxes
Open a municipal withholding account with the work municipality's tax administrator
- Deadline
- Before the first municipal remittance
- Municipal income tax (R.C. Chapter 718), withheld for the municipality where the employee works
- Register with each work municipality's tax administrator (for example CCA for Cleveland) and file withholding there, not with the state www.ccaohio.gov/faq/business (opens in a new tab)
- School district income tax
- No separate registration: withheld for employees living in a taxing district and filed under the state withholding account (SD 101 / SD 141) dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/tax.ohio.gov/employer_withholding/2025-2026%20NYP%20Updates/2026_OH_Employer_School_District_Withholding_Tax_Filing_Guidelines.pdf (opens in a new tab)
- Source
- www.ccaohio.gov/faq/business (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- New hire reporting
Report each new hire to the state new hire registry
- Deadline
- Within 20 days of the employee's start date
- Source
- oh-newhire.com/public/info/user-guide-newhires (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- State tax accounts
Register for a UI employer ID in The SOURCE
- Deadline
- Before the first quarterly report (the last day of the month after the quarter)
- State tax accounts
File the first quarterly unemployment tax and wage report
- Deadline
- Quarterly report and payment due April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31; the next business day when the date falls on a weekend or holiday. Required even with no wages; filed electronically in The SOURCE.January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so it moves to the next business day.
Federal dates for this pay date
Federal returns follow the compliance calendar, which dates them for every employer:
A 501(c)(3) organization generally owes no FUTA tax and files no Form 940 (Form 940 instructions (opens in a new tab)).
Not needed in Ohio
- No state paid leave program funded through payroll.codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4113.85 (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
More on Ohio
WORKLIO HCM
Hiring in a new state? We help open the accounts.
We help open state withholding and unemployment accounts when you hire somewhere new, and our registration service can register your employer tax accounts for you: withholding, unemployment and paid leave contributions where the state's tax agency collects them. After that, Worklio HCM calculates, deposits and files your payroll taxes in every state and locality, new-hire state reporting is automatic, and rates and rules update without you noticing.
Registration in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Sources
The agency page or document behind each fact, as checked.
- info.bwc.ohio.gov/for-employers (opens in a new tab), checked May 11, 2026
- info.bwc.ohio.gov/for-employers/workers-compensation-coverage/getting-coverage (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/industrial-compliance/wage-and-hour/guides-and-resources/minimum-wage-posters (opens in a new tab), checked January 1, 2026, read from an archived copy dated January 1, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/tax.ohio.gov/employer_withholding/2025-2026%20NYP%20Updates/2026_OH_Employer_School_District_Withholding_Tax_Filing_Guidelines.pdf (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- www.ccaohio.gov/faq/business (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- jfs.ohio.gov/job-services-and-unemployment/unemployment/for-employers (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- jfs.ohio.gov/job-services-and-unemployment/unemployment/for-employers/file-unemployment-taxes/tax-for-new-employers/ui-tax-for-new-employers (opens in a new tab), checked October 31, 2025, read from an archived copy dated October 31, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- oh-newhire.com/ (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- oh-newhire.com/public/info/user-guide-newhires (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- jfs.ohio.gov/job-services-and-unemployment/unemployment/for-employers/file-unemployment-taxes/tax-resources/filing-quarterly-reports (opens in a new tab), checked October 31, 2025, read from an archived copy dated October 31, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4113.85 (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the relevant agency or your advisor. You remain responsible for registering and for your employment taxes.