Live in one North Ohio city, work in another: how city income tax credits work

Checked against the sources linked at the end on 2 October 2026. Written by ProTaxService in Brunswick, OH, for taxpayers across North Ohio. General information, not tax advice for your situation.

TL;DR: If you work in a different city than you live in, your employer withholds the work city’s income tax, and your home city can tax the same wages too. State law does not require the home city to give a credit; each city decides by ordinance. So the credit varies a lot: Akron gives full credit up to 2.5%, Brunswick caps it at 1%, and Medina gives about 0.19% at most. On $60,000 of wages from a Cleveland job, the total city tax runs from $1,500 to about $2,140 depending on where you live.

Two cities, one paycheck. It is the most common city tax surprise in North Ohio, because the commute that crosses a city line also crosses a tax line. Your employer takes out tax for the city where the work is done. Your own city then wants its share of the same wages, and whether it gives you a credit for what the work city took is up to that city.

This guide explains who taxes what, shows how six home cities treat the same wages, and covers the filing step that decides whether you get the credit.

Who taxes what

The city where you work taxes the pay you earn there, and the city where you live can tax all of your income. Ohio law has two sides:

  • The work city. Employers must withhold “an amount equal to the qualifying wages of the employee earned by the employee in the municipal corporation multiplied by the applicable rate of the municipal corporation’s income tax” (Ohio Revised Code 718.03). A nonresident is taxable only on income “for work done, services performed or rendered, or activities conducted in the municipal corporation” (718.01).
  • The home city. For residents, the city can tax “all income, salaries, qualifying wages, commissions, and other compensation from whatever source earned or received” (718.01).

An employer may also withhold the home city’s tax if you ask it to. It is optional for the employer.

The credit is up to your home city

State law does not require a credit for tax paid to another city. The statute says a city “may, by ordinance or resolution, grant a credit” for tax paid to another city and requires the ordinance to state “whether, and the extent to which” it will give one. The Ohio Legislative Service Commission puts it plainly: “These credits are not required under state law, so not every municipal corporation offers one.”

That is why credits differ. Here are the published rules for cities around Brunswick, Cleveland and Akron:

  • Akron: 100% of tax paid to other cities, up to 2.5%.
  • Cleveland: credit for the tax paid to the other city, up to the tax Cleveland assesses (2.5%). A resident must file a Cleveland return to claim it.
  • Canton: credit for tax paid to other cities, not to exceed 2.5%.
  • Lorain: a credit up to 2.00% for taxes paid to other cities.
  • Elyria, Kent, Mentor and Westlake (RITA cities): 100% credit, limited to the rate listed for each city, such as 2.25% in Elyria and Kent.
  • Strongsville: 75% of income times the lower of the two tax rates.
  • Parma: the entire first 2% of income paid to another city as tax.
  • Brunswick: the credit “can not exceed 1% of their taxed earnings”, and the city’s page words it for wages.
  • Medina: 25% of Medina’s tax above 0.50%, which is at most 0.1875% of income.
  • Lakewood: 50% credit with a 1% cap, which works out to a small partial credit. Read the ordinance before you assume a number.

Six home cities, one Cleveland job

Here is what $60,000 of wages from a Cleveland employer costs, depending on where you live. Cleveland’s rate is 2.5%, so Cleveland takes $1,500. The table shows what your home city then asks for after its own credit. These are illustrations from the published rules, not a calculation of your bill.

Where you liveHome city rateCredit ruleHome city still owedTotal city tax
Akron2.5%100% up to 2.5%$0$1,500
Elyria2.25%100% up to 2.25%$0$1,500
Strongsville2.0%75% of the lower rate (2.0%)$300$1,800
Parma2.5%First 2% of income$300$1,800
Brunswick2.0%Up to 1.0% of earnings$600$2,100
Medina1.25%25% of tax above 0.50%$637.50$2,137.50

Rates and credit rules are from the city ordinances and pages and the RITA and CCA 2026 tables, read in October 2026. The spread is the point: the same job and the same wages cost about $640 more a year for a Medina resident than for an Akron resident.

If you live in a township, such as Brunswick Hills Township or Hinckley Township, your home has no city income tax at all, so you owe only the work city’s tax. Townships cannot levy one.

The step that decides whether you get the credit

You usually have to file the home-city return and show the work-city tax. Withholding by your employer does not file anything for you. Attach your W-2, which shows the work city and the tax withheld, to your home-city return. Cleveland, for example, says a resident who does not file a return does not get the credit.

A few practical points:

  • Check your W-2. Box 20 or the local-tax boxes show which city was withheld, and a wrong city is a common error.
  • Deadlines. City returns are due April 15. An extension to file is not an extension to pay, and each city or collector has its own extension step.
  • Time to claim. Cleveland, for one, requires the credit claim within three years from the due date.

Our pages on Brunswick city income tax and Medina city income tax explain the home-city side, and the towns we serve table lists rates and credits for nearby cities.

When this goes wrong

If your employer withholds the wrong city, a refund may be possible, but a refund from the work city often shifts the tax to your home city. We cover the remote-work version in working from home for an employer in another city. If you run your own business, see city income tax for freelancers. And if you get a notice, our guide to what to do first helps.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay city tax twice on the same pay?

Often you owe both cities something. The credit in your home city reduces the second payment, and in some cities it removes it. In others it is partial.

Can my employer withhold my home city instead?

An employer may do it if you ask, but it is optional for the employer, and the work city’s withholding is still required.

I live in a township. Do I owe a home-city return?

There is no city tax where you live, so no home-city return. You still owe the work city’s tax, which your employer withholds.

Why is my Medina credit so small?

Medina’s ordinance gives 25% of its own tax above 0.50%. That is a maximum of about 0.19% of your wages, which is much less than Akron’s full credit.

The short version

  • Work city: your employer withholds its tax.
  • Home city: can tax the same wages, and decides by ordinance whether to give a credit.
  • Credits vary: full in Akron and Elyria, partial in Strongsville, Parma and Brunswick, and small in Medina.
  • File your home-city return and attach the W-2 to claim the credit.
  • Townships: no home-city tax.

Rules and rates change, and your facts matter. Confirm figures with your city’s tax office, or bring your W-2 and last return to a preparer.

ProTaxService is a small practice in Brunswick, OH, run by Elena Rusakovich, an IRS-registered tax preparer (PTIN), working with individuals and small businesses across North Ohio. We prepare individual tax returns that bring the federal, Ohio and city returns together, for Brunswick and for the cities that use RITA, such as Medina and Strongsville. For other cities, tell us what you need or call (440) 212-9613.

Sources

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