No. The Butler County Auditor, as an agent for the Ohio Department of Taxation, is responsible for administering the tangible personal property tax laws. Anyone in business in Ohio is subject to tangible personal property tax on equipment, furniture, fixtures and inventory used in business. The tangible personal property tax is distributed back to the local taxing districts in the same manner as real estate taxes.

Consider these questions: 

1. Are you a resident of Fairfield? 
2. Are you 18 years or older? 
3. Are you retired or disabled and without any earned income? 
4. Are you self-employed and working in the City of Fairfield? 
5. Do you have rental property located within the City of Fairfield? 
6. Are you a business located in Fairfield or performing services within Fairfield? 

If you answered yes to any of the questions one through five, you need to file an individual return with the City of Fairfield. If you answered yes to question six, you need to file a Fairfield business return.

We know that receiving refunds in a timely manner is important to our taxpayers. We strive to process refund requests as quickly as possible. Some taxing agencies issue refunds up front and “chase” any improperly refunded money later after reviewing. Here at the City, we review refund requests up front, which safeguards taxpayer money and helps prevent fraud. Refund requests are processed in the order in which they are received. In some situations, a filed return requesting a refund may be incomplete. If that happens, the account clerk to whom the refund is assigned will send a letter to the taxpayer requesting any additional information needed to complete the return. 

Because each return is unique and must be reviewed before a refund can be issued, we are not able to tell you exactly when your refund will be received. Under state law, municipalities do not have to pay interest on any overpayment so long as it is refunded within ninety days after the final filing date of the annual return or ninety days after the completed return is filed, whichever is later. However, the tax office strives to process returns more quickly than that. 

You are always welcome to call the tax office if you have questions or concerns about your refund request, but please keep in mind that the account clerk with whom you speak must work the oldest completed returns first and will not be able to expedite your refund.

If your company is located in a township or even a lower taxing district, you can ask your employer to withhold the difference; however, they are not required to by law. If they do not withhold for Fairfield, you will need to make quarterly estimated tax payments to Fairfield. Estimated payments are based on 100% of last year's tax liability or 90% of current year's tax liability of $200.00 or more after deducting Fairfield and city credits. Quarterly estimated payments are due on April 15th, June 15th, September 15th, and December 15th. Either the 100% of last year's or 90% of current year's tax liability must be paid in quarterly payments to avoid interest and penalties Quarterly estimate coupons are available in our lobby, the tax office online.

You can use the following methods to determine if you reside within the City of Fairfield.
1. The State of Ohio's Tax Finder to look up your address and find municipalities and income tax rates.
2. The City of Fairfield GIS (Geographic Information Systems)
3. Call our office at (513) 867-5327 Monday through Friday from 8:00AM to 5:00PM to verify if an address is within the City. Note that the state’s finder system has not been verified with the City and may have discrepancies. Please notify the state or contact us if you find any such discrepancy.

Schedule losses cannot offset W-2 income. As of 2016 - Losses can be used to offset profits for up to five years. The losses expire after 5 years if they are fully or partially unused. Uses of these losses are subject to a 50% cap for tax years 2018 through 2022.

The City of Fairfield does not have a school district tax. Our district number is 0902. 

There is a Fairfield Union School District in Fairfield County, district number 2304, which has a tax of .75%. If you see 2304 in your local city box, contact your employer to have them stop withholding. You will need to contact the State of Ohio Tax Department at 800-282-1782 to request a refund form.

Residents are required to file regardless of where property is located, but receive credit for taxes paid to other cities. Non-residents are required to file on rental property located within the City of Fairfield.

No, you do not have to file under the same filing status as the federal and state. If you are married, we ask you file jointly with Fairfield, regardless if you filed married filing separately for the federal and state returns. Persons living together but not married cannot legally file a joint return.

As of 2018 you can no longer claim 2106 expenses. For tax year prior to 2018 you can claim 2106 expenses against your W-2 income, subject to Federal limitations. However, if the wages were earned in another city, and taxes were withheld for that city, you would need to go back to that city and get a refund. If the other city's rate is less than our rate, you would be able to get a proportionate share of the expenses against the W-2 income. Please note, if you do get a refund from the other city, the credit claimed on your return for those taxes will be reduced and you will end up owing the balance to the City of Fairfield.

This means your account with us is still active. We could be missing something as simple as a move out date, supporting documents, returns or your account has a balance due. You should inquire about why your account is still active and to do this please contact the

Forms are mailed out in January of each year to all active accounts that have indicated they wish to receive forms or that have been recently added. During tax season (January through April) forms are also available in our lobby 24/7 or at the Fairfield Lane Library. If you do not receive a form, you can contact our office or visit our forms website at:

Individual: https://www.fairfield-city.org/214/Individual-Tax-Forms
Business: https://www.fairfield-city.org/254/Business-Tax-Forms

A complete copy of your Federal Income Tax Form (1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040X, including all W-2s, supporting schedules, such as Schedule C, E, K-1 from a partnership) need to be attached. If something is missing, the Income Tax Division will send out a letter requesting the information to complete the return. The return will not be considered filed until the missing information is received.

The City of Fairfield's Tax credit for those residents working outside of Fairfield is 100%, but cannot exceed the City of Fairfield's tax rate of 1.5% 

For those employers that offer a courtesy withholding of residents tax, see the following table: