There is relief for businesses who have employees working from home or remote work sites as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions. Ohio recently suspended the 20-day rule stating an employee’s principal place of work does not change while Ohio is under a State of Emergency, or within 30 days after the emergency period ends. This provision became effective upon the signature of H.B. 197. Consequently, there is no need to track an employee’s work location, for the purposes of applying the 20-day rule, from Wednesday, 3/25, until 30 days after the emergency ends (For our initial article from 2016 on Ohio’s Municipal Witholding Tax, click HERE).
- All employees who normally work at a company headquarters will continue to have that headquarters as their “principal place of work,” regardless of where they are working at this time.
- Employees that move from jobsite to jobsite have established a “principal place of work” prior to the state of emergency. That continues to be their principal place of work throughout the emergency.
- If your business has systems in place to track employees who move from jobsite to jobsite based on a respective job, it is okay to continue that tracking process, but there is no need to change the employee’s withholding based upon that data. If your system automatically makes these changes, that is fine as well.
For any questions related to State and Local Tax regulations amid the ever-changing COVID-19 landscape, contact VonLehman’s specialized SALT Group at rteeters@vlcpa.com or 800.887.0437.
