Ohio Tax Department

[sudha02]

From 2011 to Mid 2016 I am Ohio resident, my family lived with me. From Mid of 2016 till Jun 2018 I worked other states MI, Washington DC, NJ and again MI, but my family lived in OH. I visited them every alternative week. My spouse is house wife and kids are going to private school. I received a letter from OH Tax Department to pay taxes for year 2017 to 2018. My 2017 W2 form shows clearly MI and NJ that I worked. My accountant who filled taxes for 2017 told me not to pay taxes to OH. but now OH Tax Department asking me to pay over $3000 with penalty. Please suggest me what I can do? Appreciate your help.

[KarenJ]

If your family lived in Ohio, then you would be considered an Ohio resident.

https://www.tax.ohio.gov/ohio_individual/individual/residency_status.aspx

Ohio Residency Statuses

Resident: You are an Ohio resident for income tax purposes if you are domiciled in Ohio. Thus, under Ohio law, the terms “domiciled” and “resident” mean the same thing. Generally, any individual with an abode in Ohio is presumed to be a resident. The abode can be either owned or rented. Temporary absence from your Ohio abode, no matter how long, does not change your residency status. Thus, if you live in Ohio, the presumption is that you are an Ohio resident. Ohio residents are eligible for the resident credit on any non-Ohio income if they were subject to, and paid tax on, that income in another state.

You do owe Ohio tax, however as an Ohio resident working in MI, there is a reciprocal agreement between MI and Ohio and hopefully, you can receive a refund from MI for taxes paid to that state.  (If you are a resident of Ohio and work in MI, you only need to file an Ohio return.

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/treasury/RAB_2017-13_IIT_-_Reciprocal_Agreements_572757_7.pdf

If you also paid taxes in DC and NJ, if you had filed an Ohio return, you would have received a credit on your Ohio return for the taxes you  paid as a nonresident of DC and NJ.

You may wish to have a tax accountant (not the one you used last year) look at the Ohio tax calculation in the notice from Ohio tax authorities for 2017 and see if it correctly gives you credit for tax paid in other states.

I wish you well.

[sudha02]

Thank you for your quick answer KarenJ.
I only worked in Jan 2017 to May 2017 at NJ and Jun 2017 to Dec 2017 at MI.

This is 2017 taxes, If I pay these taxes to OH Tax Department, does MI state refund me? how do I follow up with them?

How can I find good tax accountant  to look at Oh notice? please suggest.
Appreciate your help, God bless you.
Thanks,
Sudhakar

[Hal_Al]

You should have filed a 2017 NJ non-resident return and  paid tax  only on your wage income  for  Jan-May. Ohio will give you a credit, or partial credit for what you paid NJ. 

Ohio has a reciprocal agreement, on wages,  with all neighboring states. No state taxes are withheld or due and you do not normally need to file a return for MI. But OH will tax you on all your other state income.

If  MI taxes are mistakenly withheld, you then have to file a MI non-resident return,  to get a refund. OH will not give you a credit. You should ask your employer to stop withholding so you don't have to file a MI return every year.

OH is also reciprocal with DC.  DC tax should not have been withheld, but that DC income is taxed by your resident state (OH).

[TomD8]

And just to clarify further, since you are an OH resident, OH can tax all your income, regardless of where you earn it.  But you'll be able to take a credit on your OH return for taxes you pay to non-reciprocal states, such as NJ.  As @Hal_Al  explained, you do not have to file a return in a reciprocal state unless taxes for that state were mistakenly withheld from your pay.

If you're still working in MI, you should file Michigan Form MI-W4 with your Michigan employer.  Here's a link to that form:  https://www.michigan.gov/documents/taxes/MI-W4_370050_7.pdf