Cincinnati
Cincinnati's income tax is 1.8%, effective October 2, 2020, down from 2.1%. Employers withhold it on pay to Cincinnati residents wherever they work and on pay to nonresidents for services performed in the city, and income of individuals under 18 is exempt. Ohio taxes cleaning except for a provider with less than $5,000 in calendar-year sales of that service.
Cincinnati's income tax applies to anyone who lives or works in the city, so payroll is where it lands for a cleaning company. Below: the rate, who it's withheld from, the annual W-3, Ohio sales tax on cleaning, and what it means for your books. State payroll registration is on my Ohio page.
The City of Cincinnati Income Tax Division lists the rate at 1.8%, effective October 2, 2020; it was 2.1% before that. It applies to anyone who lives or works in Cincinnati (the city's FAQ phrases it as individuals age 18 or older), and residents get credit for tax paid to other cities up to 1.8%.
Withholding works off the 2025 Form W-3 definition: compensation paid to nonresidents for services performed in Cincinnati, plus compensation paid to Cincinnati residents wherever performed, multiplied by 1.8%. Income of individuals under 18 is exempt. Employers remit semi-monthly, monthly, or quarterly, and the pages this one draws on don't quote the thresholds for each. The year closes with an annual W-3 reconciliation; the 2025 one is due March 2, 2026.
Source: City of Cincinnati Income Tax Division, Income Taxes
Source: City of Cincinnati Department of Finance, Frequently Asked Questions
Source: City of Cincinnati Income Tax Division, 2025 Wage Reconciliation Form W-3 (due March 2, 2026)
Ohio taxes residential and commercial cleaning, except for a provider with less than $5,000 in sales of that service in a calendar year. Window washing and carpet cleaning are on the taxable list; cleaning outdoor pools isn't. The state rules are on my Ohio sales tax page.
Source: Ohio Revised Code 5739.01 Definitions
Hamilton County, where Cincinnati sits, carries a 7.80% combined state and local sales and use tax rate for October 1 through December 31, 2026, per the Ohio Department of Taxation's county rate table for that quarter.
Source: Ohio Department of Taxation, Sales and Use Tax Rates by County, October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026
The W-3 at year end is a reconciliation, and that's my favorite kind of form. Every single dollar of city tax withheld during the year should tie back to a paycheck, an employee, and whether that person lived in Cincinnati or worked there. Withheld city tax sits in its own liability account, apart from Ohio withholding, and employees under 18 are flagged on their payroll record. Payroll goes in at the wage actually paid; my payroll page covers the setup.
I'm a bookkeeper, not a CPA or an Enrolled Agent. I keep the withholding recorded and traceable; how often you remit, and how the W-3 and any sales tax returns get filed, are questions for your CPA.
Rules checked against the sources above as of October 20, 2026. Rates and rules change; confirm current figures with the agency or your CPA.
About Figure Eight Financial
Figure Eight Financial is Dave Gordon’s bookkeeping practice for residential and commercial cleaning companies. I work with owners in Cincinnati and across the country, and I’m a Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor.
Before bookkeeping I studied computer science at Penn State and spent a career at IBM as an engineer, so I build the books as a system: data comes in once, lands in the right place, and ties back to a statement. I’m a bookkeeper, not a CPA or Enrolled Agent. I keep the books your CPA works from, and the tax decisions stay with your CPA.
Credentials and memberships reported by Figure Eight Financial.
More about DaveHow I Help
Cincinnati's tax follows both where employees live and where they work, so the books carry each employee's status alongside every paycheck. Withheld city tax goes to its own liability account and gets reconciled through the year, which turns the annual W-3 into a matter of matching numbers. Book a short call below and tell me how your Cincinnati payroll runs.
The core service. Transactions recorded and categorized, every account reconciled so the books and the bank agree, and monthly reports that arrive explained, split by residential and commercial and sliceable per contract.
The full picture of how this works for a cleaning companyFor the months where nothing got entered at all. I fill in the missing periods from the ground up, pulling bank feeds, statements, and receipts until every month has a complete set of records.
How catch-up bookkeeping worksFor books that exist but can’t be trusted. I audit what’s there, fix the unreconciled accounts, duplicate transactions, and wrong categories, and tie every balance back to a statement.
How cleanup bookkeeping worksYour crews paid on time, every pay period, with each payroll run recorded in the books so labor shows up against the jobs it belongs to.
How payroll worksRecurring invoices that match your contracts, an aging report you can trust, and follow-up on slow payers handled by a process instead of your evenings. Built for net-60 commercial accounts.
How invoicing and receivables workA file built right for a cleaning company from day one, or rebuilt after the DIY version drifts, and then I teach you to run it. I’m a Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor, and this is honestly my favorite part of the job.
How a proper setup worksWe start with a short call about your business and where the books stand. The first conversation doesn’t cost anything.
I take a look at what you’ve got, your QuickBooks file, your spreadsheet, whatever exists.
You get a written proposal with the price, so the decision is yours with the number in hand.
Let's Connect
Running crews in Cincinnati and dreading the W-3 every winter? Tell me how payroll is handled today. The first conversation doesn't cost anything.
