NIL taxes in Ohio: state, city, and school district taxes

If you live in Ohio, play in Ohio, or earn NIL income in Ohio, federal tax is only part of the picture. Ohio has a state income tax, many Ohio cities and villages have their own income tax, and some school districts tax the income of their residents. Each one has its own rules about who owes it and what income counts.

This guide explains how those layers fit together for college athletes, as of the 2025 and 2026 tax years. It covers general rules, not a calculation for your situation.

Four taxes, four separate questions

Tax	Who generally owes it	Set by
Federal income tax	Everyone with taxable income, including NIL income	IRS
Ohio income tax	Ohio residents on their income, and nonresidents on income earned in Ohio	Ohio Department of Taxation
Municipal income tax	People who live or work in a city or village that levies one, under that municipality’s rules	Each municipality, within Ohio Revised Code Chapter 718
School district income tax	Residents of a school district that has one, and only residents	Ohio Department of Taxation administers it

Answering one question does not answer the others. For example, a payment can be reportable federally, taxable by Ohio, and also subject to tax in the city where you live or the city where you did the work.

Residency starts with your permanent home

The Ohio Department of Taxation explains that if your permanent place of residence is in Ohio, you are a full-year Ohio resident, even if you spend time in another state. If your permanent place of residence is in another state, you are a nonresident. People who permanently move into or out of Ohio during the year are part-year residents.

Ohio residents attending college somewhere else

The Department’s guidance is direct: if you attend an out-of-state college, you are still considered a full-year resident of your home state. An Ohio student at a college in North Carolina, in the Department’s own example, is still an Ohio resident.

The same page notes that you may become a resident of your college’s state if you get or update a driver’s license or state ID there, receive in-state tuition, or register to vote there. Those steps have consequences beyond taxes, and they do not make the tax question simple. If any of them apply to you, residency should be reviewed with your actual facts.

Students from other states attending college in Ohio

If your permanent home is in another state and you are in Ohio for school, you are generally an Ohio nonresident. You can still owe Ohio tax on income you earn in Ohio, and your home state will have its own rules for taxing you as a resident.

Ohio law also presumes that someone with an abode in Ohio is a resident unless they can establish otherwise. Beginning with tax year 2025, the Department says a nonresident presumption is claimed on the Ohio return and requires meeting every listed condition, including limits on the number of “contact periods” spent in Ohio during the year. A college athlete who spends most of the year in Ohio may not meet those conditions. That does not by itself make you a resident, but it means residency needs a careful look rather than an assumption.

A school address does not settle it

The address on your enrollment records, your dorm, or where your mail goes does not decide your tax residency. The Department considers items such as your driver’s license, vehicle registration, and voter registration, and Ohio’s administrative rules list items it cannot consider. Residency is a conclusion drawn from facts. It is not something you choose by putting a particular address on a form.

Income earned in Ohio by nonresidents

Ohio taxes nonresidents on income connected with Ohio. For NIL work, the questions usually include where you performed the services, such as an appearance, a camp, or a photo shoot, and what kind of payment it was. A payment for services performed in Ohio is treated differently from a payment for the use of your name or image, and not every type of income is sourced the same way.

The IRS also recommends tracking where you perform NIL services, because you may owe tax to a state where you earn NIL income. That applies in both directions: an Ohio resident who does paid work in another state can owe that state too.

Credits and reciprocity

When two states can tax the same income, credits are the usual way double taxation is reduced. The Ohio Department of Taxation lists:

• Ohio resident credit. For Ohio residents who pay tax to another state on income. Income not taxed by another state does not qualify.
• Ohio nonresident credit. For nonresidents and part-year residents with income that should not be taxed by Ohio.
• Reciprocity wage deduction. For residents of Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia, and only for wages taxed by Ohio. Wages taxed by those five states also do not qualify for the Ohio resident credit.

Reciprocity covers wages, not every kind of income. Most third-party NIL income is not wages, so an athlete from one of those states should not assume reciprocity applies to it.

City and village income taxes

Municipal income tax in Ohio operates under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 718, which includes its own factors for deciding whether someone is domiciled in a municipality. Within that framework, each city or village sets its own rate and its own credit for tax paid to other municipalities. Two large collection agencies explain the basics:

• RITA (the Regional Income Tax Agency, which collects for many municipalities) explains that municipal taxes belong to each municipality, that people generally owe tax where they work, and that they may or may not also owe tax where they live, depending on that municipality’s credit.
• CCA (the Central Collection Agency, which collects for Cleveland and other member municipalities) says nonresidents may need to file when tax was not fully withheld on wages earned in a member municipality or when they had non-wage income there, and that any credit depends on the municipality where you live.

These are examples, not rules for every Ohio city. Some municipalities collect their own tax or use another agency. Your obligation depends on where you live, where the work happened, the type of income, and the specific municipalities involved. Look up the municipality’s own rules or ask a professional before assuming.

School district income tax

The Department reports 210 Ohio school districts with an income tax as of January 2026. The tax applies only to residents of those districts, including students and minors who live there. It does not apply to someone who only works in the district.

Districts use one of two tax bases. A “traditional” district taxes a broader base, while an “earned income” district taxes wages and self-employment earnings. The difference matters for NIL income, because it affects whether some types of income are included. An Ohio resident whose permanent home is in a taxing district can owe this tax even while attending college elsewhere.

Ohio’s business income deduction

The Department’s current guidance explains that Ohio allows a business income deduction: for single filers, the first $250,000 of business income is deductible, and business income above that is taxed at a flat 3 percent. Sole proprietorship income can qualify, but compensation received as an employee is not business income.

Whether a particular NIL payment counts as business income depends on what the payment was for and how you earned it. Do not assume every NIL dollar qualifies, and keep in mind that this is a state deduction. It does not change federal tax, and it may not change city tax.

Cash and noncash compensation

The IRS treats products and services received for NIL work as income, just like cash. Their value can matter on Ohio and city returns as well, so keep a record of what you received, when, and what it was worth. For more, see products and services instead of cash.

Why an Ohio set-aside amount has to be individual

Ohio’s rate, the business income deduction, your city’s rate and credit, a possible school district tax, and taxes owed to other states can all apply to the same athlete in different combinations. A teammate’s percentage is not a reliable guide for yours. A reserve recommendation should be built from your residency, where you did the work, what kinds of payments you received, and what has already been withheld. Our guide to estimated tax payments explains the federal schedule.

Ohio NIL tax preparation checklist

• Write down your permanent home address and the school district it is in, and note any move during the year.
• Note your driver’s license state, voter registration, and whether you receive in-state tuition.
• List every NIL payer, what each payment was for, and whether it was cash, products, or services.
• For each deal, record where you performed any services: city and state, with dates.
• Keep contracts, payment records, and any Form W-2, 1099, W-4, or W-9.
• Note any city, state, or school district tax withheld from payments.
• List any other state or city where you may owe tax, with dates and amounts.
• Keep receipts for expenses connected to NIL work, with a note on the business purpose.
• Write down your questions about residency, city tax, or credits for a CPA.

For a full record system, see what records to keep for NIL income.

Next steps

1. Confirm your residency facts using the checklist above.
2. Identify your municipality and school district, and look up their rules or collection agency.
3. Track where you perform NIL work, starting now if you have not already.
4. Set aside money from each payment until a reserve amount is worked out for you.
5. If you have Ohio and out-of-state income, city tax questions, or uncertain residency, talk with a CPA before filing season.

If you would like help applying this to your situation, you can book a complimentary 20-minute intro call. It is a conversation about your situation and whether ongoing support fits, not a tax review.