Ohio: Sales Tax Handbook

What purchases are taxable in Ohio?

The taxability of various transactions (like services and shipping) can vary from state to state, as do policies on subjects such as whether excise taxes or installation fees included in the purchase price are also subject sales tax. This reference is here to help answer your questions about what is and is not subject to the Ohio sales tax.

Section 1: Taxability of Goods and Services

What transactions are generally subject to sales tax in Ohio?

In the state of Ohio, sales tax is legally required to be collected from all tangible, physical products being sold to a consumer, with the exception of certain building materials, prescription drugs and groceries.

This means that an individual in the state of Ohio who sells school supplies and books would be required to charge sales tax, but an individual who owns a store which sells groceries is not required to charge sales tax on all of its products.

Are services subject to sales tax in Ohio?

Services in Ohio are not taxable and the same applies to plumbers and freelancers. You will have to part with sales tax if the services provided encompass creating or manufacturing products

You can find a table describing the taxability of common types of services later on this page.

Are shipping & handling subject to sales tax in Ohio?

Ohio usually considers shipping charge as part of the piece of item and is therefore taxable. Therefore if you are a seller you should consider charging sales tax on the price of every item. In the case where the item you are shipping is not taxable then you shouldn’t charge sales tax on the shipping price of the item. If you have a combination of both taxed and untaxed items then you should charge taxes on goods that are tax related.

Are drop shipments subject to sales tax in Ohio?

"Drop shipping" refers to the common business practice in which a vendor, often in a different state, makes a sale of a product which is shipped to the end-user by a third party supplier hired by the initial vendor. In Ohio, drop shipments are generally subject to state sales taxes.

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Section 2: Taxability of Various Items in Ohio

This table shows the taxability of various goods and services in Ohio. If you are interested in the sales tax on vehicle sales, see the car sales tax page instead. Scroll to view the full table, and click any category for more details.

* See notes in category taxability page for details