Unemployment rate, taxable wage base, minimum wage and withholding
Federal payroll rules are identical everywhere; the money differs by state. What Ohio assigns a new Chilo employer, what wage base it applies, and what its minimum wage requires are below with state sources.
Two free marketplace paths: one form brings back multiple vetted payroll providers who know they are competing for the account.
Ohio assigns new employers a state unemployment tax rate of 2.85% on wages up to a taxable base of $9,000 per employee per year, which is the state-set portion of every Chilo payroll and moves with claims experience over time.
Ohio sets its minimum wage at $11.00, the floor every Chilo hourly rate has to clear before overtime, tip credits and local ordinances are applied on top.
Employers in Chilo's county pay about $51,357 a year per employee on average across 55,685 covered jobs (Census County Business Patterns 2023) - the wage base every unemployment rate and withholding schedule is applied to locally.
Two Chilo businesses with identical payrolls can owe materially different amounts because of Ohio's unemployment tax alone: new employers are assigned a starting rate, experience moves it within a statutory band, and the taxable wage base decides how much of each salary the rate applies to. Both figures are published by the state and shown below with sources.
The state layer is where payroll compliance stops being generic. Ohio sets the unemployment rate and wage base your account is billed on, the minimum wage your rates must clear, the deadline for reporting every new hire, and the rule that decides when a departing Chilo employee's final check is legally late.
Put a state payroll setup review out to competing quotes before you compare prices
Two free marketplace paths: one form brings back multiple vetted payroll providers who know they are competing for the account. Competing quotes are the only reliable way to see what your headcount actually prices at.
External links go to the marketplaces' own sites and forms. This site may earn a referral fee at no cost to you - it never changes the data above, and no individual payroll provider pays to appear in our research.
What Ohio adds to every payroll
| Question | Ohio answer |
|---|---|
| State unemployment tax - new employer rate | 2.85% (range 0.4% - 10.1%) |
| Taxable wage base per employee | $9,000 - NOTE: several payroll vendors state Ohio's 2026 base rose to $9,500 under HB 96; ODJFS's own 2026 contribution-rate table shows $9,000, which is what is recorded here |
| State minimum wage | $11.00 - Effective January 1, 2026 the rate rose to $11.00 non-tipped and $5.50 tipped, a 2.8% increase over the 2025 rates of $10.70 and $5.35 |
| State income tax withholding | flat 2.75% for 2026 (Ohio completed its collapse from graduated brackets to a single rate) |
| Local payroll or income taxes | Yes — Ohio has the densest municipal income tax landscape in the country: roughly 600 or more municipalities levy an income tax, typically 0.5%–3%, and employers must withhold based on the worksite |
For 2026 and 2027 only, every contributory Ohio employer pays a 0.15% Technology and Customer Service Fee that sits outside the experience-rating formula, so even a minimum-rated employer owes more than the rate printed on its rate notice.
This page is independent research, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Federal deposit rules and state wage, unemployment and final-paycheck laws change - verify current requirements with the IRS and your state labor and revenue agencies, or with a licensed CPA or attorney, before acting.
Why two identical Chilo payrolls owe different amounts
Unemployment tax is charged as a rate against a capped amount of each employee's wages, and both halves of that formula are state decisions. A new Chilo employer is assigned a starting rate; once there is claims history the rate moves within the state's statutory band. The wage base decides how much of a salary the rate touches - which is why a state with a high base and a low rate can cost more than the reverse. Neither number is negotiable, but both are worth knowing before comparing payroll quotes that quietly assume one state.
What this means in Chilo
Withheld income tax and the employee share of FICA are trust funds - money that was never the company's. That is why the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty can reach an owner or officer personally, and why 'the company can't pay' is not an exit from this particular bill.
This page is independent research, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Federal deposit rules and state wage, unemployment and final-paycheck laws change - verify current requirements with the IRS and your state labor and revenue agencies, or with a licensed CPA or attorney, before acting.
Put a state payroll setup review out to competing quotes before you compare prices
Two free marketplace paths: one form brings back multiple vetted payroll providers who know they are competing for the account. Competing quotes are the only reliable way to see what your headcount actually prices at.
External links go to the marketplaces' own sites and forms. This site may earn a referral fee at no cost to you - it never changes the data above, and no individual payroll provider pays to appear in our research.
Common questions
If my payroll provider files late, who pays the IRS penalty?
The employer is responsible to the IRS regardless. The IRS states that outsourcing payroll duties does not relieve an employer of the responsibility to deposit and report employment taxes - the notice follows your EIN. Many providers offer a contractual guarantee to cover penalties they cause, but that is a private contract, not a change in tax liability. Get the guarantee, its limits and its claim process in writing.
What is the penalty for depositing payroll taxes late?
The federal failure-to-deposit penalty runs 2% for deposits up to 5 days late, 5% for 5-15 days, 10% beyond 15 days, and 15% if the tax remains unpaid more than ten days after the IRS issues a notice. Filing Form 941 late adds a separate penalty of about 5% of the unpaid tax per month, capped near 25%.
What hidden fees do payroll companies charge?
The recurring surprises are year-end W-2 and 1099 filing at roughly 4-8 dollars per form, additional state tax filings at 6-20 dollars per state per month for remote employees, off-cycle or bonus runs at 5-50 dollars each, setup or implementation fees, charges for mailed paper checks, and per-employee fees that continue for terminated staff. Ask for the full fee schedule in writing, not the pricing page.
How fast do I have to report a new hire?
The federal baseline is 20 days from the date of hire, reported to your state's new-hire directory, and a number of states set shorter deadlines. Rehires generally count, and some states also require reporting independent contractors. Confirm which filing your payroll provider makes for you - new-hire reporting is commonly included, but not universally.
How much does a payroll service cost for a small business?
In 2026 published pricing, payroll services charge a monthly base fee of roughly $20-$150 dollars plus $4-$15 dollars per employee per month. A ten-employee business commonly lands between $70 and $250 dollars a month before add-ons. Full outsourced processing is often quoted per person instead, at roughly $30-$100 dollars per employee per month. These are directional market ranges, not quotes.
Put a state payroll setup review out to competing quotes before you compare prices
Two free marketplace paths: one form brings back multiple vetted payroll providers who know they are competing for the account. Competing quotes are the only reliable way to see what your headcount actually prices at.
External links go to the marketplaces' own sites and forms. This site may earn a referral fee at no cost to you - it never changes the data above, and no individual payroll provider pays to appear in our research.
Prices in nearby cities
Chippewa Lake · Christiansburg · Cincinnati · Circleville · Clarington · Clarksburg · Clarksville · Clay Center · Clayton · Cleveland · Cleveland Heights · Cleves