2021 COVID-19 (work from home) Refund Requests
Per Ohio H.B.110: Beginning January 1, 2021, any non-resident individual working from home or any location other than their Athens City principal place of work may be eligible for a refund of 2021 Athens City tax withheld by their employer; this applies ONLY to tax year 2021. Please note, in accordance with ORC 718.13, any refund issued by the City of Athens will be disclosed to your taxing jurisdiction of residency.
2020 COVID-19 (work from home) Refund Requests
On March 9, 2020, Governor DeWine signed Executive Order 2020-01D declaring a state of emergency in the state of Ohio in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. In response, the Ohio Legislature passed, and Governor DeWine signed, House Bill 197 on March 27, 2020. This legislation prohibits an employee from claiming a refund for 2020 based on days not worked at their place of business as a result of COVID-19.
Under Ohio House Bill 197, employers are required to remit local withholding tax to the employee’s ‘Principal Place of Business’ for employees who worked remotely because of the COVID-19 emergency, regardless of the location of their home. This would be for the duration of the health emergency, plus 30 days after the state of emergency is rescinded. Therefore, there is no refund eligibility when filing for an income tax refund for 2020 if you were working at home due COVID-19.
Update (December 1, 2021)
On November 30, 2021 the Tenth District Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of Sec. 29 of HB 197, the temporary municipal income tax withholding provision was a ruling on the appeal filed by the Buckeye Institute after the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas dismissed the Institute's lawsuit against the City of Columbus challenging the constitutionality of Sec. 29 of HB 197. The Buckeye Institute has indicated that they plan to appeal the Tenth District's decision to the Ohio Supreme Court.