Don’t Forget to Request Your RITA Refund

As we posted last month in "Work From Home Tax Benefits in Cleveland Area," you may be entitled to a RITA tax refund. However, your local municipality tax collector, which is what RITA and CCA are - tax collection agencies, are waiting for you to request the refund. RITA refunds will not be automatic.  CCA refunds will not be automatic.

How do I Get a RITA Tax Refund or a CCA Refund?

If you file your taxes with Ken-Mar Tax we will automatically look at the RITA or CCA tax rate for where you work and compare that to the tax rate where you live in order to determine if it makes sense. The process is not completely cut and dry.  In most cases, if you worked from home but were taxed by the municipality where your employer is located, although we can request a refund, you may need to pay taxes to your home city.  If you live in a township, i.e. Chagrin Falls Township or Olmsted Township in Cuyahoga county and Amherst Township, Columbia Township, Elyria Township, Grafton Township or any of the other townships in Lorain County, the municipality tax rate is zero, so the savings could be substantial.

Request Your RITA or CCA Tax Refund

Both RITA, or Ohio Regional Income Tax Agency, and CCA, the Central Collection Agency - run by Cleveland, have published web pages to request your refund. If you get your taxes prepared at Ken-Mar Tax, we will not only help process a municipal tax refund and make sure it's worth it for your situation, we will also look for more possible tax deductions that working from home could have justified. At Ken-Mar Tax we specialize in tax reduction strategies for the self-employed, and even if you are not self employed, if you were using your own resources to operate your business from home, there could be some additional tax deductions in your future.

You can find more information for RITA at ritaohio.com/Individuals/Home/Refunds and more information for CCA at ccatax.ci.cleveland.oh.us/taxforms/Y2022/refundapp.pdf.

Cleveland/Akron Area Municipal Tax Rate Table Below

In order to decide if you are eligible for the remote worker refund, look at the table below and compare the city where you live to the city where your employer is located.  For example, if your employer is in Oberlin, with a 2.5% tax rate, and you worked from your home in Amherst, with a 1.5% tax rate, you are likely entitled to 1% of your income from 2021, or $500 for a $50,000/yr job. You can download a Municipal Income Tax Rate Database Table here. Below are figures from Tax Years 2021 and 2022 for the most common municipalities we deal with. Feel free to call with any questions, or if you do not see your tax rate included.

Contact Ken Weinberg by filling out this contact us form or by calling 440-777-2207, to review your potential tax reduction strategies and tax refunds.