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Ohio.gov

Ohio Department of Taxation Commercial Activity Tax

Commercial Activity Tax (CAT): Table of Contents

 

Notice

The General Assembly, in Am. Sub. H.B. 1, moved the due date for the pre-paid commercial activity tax (CAT) annual minimum tax from February to May of each year. As such, beginning in calendar year 2010, the $150 annual minimum tax will be due no later than May 10th of each year with the annual tax return for calendar year taxpayers or with the first quarter return for calendar quarter taxpayers. For more information about this change, click here.

 

The commercial activity tax (CAT) is an annual tax imposed on the privilege of doing business in Ohio, measured by gross receipts from business activities in Ohio. Businesses with Ohio taxable gross receipts of $150,000 or more per calendar year must register for the CAT, file all the applicable returns, and make all corresponding payments. A variety of resources on the CAT may be found below.

About the CAT

Registration

Taxpayers who are not registered for the CAT must register first before filing any return. If a person is unsure of how to register, it is advisable to register as a combined taxpayer group, as any election to consolidate is binding for eight calendar quarters. Requests to change registration status should be made by submitting the form CAT ES.

Filing resources

Taxpayers with taxable gross receipts in excess of $1 million are required to file and pay on a quarterly basis and to make the annual minium tax payment payment of $150 per year. Other taxpayers file annually and pay the annual minimum tax.

  • Ohio Business Gateway (OBG) - The Ohio Business Gateway offers electronic registration and filing tools for the CAT, sales tax, employer withholding, unemployment compensation, workers' compensation, and municipal income taxes for nearly 500 cities and villages.
  • eForms for the CAT - The Department of Taxation now offers an eForm for filing the annual CAT return. eForms are Adobe Acrobat documents that have the look and feel of a traditional paper form, but can be prepared and filed electronically. An eForm is currently available for the CAT-12 (2008 annual return and 2009 annual minimum tax payment return).
  • Filing Due Dates - Returns for the third quarter of 2009 are due Nov. 10, 2009 and returns for the fourth quarter of 2009 are due Feb. 10, 2010. The 2010 quarterly returns will be due on May 10, 2010 (first quarter), Aug. 10, 2010 (second quarter), Nov. 10, 2010 (third quarter) and Feb. 10, 2011 (fourth quarter). For general information on CAT filing due dates, click here.

Other CAT resources