(a) Upon receipt of a request for a refund, the Tax Administrator of the municipality, in accordance with this section, shall refund to employers, agents of employers, other payers or taxpayers, with respect to any income or withholding tax levied by the municipality:
(1) Overpayments of more than $10; and
(2) Amounts paid erroneously if the refund requested exceeds $10.
(b) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, returns setting forth a request for refund shall be filed with the Tax Administrator within three years after the tax was due or paid, whichever is later. Any documentation that substantiates the taxpayers claim for a refund must be included with the return filing. Failure to remit all documentation, including schedules, other municipal income tax returns or other supporting documentation necessary to verify credits, income, losses or other pertinent factors on the return will cause delay in processing, and/or disallowance of undocumented credits or losses.
(2) On filing of the refund request, the Tax Administrator shall determine the amount of refund due and certify such amount to the appropriate municipal corporation official for payment. Except as provided in division (b)(3) below, the Administrator shall issue an assessment to any taxpayer whose request for refund is fully or partially denied. The assessment shall state the amount of the refund that was denied, the reasons for the denial and instructions for appealing the assessment.
(3) If a Tax Administrator denies in whole or in part a refund request included within the taxpayer’s originally filed annual income tax return, the Tax Administrator shall notify the taxpayer, in writing, of the amount of the refund that was denied, the reasons for the denial and instructions for requesting an assessment that may be appealed under § 880.40.
(c) A request for a refund that is received after the last day for filing specified in division (b) above shall be considered to have been filed in a timely manner if any of the following situations exist:
(1) The request is delivered by the postal service, and the earliest postal service postmark on the cover in which the request is enclosed is not later than the last day for filing the request;
(2) The request is delivered by the postal service, the only postmark on the cover in which the request is enclosed was affixed by a private postal meter, the date of that postmark is not later than the last day for filing the request and the request is received within seven days of such last day; and
(3) The request is delivered by the postal service, no postmark date was affixed to the cover in which the request is enclosed or the date of the postmark so affixed is not legible, and the request is received within seven days of the last day for making the request.
(d) Interest shall be allowed and paid on any overpayment by a taxpayer of any municipal income tax obligation from the date of the overpayment until the date of the refund of the overpayment, except that if any overpayment is refunded within 90 days after the final filing date of the annual return or 90 days after the completed return is filed, whichever is later, no interest shall be allowed on the refund. For the purpose of computing the payment of interest on amounts overpaid, no amount of tax for any taxable year shall be considered to have been paid before the date on which the return on which the tax is reported is due, without regard to any extension of time for filing that return. Interest shall be paid at the interest rate described in § 880.29(a)(4).
(e) As used in this section, withholding tax has the same meaning as in § 880.30.
(Source: R.C. § 718.19. Also see § 880.27, Amended Returns.)
(Ord. 21-2015, passed 11-9-2015)