How to file Sidney city tax in Ohio?

[Tax questionnaire]

I work in Sidney OH but I live in Piqua OH. Employer withhold taxes for Sidney city and Piqua school district. I used Freetaxusa to file 2023 taxes and it didn’t allow me to put in Sidney city tax, so I believe I only filed fed, ohio state, and piqua school district. I only got state and school district refunds but not city refund. My friend filed sidney as school district non-resident, so she got both Sidney & troy school district refunds (she lives in Troy). Did I file correctly or she file correctly?

[Hal_Al]

You basically filed correctly*.  Your friend's situation is different (and may be correct too). 

You do not get a Sidney refund.  In fact, you do not even file a Sidney tax return.  You normally only have to file a city return in the city you live in. It is not necessary to file one in the city you work in, if different. Your employer will remit withholding to the city you work in, but you do not file a return unless you're claiming a refund or your employer didn't withhold enough ( both highly unusual). The city you live in will allow a credit or partial credit for the withheld tax you paid to the work location city.  Piqua  has a city income tax (in addition to the School District (SD) income tax).  You should have filed a Piqua city return, in addition to the Piqua SD return.  Piqua is a RITA member. *

School District (SD) income  tax is separate and different from city income tax. In particular, there is no credit given  on your Piqua SD tax return for tax paid to Sidney city.   Unlike cities, SD are not allowed to tax workers (only residents), So, your friend getting  a  Sidney SD refund would be correct.  She may have gotten a partial refund from Troy SD, but she did owe Troy SD some tax, because she is a resident of that SD. 

*You should have filed a Piqua city return, in addition to the Piqua SD return. Piqua is a RITA member. There are 2 state wide agencies that help Ohio Cities collect City Income taxes. One is CCA (Central Collection Agency) and the other, larger one, is RITA (Regional Income Tax Agency). There is a pull down list of cities, in Turbo Tax(TT), for both City Tax Forms (CCA) & RITA. TurboTax can only do RITA & CCA cities.  Troy also has both city and SD income taxes. 

[Tax questionnaire]

Thanks for the very detailed answer!

Upon checking back my w-2, I see that it shows taxes withheld for Piqua SD and Sidney City, but I don't see tax withheld for Piqua City. Is the amount withheld for school tax also a city tax, too?

Sidney's city website states that non-resident who works in Sidney also must file tax returns. It's contradicting to your statement. Can you elaborate on this?

[Hal_Al]

Q. Sidney's city website states that non-resident who works in Sidney also must file tax returns. It's contradicting to your statement. Can you elaborate on this?
A. It depends on the source of the non-resident's income. Here's the actual wording, for regular W-2 employees: "Non-residents who are employed within the City of Sidney, but whose Sidney City income tax is not fully withheld by their employer, must also file a return." You do not file a Sidney city tax return if your employer withheld the right amount (and they almost always do). 

 https://www.sidneyoh.com/Faq.aspx?QID=66

Q. Is the amount withheld for school tax also a city tax, too?

A. No. 

Q. Upon checking back my w-2, I see that it shows taxes withheld for Piqua SD and Sidney City, but I don't see tax withheld for Piqua City.  Why is there no Piqua city withholding.

A. You'll have to ask your employer for a firm answer.  That said, I suspect your employer didn't want to bother with the extra effort to withhold other (than Sidney) city tax.  In your case, Piqua's tax is 2% and Piqua will give you a 100% credit for the 1.75% you pay to Sidney.  So, you will only owe a small amount when you file your Piqua city return (1/4 of 1%).  It may not be enough to trigger an underpayment penalty.