Columbus city income tax on self-employment income, 2026
In Ohio the city, not only the state, taxes a freelancer's net profit, and Columbus charges the rate most large Ohio cities use.
Columbus Municipal income tax (wages and net profits), 2026
$2,250
Total with federal and Ohio tax: $21,566
| Local rate applied to net profit | 2.5% |
| Self-employment tax | $12,717 |
| Federal income tax | $6,599 |
| Ohio income tax | $0 |
Computed by Radif Partners from the Columbus finance department, read on October 15, 2026 · How we calculate
Columbus taxes its residents at 2.5% on all their income, wages and business net profits alike, wherever the money is earned. Nonresidents pay on the income they earn in Columbus, and a business pays on the share of its net profit apportioned to the city. Residents who already paid tax to the city where they work get a 100% credit for it, up to 2.5%, so a resident never pays the full rate twice. On $75,000 of net profit, the Columbus tax is $1,875, before any credit. The other large Ohio cities sit close by: Cleveland, Toledo and Dayton also charge 2.5%, while Cincinnati and Akron set their own rates on their websites. Ohio's own 2026 income tax schedule could not be confirmed on an official page, so the calculator above shows federal tax and the city tax, and leaves the state line out until the schedule is verified.
Ohio is one of the few states where the city income tax is the norm rather than the exception, and it treats business profit the same way as wages. A self-employed resident of Columbus reports Schedule C net profit to the city's Income Tax Division and pays 2.5% on it, along with any wages or other taxable income (City of Columbus Income Tax Division).
Local tax on business profit
Columbus Municipal income tax (wages and net profits)
$2,000
| Rate | 2.5% |
Residents, nonresidents and the credit
The Columbus tax has two reaches. Residents are taxed on all their income, including profit from clients in other cities or states. Nonresidents are taxed only on what they earn in Columbus, and a business that operates in several cities apportions its net profit among them. For a resident who works in another taxing city, Columbus gives a credit of 100% of the tax paid there, up to 2.5%. A freelancer who lives in Columbus and rents a studio in a neighboring city with the same rate therefore pays the full tax once, split between the two.
How the other big Ohio cities compare
Cleveland's tax, collected by the Central Collection Agency, is 2.5% with a 100% resident credit up to the same limit (CCA tax rates). Toledo has applied 2.5% since 2021 (City of Toledo). Dayton's 2.5% combines a 2.25% base with a 0.25% increase in force from 2025 to the end of 2032 (City of Dayton). Cincinnati and Akron also tax wages and Schedule C profit; their current rates are posted by the Cincinnati income tax office and the Akron finance department.
When a business is organized as an S corporation or an LLC taxed as one, most Ohio cities tax its net profit at the entity level, and the owner's salary as wages. The profit does not disappear from the city's reach with the S election, unlike the federal self-employment tax.
The state layer and the LLC
Ohio's legislature reshaped its income tax brackets for 2026, and the official worksheet and the amended statute did not agree on the day of reading. The Ohio page explains what is known; until the schedule is confirmed, the calculators on this site leave the Ohio line at zero rather than guess. On the LLC side, Ohio asks no annual report and has no franchise tax on LLCs. Its Commercial Activity Tax applies only to businesses with Ohio taxable gross receipts above $6 million for 2025 and later (Ohio Department of Taxation), so a freelancer's state cost after formation is close to nothing.
The city tax is due on top of federal self-employment and income tax of $15,495 on the same $75,000, single filer. The quarterly estimated tax guide covers the federal payments; the city's own filing and payment dates are posted by its Income Tax Division.