More than $1.6 billion in tax credits and public benefits are not claimed every year by eligible Ohioans, and more than 95% of these unclaimed funds are federal dollars.  If claimed, these funds would provide economic help for eligible Ohioans and economic development for local communities where the funds would be spent. 

To help eligible Ohioans claim tax credits and public benefits, Governor Ted Strickland is supporting an initiative called The Ohio Benefit Bank (OBB).  The OBB is a web-based, counselor-assisted program that connects low and moderate-income Ohioans with free income tax preparation and access to potential public benefits. 

 

The OBB is offered in a public-private partnership between the Office of Governor Ted Strickland, Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Ohio Department of Development, Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, and more than 850 faith-based and community organzations across Ohio that sponsor hundreds of OBB sites. 

 

The OBB takes numerous, complex and lengthy tax and benefits forms and reduces them to simple, easy-to-understand questions written at a fourth-grade level.  At OBB sites, trained counselors guide clients through questions seeking information needed for tax returns and to project eligibility for work support tax credits and public benefits.  Individuals sit side-by-side with counselors who assist them with entering information into an internet-based system.  Once an OBB client provides all necessary information, the answers to the questions posed by the counselor populate the fields in the appropriate tax and benefits forms.  The results are legible, accurate tax returns and benefits forms ready for submission to the appropriate government agency.  

The OBB e-files tax returns and benefit forms.  The OBB also sponsors a new self-service web site for free federal and state income tax preparation and electronic filing.  OBB tax services are available to Ohioans earning under $57,000 per year.  

Please click on the following links to:

Learn more about getting help from the OBB

Use Quick Check to check your potential eligibility for work supports

Ohio Files Free

If you have any more questions about the OBB not answered by this web site, please call The Ohio Benefit Bank hotline number at (800) 648-1176 or contact Shannon Teague, Director of The Ohio Benefit Bank, in the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, at (614) 466-3398.