Overview

Taxpayers and practitioners have the option to upload a file within the UST-1 transaction through the Gateway. This feature allows the user to upload county sales tax data from a file, reducing the number of keystrokes needed to be performed within the Gateway.

Instructions

(Note: If you need assistance with registration or navigation of OBG, there are tutorials on the Ohio Business Gateway introduction page that can help.)

1. In order to take advantage of the “file upload” (or express data entry) capability, you will first need to format your County Sales Tax data file properly. There are two formats that will be accepted: .txt and .csv. The file format specifications are provided at the end of this document.
2. After signing into the Gateway, select the Sales Tax (UST-1) transaction.
3. On step 1 select "Browse" and choose the properly formatted file.
4. Once the file has been selected click the "Upload" button
5. Continue to follow the on-screen instructions. Any errors in the file or with the calculations will be indicated on the top of the page. You will be able to manually correct most errors on-line. After verifying that each page is correct, select the Next button.
6. Gateway will automatically calculate the UST-1 return for you. If the return is correct. select the Accept button on the step 4 of 5. This will result in the Gateway progressing to step 5 of 5, where you will enter your payment information. 
7. The transaction is now Ready for Checkout (The return has not been filed at this point)
8. Complete the checkout process to generate a Confirmation Receipt

File Upload Formats

Submitted files must be in comma delimited text format (.csv or .txt) and adhere to the file format guidelines below.

• After formatting your full UST-1 file (.txt or .csv), you can test  your full UST-1 file format (before attempting to file on OBG) by going to the file format validator.

.csv File Rules/instructions:

• Download the Excel Template (4/1/2022).
• Enter all UST-1 data in the Excel spreadsheet in the non-shaded fields.
• Type must be either “Original” or “Amended”.  If “Amended,” the "Discount" amount is the original amount.
• Zeroes (0.00) are the default for all fields that do not apply.  
• DO NOT change the format of the Excel file. 
• DO NOT use commas, dashes, dollar signs or any special characters within the fields.
• DO NOT include a period within the file name (i.e., Jan. 2009).  
• Decimals are required to separate the whole dollars from the cents (100 = 100.00).
• Each county number can be a maximum of 3 numeric characters.
• Negative numbers may be used, as long as the total sales and liability lines are positive.
• Save the file to be uploaded as “.csv (comma-delimitated)” format, as shown below.
• After uploading the file to OBG, you will have the opportunity to review the UST-1 before submitting it. OBG will perform validations on the data uploaded and advise of any data errors.
• Semi-annual returns that include two different rates for the same county can be accommodated within the data file by adding the applicable County Code, Taxable Sales, and Tax Liability at the bottom of the spreadsheet. The period (quarter) with the original rate will have a “2” in front of the county number. For example:

Lake County:  Jan 1 - Mar 31, 2020  Tax Rate:  7.0%   County Code = 243
Lake County:  Apr 1 - Jun 30, 2020   Tax Rate:  7.25%  County Code = 43

OBG Full UST-1 .csv (from Excel) File Format
Sample (ODT Prescribed) Excel File

.txt File Rules:

1. This bulk file process is not valid for periods before calendar year 2008.
2. Only fields indicated in bold below can be changed. The format below must be strictly followed.
3. Report start and end dates must by in the MMDDYYYY format (01012020 = Jan 1, 2020).
4. Use a carriage return (Enter key) at the end of each data set.
5. DO NOT use dollar signs, dashes or any special characters within the file.
6. DO NOT include a period within the file name (i.e., Jan. 2020).
7. Decimals are required to separate the whole dollars from the cents (100 = 100.00).
8. Data for only one report can be contained in each file.
9. Negative numbers may be used (-100.00, -7.05), as long as the total sales and liability lines are positive.
10. File extensions must be “.txt”.
11. Type must be either “Original” or “Amended”.  If “Amended” the “Discount” is the original discount amount.
12. County sales data sets do not need to be listed in numerical order by county number.
13. Only data for counties that have taxable sales need to be included in this file.
14. Multiple data sets for the same county are accepted. The application will total the sets up and combine them into one single count data set within the application.
15. After uploading the file to OBG, you will have the opportunity to review the UST-1 before submitting it. OBG will perform validations on the data uploaded and advise of any data errors.
16. Semi-annual returns that include two different rates for the same county can be accommodated within the data file. The period (quarter) with the original rate will have a “2” in front of the county number. For example:

Lake County:  Jan 1 - Mar 31, 2020  Tax Rate:  7.0%   County Code = 243
Lake County:  Apr 1 - Jun 30, 2020   Tax Rate:  7.25%  County Code = 43

OBG UST-1 .txt (comma-delimitated) Full UST-1 File Format