Income Tax Department

THE VILLAGE OF BLUFFTON IS A

MANDATORY INCOME TAX FILING MUNICIPALITY.

This means all residents age 18 or older and businesses within the village limits, and any non-resident person/business entity doing work or earning income within the village limits must file a return annually even if no tax is due at the time of filing. (See exceptions below.) See our Income Tax Ordinance for complete information on what is taxable and filing details and requirements. Our Income Tax Ordinance and Income Tax forms can be found in the section to the right of this section. 

THE FILING DEADLINE DATE FOR

2024 BLUFFTON INCOME TAX RETURNS IS: APRIL 15, 2025

This deadline applies to all 2023 Bluffton Income Tax Return filings, Extension Request forms, Exemption Certifications, and payments. These items must be received in our office by the filing deadline date or penalty and interest charges will apply. Please do not send confidential tax returns, documentation, or information through email, as this cannot be guaranteed to be a secure form of transmission. RETURNS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED ELECTRONICALLY. 

THE VILLAGE OF BLUFFTON'S INCOME TAX RATE FOR 2024 WAS: 1.25%

THE VILLAGE OF BLUFFTON'S INCOME TAX RATE FOR 2025 WILL BE: 1.65%

Any resident under the age of 18 during the entire tax year is exempt from filing a village income tax return. If an individual worked and was under the age of 18, they may complete a village income tax return to request a refund for any municipal income tax withheld and paid to Bluffton.

Taxpayers may receive a refund of overpaid taxes only if the amount overpaid is more than $10.00. Likewise, taxpayers will not be required to remit tax due that is less than $10.00. However, even if the tax due is less than $10.00 taxpayers are still required to file a Village of Bluffton income tax return.

Business, farm and rental losses are not permitted to be netted against personal wages to reduce taxable income.

The municipality will impose penalties and interest charges when a taxpayer fails to file their income tax return or remit the appropriate amount of income tax by the above stated deadline date. Penalties and interest will also be imposed for not filing and paying Withholding returns and payments and Estimated Income tax payments by the required deadline dates. The penalty and interest charges will be as follows:  

PENALTIES & INTEREST CHARGES

Income Tax Returns: due annually by April 15

Penalties and interest will be imposed on all returns not filed and paid in full by the deadline date as follows:

Late Filing Penalty: 

• For tax year 2023 and going forward, a late filing penalty of $25 will be imposed for each return that is not filed by the filing deadline date.
• For tax year 2022 and prior, a monthly penalty of $25.00 per month will be imposed for each return not filed by the filing deadline date, up to a maximum of $150.00.

Late Payment Penalty:

• With respect to unpaid income tax, a one-time per return penalty equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the amount not timely paid shall be imposed.
  

Interest Charge for Late Payment of Tax Owed:

• Monthly interest shall be imposed on all unpaid income tax and unpaid employer withholding tax. Please see the chart below for the interest rate imposed for each tax year.

Withholding Payments: due monthly or quarterly. See below.

(Annual Withholding Reconciliations: due annually by February 28.)

Employers must remit monthly if withholding in the previous calendar year exceeded $2,399 OR if the amount of withholding during any month of the previous calendar quarter exceeded $200. Employers should remit quarterly if they do not meet the monthly remittance requirement.

Penalties and interest will be imposed on all Withholding returns and tax not filed and paid by the deadline dates as follows:

Late Filing Penalty:

• A late filing penalty for failure to file timely annual withholding returns of $25.00 per month will be imposed for each return not filed by the filing deadline date, up to a maximum of $150.00.

Late Payment Penalty:

• With respect to any unpaid withholding tax, a penalty equal to fifty percent (50%) of the amount not timely paid shall be imposed.

 Interest Charge for Late Payment of Tax Owed:

• Monthly interest shall be imposed on all unpaid employer withholding tax. Please see the chart below for the interest rate imposed per month, for each tax year.
  

Estimated Income Tax Payments: due quarterly by the dates stated below.

Effective January 1, 2016, the State of Ohio implemented Ohio House Bill 5. This bill requires all individuals and business expecting to owe $200 or more in non-withheld municipal income tax at the end of each tax year, to make quarterly estimated tax payments towards the next year, to the municipality where the income tax money will be owed.

90% of the estimated tax is due by December 15th for businesses and January 15th for individuals. The remaining 10% is due by the filing deadline date. These payments will be credited to the balance of tax owed to the Village of Bluffton for the next tax year. After filing your return, if it is determined that an overpayment has been made, a refund will be sent to you, or the overpayment will be credited to your next year’s return if estimated payments are still required.

Estimated income tax payments are due quarterly each year on the following dates:

• 1st Qtr. Estimated Payment Due Date: April 15
• 2nd Qtr. Estimated Payment Due Date: June 15
• 3rd Qtr. Estimated Payment Due Date: September 15
• 4th Qtr. Estimated Payment Due Date: January 15

Late payment of estimated income tax payments will result in penalty and interest charges being applied as follows:

• A late payment penalty of 15% will be imposed on all unpaid estimated income tax not paid by the above stated deadline dates.
• Interest will be imposed on all unpaid estimated income tax according to the Interest Rate Chart below.

