By Michael Johnson
cleveland.com
(TNS)
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Buy wine from an out-of-state seller that doesn’t charge Ohio tax, and you could still owe the state.
Under Ohio law, sellers required to register with the state must collect applicable use tax. If the tax wasn’t paid through the seller, the buyer can remain responsible, subject to exemptions and credits.
Ohio’s wine-shipping lawsuit is returning to the district court following the Supreme Court’s Oct. 13 denial of review. The challenged rules generally allowed in-state retailers to ship wine to Ohio consumers while barring out-of-state retailers, with limited exceptions.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against those restrictions May 6, 2026, and left the remedy to the district court. Its opinion expressly recognized Ohio’s authority to tax out-of-state retailers, stating that Ohio “may impose taxes on out-of-state retailers.” It did not make their sales tax-free.
Who collects the tax
Use tax applies to taxable property used, stored or consumed in Ohio. It can apply to wine bought from an out-of-state seller when Ohio sales tax has not been paid.
Under Ohio’s collection law, sellers required to register must charge customers the applicable use tax and send it to the state.
Registration depends on the seller’s connections to Ohio. For example, state law presumes a sufficient connection when a seller uses an Ohio office or warehouse. That presumption also applies to sellers with more than $100,000 in qualifying Ohio sales or at least 200 qualifying transactions in the current or preceding calendar year.
Sellers without the required connection can register voluntarily, taking on the same duties as sellers required to register.
An order confirmation showing no Ohio tax does not settle what the buyer owes.
Consider a hypothetical purchase: An Ohio resident buys wine from an out-of-state seller to drink at home. The purchase is taxable, no exemption or credit applies and the seller collects no Ohio tax. The buyer can still owe use tax.
A seller required to collect tax must still do so. The buyer’s responsibility does not replace the seller’s collection duty.
Reporting the tax
Ohio’s consumer reporting law generally requires buyers who did not pay applicable use tax to a seller to file a return and pay by the 23rd of the following month. The tax commissioner can authorize less frequent filing.
Individuals also have a way to report unpaid use tax on their state income tax return. The Department of Taxation’s 2025 filing instructions direct taxpayers to enter it on line 12 of Form IT 1040 and include a worksheet to calculate the amount.
The instructions also identify a voluntary payment form for taxpayers who owe use tax to more than one county.
The rate includes the state’s 5.75% use tax plus applicable local taxes. What a buyer owes depends on location, and rates can change. The worksheet directs taxpayers to check the rate in effect when they made their purchases.
Buyers do not automatically pay twice
If a consumer properly pays Ohio use tax to the seller, the consumer does not owe that tax again—even if the seller later fails to send it to the state.
Ohio also allows qualifying credits for sales or use tax legally paid to another jurisdiction. The credit offsets Ohio tax up to the qualifying amount already paid. If Ohio’s applicable tax is higher, the difference can remain due.
Exemptions can also affect what a buyer owes. These requirements concern taxable purchases, not every transaction involving an out-of-state seller. Ohio exempts food bought for consumption off the seller’s premises, but wine does not qualify: The state’s definition of food excludes alcoholic beverages.
The existing sales tax and use tax rules do not settle the special licensing or wine-excise requirements of any future Ohio retailer-shipping system. They also do not establish consumer savings, collection rates or changes in state revenue.
Paying tax does not itself authorize a wine shipment. But a buyer who receives a taxable order without paying Ohio tax through the seller can still have a bill to pay the state.
Photo credit: Andrew Patrick Photo/Pexels
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©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit cleveland.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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