Ohio House Passes Bill to Conform State and Federal Tax Laws

COLUMBUS—The Ohio House of Representatives today passed House Bill 19, sponsored by State Representative Gary Scherer (R-Circleville). This bill seeks to incorporate into Ohio tax law the changes that have been made to federal tax law since February 2016.

This bill is a response to the federal government passing various laws altering the Internal Revenue Code, or IRC.  House Bill 11 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.

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.

House Bill 11 passed with strong bipartisan support and will now receive consideration in the Senate.