Individual FAQs

• Register online at CCA eFile
• To register by paper, complete this form and:
  • Mail your correspondence to the following address:
    Central Collection Agency
    205 W St Clair Ave
    Cleveland, OH 44113
  • Or fax our office at (216) 420-8299

You must file a CCA Individual City Tax Form or Exemption Certificate (including retired people, public assistance, etc.) if one or more of the following applies to you:

• Live in a CCA member municipality that has mandatory filing. (See Tax Rates)
• Live in a CCA member municipality with a tax credit of less than 100% when work is performed outside the residence city. (See Tax Rates)
• Have taxable income in a CCA member municipality in which municipal income taxes were not withheld or were withheld incorrectly.
• Conduct business in a CCA member municipality.
• Own rental property in a CCA member municipality and charge gross monthly rent exceeding $125.00. Rental income is subject to municipal ordinance.
• Income from Farming (Schedule F) or pass-through entities, estates, or trusts (Schedule K-1, Schedule E Part II/III).

Yes, an exemption certificate can be filed online at CCA eFile.  The exemption categories are as follows:

• Retired
• Member of the Armed Forces of the United States
• Under 18 for the Entire Year
• No Earned Income for the Entire Year, and
• Business Closed or Rental Property Sold Prior to Beginning of Tax Year.

If you file electronically using CCA’s eFile, the application will prompt you for any required documentation at the time of filing. CCA may request documentation from you after the filing is reviewed.

If you file a paper return you will be required to submit the following forms and schedules, as applicable: W-2 Form(s); Federal Form 1040; 1099 Form(s); Federal Schedule A; Federal Schedule C; Federal Schedule E; Federal Schedule F; and, Federal Schedule K-1(s) Part II/III.

Yes, unless you can provide proof that you have changed your permanent residence to your school address. Acceptable proof may include a copy of your driver's license showing school address and/or voter registration.

Yes, you must allocate your taxes based on actual income earned for the time you resided in each municipality.

You must file only if your employer did not fully withhold for the municipality or municipalities in which you worked, or if you earned non-wage income within a CCA municipality.

It depends on your resident municipality. View the Tax Rates to determine the credit available, if any, in your resident municipality.

Obtain a tax form for the tax year you are amending from Tax Forms. Check the box in the upper-right hand corner of the form to indicate that it is an amended return. You may amend a prior year’s tax return within three years of the date that the original return was filed.

Taxable income includes but is not limited to, the following: Income from wages, salaries, tips, commissions, profit from rents, profit from business, professional fees, wage continuation plans (including retirement incentive plans, severance pay and short-term disability), prizes and gambling winnings (lottery subject to municipal ordinance), deferred compensation (including stock options), or any other income that is not excluded from taxation.

Tuition grants which include research and/or teaching duties are subject to the city income tax.

Short Term Disability benefits and third-party sick pay received under a wage continuation plan are taxable.

Retirement Plans, i.e. 401(k), 403(b), IRA, Keogh, STRS, PERS "picked up" by a public employer are not deductible from wages. The cost for a group term life plan over $50,000.00 is taxable. City taxes are paid on income (salaries, wages, profits, and other compensation) when it is earned, not when it is received in retirement.

The following types of income are exempt from municipal income tax (subject to ordinance).

• Pay or allowance of members of the armed forces or reserve components of the United States.
• Public assistance, unemployment compensation benefits, pensions, annuities or disability benefits received from any government agency.
• Alimony received.
• Insurance proceeds received for reason of death, compensatory personal injuries or for damages to property.
• Interest, dividends, royalties and other income specifically exempt (subject to ordinance).

Net operating losses cannot be used to offset wages or W-2 income.

List each wage and tax withheld, to the respective municipality on separate lines of the Individual City Tax Form. For most employees, the grand total of these wages should not exceed Box 5 - Medicare wages on your W-2.

You can contact your employer and request a copy.  You can also reach out to the IRS to request your tax records and transcripts.  The IRS can be contacted at (800) 829-1040 for individual tax return questions or (800) 908-9946 to request transcripts.

Local taxes paid to a municipality outside the State of Ohio will receive the same credit allowed by your resident municipality for tax paid to municipalities inside the State of Ohio.

Generally, a county tax is not considered a municipal income tax, and most municipalities do not allow credit for county taxes paid. Exceptions to this rule exist.

No. School district tax is not municipal income tax.

Yes, legible photocopies are acceptable.

For tax years 2024 and after, if you had local income tax withheld for a CCA municipality, you are eligible for a refund.

Prior to 2024, please refer to your municipality’s ordinance to determine if you are entitled to a refund.

Obtain the Individual City Tax Form and the corresponding year’s Refund Worksheet from Tax Forms.

For employment/profit tax overpayment, complete Section A of the Individual City Tax Form showing the refund amount on line 11b.  For residence overpayment, complete Section B of the Individual City Tax Form showing the refund amount on line 16b.

No.  Stock options given as compensation are taxable unless they have been specifically exempted by your employment and/or residence municipality. 

No.  Severance pay is considered taxable to the former CCA municipality of employment.  Payments made by an employer to an employee during periods of absence from work are taxable when paid and at the tax rate in effect at the time of payment.

Yes, for tax year 2021 and after (subject to the statute of limitations).

Complete the Refund Worksheet form from Tax Forms, fill out the applicable sections, and provide the Log of Days Out Worksheet and Calculation of Days Worked Outside Municipality.

Please attach your Form(s) W-2 and supporting proof of claim, which may, but is not limited to: a telework agreement; official clock hour summaries (telework/regular hours, benefit leave times); total office & remote days worked in/out of the employment municipality; a letter from your employer (direct supervisor/manager) verifying the days worked out of the employment municipality. The employer letter must be on company letterhead, include direct supervisor/manager signature, and contain contact information of signatory.