The governor signed House Bill (HB) 197 on Friday during his 2 pm COVID-19 press conference. The governor did use his veto pen for one item, to clarify that the statute of limitations provisions do not apply to tax due dates which are dealt with in other provisions of HB 197. The veto message is available here.

Shortly after the bill was signed with the attached veto message, the Ohio Department of Taxation released its first announcement concerning tax filing extensions. In the announcement the Ohio Department of Taxation provided guidance on three topics:

• The filing deadline for Ohio individual income tax, the school district income tax, the pass-through entity tax, and centrally filed municipal net profit tax was extended to match the new federal tax deadline of July 15, 2020.

• The first and second quarterly payments, normally scheduled for April 15 and June 15 for most taxpayers, have both been extended to July 15. This applies to individuals, estates, trusts, and certain businesses making estimated payments on a quarterly basis.

• These extensions come without penalty and without the attachment of interest.

This announcement should be welcomed relief for many members of the Ohio Chamber that are faced with a nearing filing deadline for both returns based upon 2019 income and for estimated payments on 2020 income.  It is unclear if taxpayers paying other forms of taxation (CAT, FIT, PAT, etc.) will receive news of an extension. The Ohio Chamber will continue to work with the administration to seek information on future announcements concerning these other taxes and pass along any news to our members.