Businesses located in and residents of the city of Urbana are facing a change in how they deal with city income taxes.
Effective Feb. 1, the Regional Income Tax Agency (RITA) will begin collecting municipal income tax for the city of Urbana.
Formed in 1971, RITA is a governmental agency established under Chapter 167 of the Ohio Revised Code to administer municipal income tax for cities and villages throughout the State of Ohio.
RITA’s shared services offer municipalities a comprehensive, efficient and effective solution for income tax collection that results in cost savings and increased tax collections, according to information provided by the city.
The city of Urbana chose RITA to administer its municipal income tax collections for its ability to offer residents and businesses free online services and its ability to maximize the city’s collection efforts.
RITA will be responsible for the administration and collection of all municipal income taxes and will serve the city of Urbana in this capacity.
For residents
After Feb. 1, all Urbana tax payments and tax returns for current and prior tax years are to be sent to RITA.
“We encourage you to utilize RITA’s free and simple online services, FastFile, FastPay, and MyAccount to file and pay your municipal income tax,” the city’s explanatory statement read. “Beginning Feb. 1, residents will have access to RITA’s FastFile and FastPay applications – with no login, user ID or password needed. Beginning March 1, residents will have access to RITA’s MyAccount applications. Visit ritaohio.com to access FastFile, FastPay, MyAccount and tax forms.”
For businesses
Those businesses which have an existing account with RITA and are already remitting withholding taxes for another RITA municipality can simply add the Urbana withholding tax payment to the employer withholding return (Form 11). Beginning March 1, businesses will have access to RITA’s MyAccount applications. Visit ritaohio.com to access MyAccount and other tax forms.
Account numbers were circulated in letters sent to those businesses affected. These numbers should be used when contacting RITA or submitting payments or forms.
Questions regarding the city of Urbana income tax should be directed to RITA’s customer service representatives at 1-800-860-7482.
More information about the change
When asked how RITA maximizes the city’s tax collection efforts above and beyond what was done in the past, Urbana’s Director of Finance Chris Boettcher replied with the following statement:
“The Regional Income Tax Agency’s focus is the administration and collection of municipal income tax. They currently serve 400 cities and villages. The city of Urbana will benefit from the economies of scale realized by RITA’s shared income tax services, and through RITA’s ability to identify additional taxpayers and/or liability through its tax and collection processes, advanced technology, and data sharing program with the IRS. RITA offers an array of eServices on their website that will enable Urbana residents and businesses to file and pay their annual income tax returns online, although residents and businesses will still have the option to mail their tax forms directly to RITA. The city’s current software provider does not offer the option for electronic filing, and is not upgrading the income tax module to allow for this in the future. The option to file and pay city income taxes online will be a great benefit to our city residents.”
When asked how this change affects people who work in Urbana for a company they do not own but perhaps live in another city, Boettcher stated:
“The transition to RITA does not change our local income tax regulations. Non-resident employees will still be required to pay work city (Urbana) income taxes, and, if applicable, file their city income tax return with their resident city.”
Regarding the process for deciding on this change in taxation process for the city of Urbana, on Oct. 17, 2023, the Urbana City Council approved Resolution 2675-23, which authorized the director of administration to execute an agreement with the Regional Income Tax Agency (RITA).
