Ohio sales tax: rates, nexus & UST-1 filing

$100,000 in cumulative gross sales OR 200 separate transactions delivered into Ohio during the previous or current calendar year. Ohio uses the both-tests-joined-by-OR pattern (you trigger nexus on whichever threshold you hit first). Adopted post-Wayfair in August 2019, register with the Ohio Department of Taxation within 30 days of crossing.

Ohio's state portion is 5.75%. Counties add a permissive sales tax of 0.25% to 1.5%, and several transit authorities (Cuyahoga RTA, COTA in Columbus, Cincinnati SORTA, MetroParks Toledo) add 0.25% to 0.5%. Combined rates run 6.5% to about 8.0%, with the highest in Cuyahoga County. The Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement (SSUTA) membership means rates align cleanly to county jurisdictions with a single ZIP-code lookup.

Yes — Ohio is one of the broader SaaS-taxable states. Electronic information services, automated digital services and SaaS used in business are taxable under R.C. 5739.01(B). Specifically, electronic information services used for a business purpose are taxable; personal-use SaaS (an individual subscribing to a writing tool, for example) is exempt. Digital products (ebooks, music, video downloads) are taxable. Custom software is exempt.

Ohio is an origin-sourcing state for intra-state sales — the rate at the seller's location applies for sales within Ohio. For inter-state sales into Ohio from out-of-state remote sellers, destination sourcing applies (buyer's location rate). The split matters: an in-state seller in Cincinnati shipping to Cleveland charges the Cincinnati combined rate; a California remote seller shipping to the same Cleveland address charges the Cleveland combined rate.

Ohio requires marketplace facilitators with $100,000+ in Ohio sales or 200+ Ohio transactions to collect and remit on behalf of third-party sellers. Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Walmart and Shopify Markets in Ohio are facilitators. Sellers still register and file (typically the UST-1 return), but show marketplace sales as deductions rather than collectible amounts.

Ohio's filing frequency is assigned by the Department of Taxation based on liability: monthly for sellers averaging more than $5,000/month in tax, semi-annual for $1,000–$5,000/month, and annual for under $1,000/month. Monthly and semi-annual returns are due the 23rd of the month following the period (note: 23rd, not 20th or 25th). Annual returns are due the next January 31. Filing is electronic via the Ohio Business Gateway.

Ohio has a parallel 5.75% (plus the destination county's local) use tax on tangible personal property and taxable services purchased from out-of-state vendors when sales tax was not collected. Use tax is reported on the UST-1 (or VDA-form for voluntary disclosure). Common triggers: equipment purchases from non-collecting vendors, inventory transferred from an out-of-state warehouse, and digital subscriptions to taxable services from vendors not registered in Ohio.

(1) Treating Ohio as a destination-sourcing state — in-state sellers source to their own location, not the buyer's. (2) Forgetting that SaaS used for a business purpose is taxable in Ohio (one of the broader regimes). (3) Missing the 23rd-of-month deadline — Ohio is one of the few states on the 23rd. (4) Not collecting on transit-authority surcharges (Cuyahoga RTA, COTA, SORTA, MetroParks) which are baked into the county-level combined rate. (5) Missing use tax on out-of-state equipment purchases — Department audits cross-reference Ohio CAT (Commercial Activity Tax) filings.