Bipartisan push to end Ohio's marriage penalty on 2.5M Ohioans gets attention at Statehouse

A new, bipartisan effort to end Ohio’s Marriage Penalty – extra income taxes on married couples who file jointly in Ohio – will get attention from the House Ways and Means Committee tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 19 at 9:00 a.m. in Room 121 of the Statehouse.

Because Ohio is the only state in the Midwest to require married couples to file state tax returns mirroring their federal filing status, married couples in Ohio pay at least an extra $159 per year according to the Ohio Department of Taxation. State Reps. David Leland (D-Columbus) and John Becker (R-Union Township) are hoping to change that by allowing married people in the Buckeye State to choose the state filing status that suits them best.