PUBLISHED INTEREST RATES

Interest shall be imposed per annum, on all unpaid income tax, unpaid estimated income tax and unpaid withholding tax. The interest rate used shall be the Federal short-term rate (rounded to the nearest whole number percent) plus five percent (5%). The rate shall apply for the calendar year next following the July of the year in which the Federal short-term rate is determined.

NOTE: Interest applies to any balance of tax due that is not paid by the due date of a return, even if the return is filed under an extension.

INTEREST RATE CHART

Calendar Year                                  Monthly Interest Rate                         Yearly Interest Rate

         2025                                                         .8333%                                                         10.00%          

         2024                                                         .8333%                                                       10.00%

         2023                                                         .5833%                                                         7.00%

         2022                                                         .4167%                                                         5.00%

         2021                                                         .4167%                                                         5.00%

         2020                                                          .5833%                                                         7.00%

         2019                                                         .5833%                                                         7.00%

         2018                                                         .50%                                                             6.00%

         2017                                                         .50%                                                             6.00%

         2016                                                         .4167%                                                         5.00%

IMPORTANT NOTE: Bluffton School District tax returns and payments are not filed with our office. Do not drop off School District forms or payments to our office. These cannot be processed and you will not be filed with the correct agency. To access School District filing information for the State of Ohio please use the following link: http://www.tax.ohio.gov/school_district_income.aspx

The Bluffton School District code is listed as 0203 on W-2 forms. Please do not confuse this withholding tax code amount with Village of Bluffton local withholding amounts when applying withholding credits to your return. School District tax withheld/paid cannot be applied as a credit on your Village of Bluffton income tax return. 

EXCEPTIONS TO FILING A VILLAGE OF BLUFFTON INCOME TAX RETURN:

Exception 1 : If you are a non-resident of Bluffton, but worked for a Bluffton employer that paid you wages and withheld Bluffton income tax from those wages correctly at a rate of 1.25% for tax year 2024 and prior and 1.65% for tax year 2025 and thereafter, you are not required to file an annual return with us. 

Exception 2 : If you have no taxable income to report for the current tax year, you must submit the Individual Exemption Certificate or Business Exemption Certificate form as your filing for the current tax year. This only applies to the tax year it is filed for, and future filings are still required. 

Exception 3 : If you have no taxable income and will not have any in the future (example: retired or permanently disabled), you must submit the Permanent Certification of No Taxable Income form to be relieved of annual filing requirements for the current tax year and in the future. 

Note for Businesses: Active business taxpayers must still file a return for the tax year even if a loss was generated for that specific tax year and no tax is due. This will ensure accurate reporting of any loss carry-forward, since our ordinance contains a 5-year loss carry-forward provision. 

See the menu to the top right to access fillable/printable tax forms in .pdf format for both individuals and businesses. RETURNS ARE NOT ACCEPTED ELECTRONICALLY. They must be delivered to the Village of Bluffton Administration office located at: 154 N. Main St., P.O. Box 228, Bluffton, Ohio 45817. 

Please note all tax forms, payments, and documentation can be dropped off in our secure tax drop box located inside the front lobby of the Town Hall, on the right side wall, beside the elevator for your convenience. NOTE: When using the drop box, if you are making a payment please make sure to write on the envelope if the payment is an income tax or water payment to help ensure the payment is applied to the correct account.

PAYMENT OPTIONS: Payments can be made by cash, check, money order or credit card. Please make checks and money orders payable to the VILLAGE OF BLUFFTON.

Please note that credit cards are NOT accepted at the village office. Credit card payments can be made on-line through OfficialPayments.com. You can make a credit card payment by calling 1-800-2PAY-TAX (1-800-272-9829) or by clicking on the link below to go to our third-party payment processor, Official Payments/ACI:

https://www.officialpayments.com/index.jsp

Here you will see “Local Payments – Make a Payment.” Then you can choose what state you are in (Ohio), who you want to pay (Village of Bluffton) and the type of payment you want to make (Business Income Tax Payment, Individual Income Tax Payment or Utility Payment). Your social security number is your account number and if asked for our Jurisdiction Code use 6786. A processing fee will be charged by Official Payments/ACI.

Income Tax Contacts

Mailing Address:

Village of Bluffton Income Tax Department

P.O. Box 228 • Bluffton, OH 45817

Phone: (419) 358-2066, Ext. 105

Fax: (419) 358-8137

Tax contact email:

hohenbrinkr@bluffton-ohio.com

Use the above email address for tax questions only. Please do not send tax returns or related documents to this email. RETURNS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AT THIS EMAIL ADDRESS

Income Tax Administrator Office Hours:

Monday - Friday

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. or by appointment

Village Administration Offices:

Monday-Friday

9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.