What's New for 2011
A number of changes to the Ohio individual income tax took
effect this year, and some of them will save taxpayers money.
Among the key changes for 2011:
-
Filing Deadline Extended — The
deadline for filing your Ohio (and
federal/IRS) 2011 income tax return is April
17. The deadline was extended because of a holiday
observance in Washington, D.C. (Emancipation Day) that
falls on April 16th, the traditional filing date.
-
Pell Grant Deduction —
Ohio taxpayers may now be eligible for a deduction of
limited taxable grant amounts.
-
Public Service Payments — This exempts
public service income (including that for highway services)
or income from certain transfer agreements from income tax.
-
Ohio Historical Society —
Ohio taxpayers may now donate to the Ohio Historical
Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that allocates
these funds toward a matching grants program to support
state and local history-related projects throughout
Ohio.
-
New Ohio income tax tables — Ohio's
individual income tax brackets have been adjusted for
inflation to reflect a 4% reduction in Ohio's income tax
rates, the final phase of a multi-year commitment made in
2005 to cut your income tax rates a total of 21%.
-
Direct Deposit — Changes
to Ohio law permit taxpayers who file an Ohio income tax
return electronically to also deposit their refund
electronically into any of four different types of
pre-existing accounts, including checking accounts, savings
accounts, individual retirement accounts or annuities
(“IRAs”) and CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Accounts
administered by the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority. Direct
deposit options for electronic filing allow taxpayers to
split direct deposits into three different accounts.
-
Larger personal exemption — The personal
and dependent income tax exemption increased to $1,650 for
the 2011 taxable year, $50 more than 2010.
-
Accident and health insurance premiums deduction
— Taxpayers who do not have accident or health
insurance at their place of employment and who are not
eligible for Medicare or Medicaid are now allowed to deduct
the cost of these premiums for themselves and for certain
relatives.
-
Ohio Veterans Bonus Amounts — Taxpayers do
not have to include in federal adjusted gross income any
bonuses that the Ohio Department of Veterans Services paid
to, or on behalf of, resident veterans of the Persian Gulf,
Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts during the taxable year.
More information on these changes as well as complete
instructions for filing an income tax return are available in
the
2011 Ohio income tax publication.