The annual ‘IRS’ filing period is in full swing in Ohio--not only for federal income tax, but also for Ohio’s real property tax incentive programs. Yes, it’s Incentive Review Season for Ohio’s political subdivisions (villages, cities, townships, and counties) that have authorized tax incentives for development projects.
On January 26, 2024, the Ohio Department of Development released the 2023 reporting cycle document sets for three key economic development tax incentive programs: Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Community Reinvestment Area (CRA), and Enterprise Zone (EZ). Projects that are active and receiving tax incentives must report the activity related to those incentives as of December 31, 2023.
Failure to timely submit reports for CRA and EZ incentives by March 31, 2024 may subject a noncompliant Political Subdivision to monthly penalties. First, until a political subdivision files the required reports, they may not enter into further incentive agreements, and second, the director of the Ohio Department of Development will direct the county auditor to withhold semiannual tax distributions owed to the political subdivision, or its share of the Local Government Fund distributions as a penalty in an amount of $1,000 per month that the reports remain unfiled.
Fortunately, most of the work to complete these reports is finalized through the annual Tax Incentive Review Councils (TIRCs) chaired by the county auditor.
The State’s forms for ‘IRS’ filing can be found at the following links under “Related Law and Forms”:
