Ohio Taxpayers Bill of Rights

Assessments Sales and Use, Individual Income, Employer Withholding, Commercial Activity, and Corporation Franchise Tax Final Determinations and Appeals After an administrative review of the petition for reassessment, a final determination will be issued by the Tax Commissioner, who is the Department’s director. The taxpayer has the right to appeal a final determination or final assessment to the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA). An appeal must be made within 60 days and must be mailed to both the BTA and to the Tax Commissioner. The BTA provides a quasi-judicial hearing and will review the facts and interpret the law. The BTA is independent of the Department and of the Tax Commissioner and may affirm, modify, or reverse decisions of the Tax Commissioner. Complete instructions for filing an appeal are included with final determinations and final assessments. Problem Resolution Officer A Problem Resolution Officer is available to taxpayers to serve as a liaison between the Department and taxpayers when normal lines of communication break down. To receive information regarding this service, write to: Problem Resolution Officer Ohio Department of Taxation P.O. Box 530, Columbus, Ohio 43216-0530 or call: (614) 466-0832. An assessment is a formal bill from the state for taxes not paid or underpaid, plus interest and penalties. The taxpayer has 60 days from the date the assessment is delivered to pay it or to file a petition for reassessment. Complete instructions for filing petitions are included with the assessment. Ohio Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights An explanation of the rights and obligations of citizens as taxpayers... Tangible Personal Property Tax Amended and final assessments are official legal notices from the state or county of taxable tangible personal property values, i.e., increases or decreases from the values reported, or assessment of property not previously assessed, plus interest and penalties. If the taxpayer disagrees with an amended assessment, the taxpayer has 60 days from the date it is mailed to file a petition for reassessment. Payment need not be made until the petition or further appeal is finalized. Complete instructions for filing petitions are included on the reverse side of the assessment certificate. Certified Assessments The Department of Taxation is not a collection agency. Any unpaid assessment of the commercial activity, sales and use, individual income, employer withholding, or corporation franchise taxes payable to the Treasurer of State that is not paid will be certified to the Ohio Attorney General. These collection procedures are provided for in R.C. section 131.02. For assistance in obtaining information on these certified assessments call the Ohio Attorney General toll-free at 888-301-8885 for individual taxes and 888-246-0488 for business taxes. (Revision Date 1/06) Audits ...and the appeals process if there are disputes. Ohio Department of Taxation Ohio Revised Code (R.C.) sections 5703.50 through 5703.54 contain the Ohio Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights. This brochure is a summary of those rights and other related provisions of the Revised Code. Under R.C. section 5703.50, the term “taxpayer” means a person subject to or potentially subject to a tax, including an employer required to deduct and withhold tax for employees. Please note that the failure of an employee of the Department of Taxation (referred to in this brochure as “the Department”), or a county auditor’s office, to comply with a provision of the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights does not excuse a taxpayer from payment of taxes that are owed. The Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights only applies to commercial activity tax, corporation franchise tax, employer withholding tax, individual income tax, tangible personal property tax and sales and use tax. The employer withholding tax return is filed on a quarterly, monthly, or more frequent basis as determined by the amount of tax withheld. Sales and use tax returns are filed monthly or as otherwise determined by the Department. Instructions are included with returns. Returns and instructions can also be found on the Department’s Web site: tax.ohio.gov. These taxes are paid to the Treasurer of State. Sometimes the Department needs additional information from the taxpayer in order to make certain that the correct amount of tax has been reported and paid, or the correct amount of taxable value of tangible personal property has been reported. Usually this is a simple matter and the taxpayer only needs to supply the information requested. Occasionally, the Department needs to examine the basis of the reported tax or taxable values. This examination, or audit, may take place at the taxpayer’s office, the office of the taxpayer’s representative, or at one of the Department’s Taxpayer Service Centers. The Department’s role during an audit is to review and examine the taxpayer’s books, records, and other materials to determine if the taxpayer has complied with the tax laws. The taxpayer’s role during the audit is to cooperate with the Department and to make records available upon request. (available on the Department’s Web site), before it provides information to the representative. Refuse to answer any questions during the course of the audit until consulting with a tax adviser. However, Department agents can continue to inspect the taxpayer’s records during this time. Record the audit session. Pursue additional legal remedies if a tax agent acted outside the scope of the law. f Tangible Personal Property Tax f f Unlike real property taxes, tangible personal property tax is a self-assessing tax. Yearly returns filed by businesses are considered preliminary assessments. For businesses located in only one county, the tax returns are filed with the county auditor. Businesses with locations in more than one county file directly with the Tax Commissioner. When filing single county returns, payment of onehalf of the tax due is required. When filing returns with the Tax Commissioner, the tax is not paid at the time of filing. A formal bill for tax due after filing is issued by the county treasurer. An explanation of how this tax is assessed and collected is contained in the personal property tax booklet that each taxpayer receives from the Department or from the county auditor. For more information on these taxes, contact the Department or visit the Web site: tax.ohio.gov. f After the audit, the taxpayer can expect that the Department will: f In the event there is an audit, the taxpayer has the right to: f Know when the audit begins. f Have the audit conducted during regular Tax Returns Commercial Activity, Corporation Franchise, Employer Withholding, Individual Income, and Sales and Use Tax f Individual income and corporation franchise tax returns are filed annually. The commercial activity tax return is filed quarterly or annually. business hours after the Department has provided reasonable notice. (These two rights may not apply if the taxpayer is being investigated for suspected criminal activity.) Be assisted or represented by an attorney, accountant, bookkeeper or other tax practitioner. Because of laws protecting taxpayer information from unauthorized disclosure, the Department will need a completed authorization form, TBOR-1 f Determine that the tax originally paid is satisfactory or that the tangible personal property values reported on the original return are satisfactory; or Notify the taxpayer of possible overpayment of taxes or over-reporting of tangible personal property tax values. In such a case, the taxpayer has the right to obtain a refund. It is the taxpayer’s responsibility to file a refund application or an application for final assessment of tangible personal property tax; or For the sales and use, individual income, employer withholding, commercial activity, and corporation franchise taxes, determine that the taxpayer has underpaid taxes and issue an assessment; for tangible personal property tax, determine that the taxpayer has under-reported values and issue an amended or final assessment for the under-reported values. Tangible personal property tax bills, including any interest, are mailed to the taxpayer by the county treasurer.