Before you can pay employees, make sure you've registered for payroll in their applicable work state. This can sometimes take several weeks—the sooner you start the process, the sooner you'll have the tax account info required to pay them.
Gusto partners with CorpNet to help you register in the state—learn more below.
If you've already registered in the state, you'll need to enter your tax account details in Gusto in order to pay employees. Learn where to find your tax account information by clicking The company is already registered with the state below.
Gusto partners with CorpNet to help you register your business in new states.
Once a work address has been added in a new state and a new employee has been hired and assigned a work address in that state, you can get registration assistance in Gusto.
Pricing varies by state—get started below and during step 4, you'll review the price, process, and estimated timeline to completion.
Here’s a snapshot of the process:
CorpNet can walk you through entering any info that they themselves do not enter in Gusto on your behalf.
After you send your order, we’ll email you with status updates and add your order total to your next monthly invoice.
When your order is complete you’ll receive emails from both Gusto and CorpNet. They’ll detail the next steps which include:
Before your order is completed, you can use the link in the state registration confirmation email from Gusto to check the status of your order.
You can also head to the Taxes & compliance and select Tax setup, scroll to the state tax setup section and click the link to Check the status of your registration.
Changing your order
To update your order, contact CorpNet at [email protected] or 1(888) 449-2638. They’re open Monday-Friday from 7am-5pm PT.
Q: Can I run payroll for my employees before my registration is complete?
A: Not in most cases—you typically need to have a withholding account number and required tax rate(s) in Gusto before you can run payroll.
If you’re registering in a state where there is no income tax withheld, you can use the state-specific “new employer rate” in this article until you receive your company-assigned rate from the agency.
Q: Can I use Gusto to register in a new state if I don't have a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) yet?
A: No–you must have a FEIN entered in Gusto to order a state tax registration.
Q: Where can I see all my tax information?
A: You can see all tax details in the following locations:
Gusto’s state tax registration service does not contain tax, legal, financial, or HR advice. Since rules and regulations change over time and can vary by location, consult a lawyer, HR expert, or accountant for specific guidance.
The Ohio Department of Taxation does not require that you grant Gusto access to your account in order for us to file or pay your withholding taxes.
Most companies are liable for state unemployment if they have one or more employees for part of a day in each of 20 different weeks in the current or preceding year or pay $1500 wages in any calendar quarter. If you're not yet liable, skip to step 3 to find what unemployment rate to enter in Gusto in the meantime.
You can check your liability and register online using the steps below.
Owner's exemptions—unemployment tax
If you have owners or officers who have received an exemption from Ohio unemployment insurance (UI) taxes, then these owner's wages must be excluded from your quarterly wage reports to the state or your entire tax filing will be rejected. To accomplish this, you'll need to set up an exemption for the owner or officer in Gusto—this ensures we do not report their wages in error.
To view or update the owner or officer information currently on file with the agency:
You should contact the agency directly if you have any questions about which owners or officers should be marked as "exempt." When Gusto files your returns, if the exemptions set in our system do not align with the exemptions on file with The Source, filings will be rejected.
Reminders:
In order for Gusto to help troubleshoot tax issues, we'll need you to authorize Gusto as your third-party agent (TPA). Gusto will become your TPA for the agency below:
To become your third-party agent, a notarized form authorizing Gusto as your payroll provider must be submitted to the agency—to make this easy, we’ll prepare the necessary document for you to e-sign in Gusto. Then, we’ll submit the form directly to the agency.
Add Gusto as your third party agent in Ohio
The form will be ready to sign once the below is completed in Gusto:
To sign the form in Gusto:
If you will be paying income tax in a local municipality administered by the RITA, you must register your business. Registration is available online.
If you prefer to file by paper:
If you're an existing employer in Ohio, the Department of Taxation should have issued you an 8-digit withholding account number. This can be found on:
The number will begin with 51, 52, 53, or 54. If you're unsure of the number you can call the agency at (888) 405-4089.
You'll also get a withholding filing frequency based on the combined withholding tax liability (state and school district taxes) for the 12 month period ending June 30th of the previous year. Your filing frequency will be one of the below:
You can find details about the deposit schedule on the Department of Taxation FAQ article here.
The Department of Job and Family Services will have issued you a Unemployment Compensation Tax Account Number. You can find this on:
If you're unsure of your account number, call the agency at (614) 466-2319.
You'll also be issued an Ohio Contribution rate, also known as the unemployment tax rate. The unemployment tax rate can be found:
If you haven't yet been issued a company-specific tax rate, you can use the state-specific "new employer rate" found in this article. Once you receive your assigned rate, you can use the same article to help you update your rate.
Owner's exemptions—unemployment tax
If you have owners or officers who have received an exemption from Ohio unemployment insurance (UI) taxes, then these owner's wages must be excluded from your quarterly wage reports to the state or your entire tax filing will be rejected. To accomplish this, you'll need to set up an exemption for the owner or officer in Gusto—this ensures we do not report their wages in error.
To view or update the owner or officer information currently on file with the agency:
You should contact the agency directly if you have any questions about which owners or officers should be marked as "exempt." When Gusto files your returns, if the exemptions set in our system do not align with the exemptions on file with The Source, filings will be rejected.
Reminders:
In order for Gusto to help troubleshoot tax issues, we'll need you to authorize Gusto as your third-party agent (TPA). Gusto will become your TPA for the agency below:
To become your third-party agent, a notarized form authorizing Gusto as your payroll provider must be submitted to the agency—to make this easy, we’ll prepare the necessary document for you to e-sign in Gusto. Then, we’ll submit the form directly to the agency.
Add Gusto as your third party agent in Ohio
The form will be ready to sign once the below is completed in Gusto:
To sign the form in Gusto:
Asterisks info—only if applicable
Filings marked with an asterisk (*) are coupons, payment vouchers, or other forms that are filed electronically, and will not appear in your Tax documents tab.
Filings marked with a double-asterisk (**), are forms that will only be available for January 1st, 2020 and beyond.