House Ways and Means committee favorably reports House Bill 14 to conform Ohio tax code to recent federal changes

House Bill 14, a tax-conformity measure to incorporate certain federal tax changes into Ohio law, was favorably reported by the Ohio House Ways and Means Committee by unanimous roll call, the committee said during its meeting. Vice Chair Thomas moved to favorably report the bill and the committee notified the clerk to prepare it for the House floor session.

The bill would adopt federal tax changes that became law after March 15, 2023, through the bill’s eventual effective date, with supporters saying the measure is primarily needed to conform to the federal disaster tax relief enacted in late 2023. ‘‘On behalf of our members, I’m Greg Saul, vice president of government relations for the Ohio Society of CPAs. We commend Chair Romer and Representative Workman, for sponsoring this legislation, to incorporate into Ohio law, any federal, tax changes that were made to the Internal Revenue Code, that became law between 03/15/2023 and House Bill fourteen's eventual effective date,’’ said Greg Saul, offering proponent testimony.

Why it matters: Ohio’s personal income tax returns start from federal adjusted gross income (AGI). Both Saul and Tim Lynch, policy director for the Ohio Department of Taxation, told the committee that failing to conform creates extra administrative work for taxpayers and tax preparers because taxable differences must be reconciled with add‑backs to federal AGI on state forms. Lynch said the department’s goal is to ‘‘greatly simplify that process and take, any ability that there could be for taxpayers to make any mistakes while filing out of it.’’

Supporters described the practical impacts on tax season. Saul and Lynch said many tax preparers and commercial tax software vendors cannot update state filing systems until a conformity bill is signed; supporters therefore urged quick action and an emergency clause so state changes take effect in time for the April 15 filing deadline. Saul noted the 90‑day effective date that typically accompanies such bills could place a signed conformity act after April 15 without an emergency clause. ‘‘A lot of our members use commercial software vendors. Those vendors cannot, update their software until the conformity bill is signed,’’ Saul said.

Committee discussion and clarifications: Lynch told members the committee’s prior action on related matters — specifically an exemption enacted in House Bill 33 — means the bill does not affect school district taxable income for payments already covered by that earlier bill. ‘‘There were some questions last week on how does this affect school district income tax. . . . Because the Ohio general assembly . . . enacted, the exemption in house bill 33 last time, there really is no effect,’’ Lynch said. Lynch also described the disaster-related payments as ‘‘foregone revenue’’ that had not been included in school district baseline budget estimates and therefore would have represented an unexpected windfall absent the exemption.

Roll call and next steps: Vice Chair Thomas moved to favorably report House Bill 14 and recommend its passage; the committee conducted a roll call. Committee members recorded affirmative votes and the committee chair announced the bill ‘‘has passed unanimously and we will favorably report this.’’ The chair said the roll would remain closed so the bill could be delivered promptly to the clerk’s office for preparation for the House session. With no further business, the committee adjourned.

The committee record shows proponents, agency staff and committee members framed the bill as a narrow conformity measure limited to federal changes since March 15, 2023; supporters emphasized administrative simplicity and urged expedited processing so tax software vendors and preparers can implement updates before the filing season deadline.