Ohio sales tax vendor discount calculator.

What the vendor discount is

Ohio Revised Code section 5739.12 governs the monthly sales tax return. Under division (B)(1), if the return is filed and the amount of tax shown to be due is paid on or before the date the return is required to be filed, the vendor is entitled to a discount of three-fourths of one per cent of the amount shown to be due. The statute then limits it: the amount of the discount on the basis of sales other than sales, including leases, of motor vehicles shall not exceed $750 per vendor’s license for each month covered by the return. The version we read shows an effective date of September 30, 2025, with House Bill 96 of the 136th General Assembly as the latest legislation.

The calculation

Discount on non-vehicle sales = the smaller of 0.75% of the tax shown due and $750 for each month covered. Discount on motor vehicle sales and leases = 0.75% of the tax shown due on them, with no $750 limit, because the cap in the statute is written only for the discount on sales other than motor vehicles. Amount to remit = tax shown due minus the discount. Because 0.75% of $100,000 is $750, the cap starts to matter once a license’s monthly tax on non-vehicle sales passes $100,000. Below that, the discount is simply 0.75%.

When you do not get it

You must file the return and pay the tax on or before the required date; a late return or late payment forfeits the discount. Division (B)(2) also says a vendor that has selected a certified service provider as its agent is not entitled to the discount if the certified service provider receives a monetary allowance under section 5739.06 for performing the vendor’s sales and use tax functions. Amounts paid to the clerk of courts under section 4505.06 remain subject to the discount, in consideration for prompt payment to the clerk and for other services performed in collecting the tax.

Due dates and how the return is filed

Division (A)(1) requires each person with, or required to have, a vendor’s license to file a return for the preceding month on or before the twenty-third day of each month and pay the tax shown. The return must be filed electronically through the Ohio business gateway, the Ohio telefile system or other electronic means the commissioner prescribes, and payment must be made electronically in a manner the commissioner approves. A vendor may apply to be excused from the electronic requirement for good cause (division (A)(2)). The commissioner may also permit a vendor to pay based on its average monthly liability and file annual or semiannual reconciliation returns (division (C)(1)), or allow less frequent returns for smaller vendors (division (C)(2)); the discount is allowed in either case if the return is filed and the tax paid at the time specified by the commissioner.

Worked example

A store has $120,000 of tax shown due on non-vehicle sales for the month and files and pays on time. 0.75% of $120,000 is $900, which is above $750, so the discount on those sales is capped at $750.00. It also had $20,000 of tax on motor vehicle sales; 0.75% is $150.00 and is not capped. The total discount is $900.00 and the store remits $140,000.00 − $900.00 = $139,100.00. A store with $30,000 of non-vehicle tax gets $225.00 and is nowhere near the cap.

Limits of this page

Ohio’s official statute site did not respond to an automated request, so we read an Internet Archive copy of codes.ohio.gov for section 5739.12 captured under a 2026 date. We did not read the Ohio Department of Taxation’s guidance or the forms, so we cannot say how the discount is entered on a return. This is general information, not tax advice.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• Ohio Revised Code section 5739.12, Monthly return by vendor, reconciliation return (Ohio Laws, via Internet Archive copy, read November 2, 2026)