Section 718.03 | Withholding taxes from qualifying wages.
(A) As used in this section:
(1) "Other payer" means any person, other than an individual's employer or the employer's agent, that pays an individual any amount included in the federal gross income of the individual.
(2) "Qualifying wages" means wages, as defined in section 3121(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, without regard to any wage limitations, adjusted as follows:
(a) Deduct the following amounts:
(i) Any amount included in wages if the amount constitutes compensation attributable to a plan or program described in section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code;
(ii) For purposes of division (B) of this section, any amount included in wages if the amount constitutes payment on account of sickness or accident disability.
(b) Add the following amounts:
(i) Any amount not included in wages solely because the employee was employed by the employer prior to April 1, 1986;
(ii) Any amount not included in wages because the amount arises from the sale, exchange, or other disposition of a stock option, the exercise of a stock option, or the sale, exchange, or other disposition of stock purchased under a stock option and the municipal corporation has not, by resolution or ordinance, exempted the amount from withholding and tax. Division (A)(2)(b)(ii) of this section applies only to those amounts constituting ordinary income.
(iii) Any amount not included in wages if the amount is an amount described in section 401(k) or 457 of the Internal Revenue Code. Division (A)(2)(b)(iii) of this section applies only to employee contributions and employee deferrals.
(iv) Any amount that is supplemental unemployment compensation benefits described in section 3402(o)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code and not included in wages.
(c) Deduct any amount attributable to a nonqualified deferred compensation plan or program described in section 3121(v)(2)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code if the compensation is included in wages and has, by resolution or ordinance, been exempted from taxation by the municipal corporation.
(d) Deduct any amount included in wages if the amount arises from the sale, exchange, or other disposition of a stock option, the exercise of a stock option, or the sale, exchange, or other disposition of stock purchased under a stock option and the municipal corporation has, by resolution or ordinance, exempted the amount from withholding and tax.
(B) Except as provided in division (F) of this section, for taxable years beginning after 2003, no municipal corporation shall require any employer or any agent of any employer or any other payer, to withhold tax with respect to any amount other than qualifying wages. Nothing in this section prohibits an employer from withholding tax on a basis greater than qualifying wages.
(C) An employer is not required to make any withholding with respect to an individual's disqualifying disposition of an incentive stock option if, at the time of the disqualifying disposition, the individual is not an employee of the corporation with respect to whose stock the option has been issued.
(D)(1) An employee is not relieved from liability for a tax by the failure of the employer to withhold the tax as required by a municipal corporation or by the employer's exemption from the requirement to withhold the tax.
(2) The failure of an employer to remit to the municipal corporation the tax withheld relieves the employee from liability for that tax unless the employee colluded with the employer in connection with the failure to remit the tax withheld.
(E) Compensation deferred before June 26, 2003, is not subject to any municipal corporation income tax or municipal income tax withholding requirement to the extent the deferred compensation does not constitute qualifying wages at the time the deferred compensation is paid or distributed.
(F) A municipal corporation may require a casino facility or a casino operator, as defined in Section 6(C)(9) of Article XV, Ohio Constitution, and section 3772.01 of the Revised Code, respectively, or a lottery sales agent conducting video lottery terminals on behalf of the state to withhold and remit tax with respect to amounts other than qualifying wages.
Available Versions of this Section
- June 11, 2012 – House Bill 386 - 129th General Assembly [ View June 11, 2012 Version ]
- March 23, 2015 – House Bill 5 - 130th General Assembly [ View March 23, 2015 Version ]
- September 14, 2016 – Senate Bill 172 - 131st General Assembly [ View September 14, 2016 Version ]