Legislation to Conform State and Federal Tax Laws Heads to Governor's Desk

COLUMBUS—The Ohio House of Representatives voted to send House Bill 11, sponsored by State Representative Gary Scherer (R-Circleville), to Governor Kasich’s desk for final approval before becoming law. This bill seeks to incorporate into Ohio tax law the changes that have been made to federal tax law since February 2016.

In a bipartisan vote last month, the Ohio House approved House Bill 11 and sent it to the Ohio Senate for further deliberation. Before passing the bill, the Senate added an emergency clause to the bill, making it effective immediately. The House vote today was to concur on that change. 

House Bill 11 is a response to the federal government passing various laws altering the Internal Revenue Code, or IRC.  The legislation provides conformity between the Ohio tax code and the federal tax code, which is necessary to allow efficiency in processing Ohioan’s 2016 tax returns.

"As a CPA, I am well aware some of the tax laws can be a bit dull and difficult to understand, however this legislation is necessary so we can ensure Ohioans are able to fully benefit from the new federal laws this tax season," said Scherer. "I am pleased to be able to send this bill to the Governor’s desk for his signature.”

The principal amendments to the federal code that the bill incorporates into Ohio code are the following provisions:

• Gross income exclusion for Olympic and Paralympic prizes for medal winners whose federal adjusted gross income is $1 million or less
• Gross income exclusion of an employee's receipt of payments or reimbursements from a "qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement," which is not itself a federally tax-qualified employer provided group plan but may reimburse up to $4,950 (individual) or $10,000 (family) in expenses for employees having coverage under the Affordable Care Act without the employer incurring a federal excise tax charge
• Extension to file amended returns for combat-related injury or other service-related disability severance payments improperly subjected to tax withholding

Without passing House Bill 11, Ohioans who are able to benefit from the above provisions would have to take additional burdensome steps to take advantage of the exemptions provided for them.