CPA for Indianapolis, IN Clients: Remote Tax, Payroll and Accounting

We work with Indianapolis clients remotely from our Naperville, Illinois CPA firm and have no office in Indiana. For most Indianapolis households the local tax that matters is the county income tax, which sits on top of the state rate and depends on where you lived on January 1. Indiana has also been rewriting its homestead rules, so a deduction that shrinks each year sits next to credits that phase in.

Income tax: state plus county

Indiana's rate was 3.0% for 2025 and is 2.95% for 2026, scheduled to become 2.90% in 2027. The county tax is where Indianapolis differs from Chicagoland, where no county income tax exists. Departmental Notice 1 sets each county's rate for withholding, and rates may change in January and October. Marion County is code 49 at 2.02%. Neighboring Hamilton County is 1.1%, Johnson 1.4% and Hendricks 1.7%.

Example: with $100,000 of taxable income, county tax at Marion's rate is $2,020 and at Hamilton's rate is $1,100. That gap is why the January 1 rule deserves attention before a move.

If you live in Indiana on January 1, your county of residence sets the rate. If you live out of state on January 1 but your principal place of work or business is in Indiana, the county of that workplace sets it. The 2025 return booklet adds that with more than one job, the county where you worked the most hours and earned the most income counts. How those tests apply to a remote worker is worth settling with the Department of Revenue or a professional before a move or a job change.

Exemptions are modest. Withholding tables allow $1,000 for each personal exemption and $1,500 for each qualifying dependent. Since January 1, 2024, an employer need not withhold Indiana state or county tax on an employee expected to work in Indiana 30 days or less in the year, a rule that helps with conference travel. Our Indiana page covers reciprocity and the entity-level tax election.

Property tax: appeals, deductions and caps

Marion County separates appeals into two types. An objective appeal rests on data errors, such as wrong square footage, and the county gives you three years from the assessment date to file it. A subjective appeal rests on opinion about grade, condition or market adjustments, and the deadline is June 15 of the year the taxes are payable. You can file online, in person at any assessor office, or by mail with a second copy and a self-addressed stamped envelope.

After you file, an assessor staff member contacts you for a preliminary conference. An agreement becomes a stipulation that the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals (PTABOA) signs. If you do not agree, a hearing examiner hears you and the assessor and recommends a result to the PTABOA. You then have 45 days after receiving the determination to appeal to the Indiana Board of Tax Review, and 45 days after its decision to petition the Indiana Tax Court.

Three tools lower the bill, and they change in a defined way. The Department of Local Government Finance form for assessment dates after December 31, 2024 sets the homestead standard deduction at $48,000 for 2025, $40,000 for 2026, $30,000 for 2027, $20,000 for 2028, $10,000 for 2029 and $0 after that. A supplemental homestead deduction applies to the assessed value left after that, at 40% for taxes first due in 2026 and rising each year to 66.7% for taxes first due in 2031. The over-65 credit is $150 and the blind or disabled credit is $125. Applications are generally due January 15 of the year the taxes are first payable.

The circuit breaker credit caps the bill at a share of gross assessed value: 1% for a homestead, 2% for other residential and agricultural land, and 3% for nonresidential and personal property. The department's example: a homestead with $100,000 of gross assessed value and a $2,100 bill gets a $1,100 credit, which holds the tax to $1,000. A property must have the homestead standard deduction to receive the 1% cap.

Business owners file personal property forms with the assessor each year. The Marion County Assessor sets a May 15 postmark deadline (2026) and says it does not grant extensions.

Employers, researchers and healthcare professionals

If you work for a large Indianapolis employer such as Eli Lilly and Company, which lists the Lilly Corporate Center in Indianapolis as its address, and you receive stock units or options, our guide to stock options and RSUs covers the federal rules, and the county tests above decide the local tax. Product developers should know Indiana's research expense credit: 15% of the excess of Indiana qualified research expenses over a base amount when the excess is $1 million or less, and above that 10% of the portion over $1 million plus $150,000. Unused credit carries forward up to 10 years. Physicians should also read our page for physicians and healthcare professionals.

The Indian-American community and US-India tax

Hamilton County, at about 12,700 residents (3.5%), has a higher share who identify as Asian Indian alone or in any combination than Marion County, at about 11,000 (1.1%), or Hendricks County, at about 2,700 (1.5%). The Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood metro area totals about 33,200 (1.6%) (American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024). Because Hamilton's county tax rate is the lower one, the January 1 residence rule above matters to many commuting households. Indiana is assigned to the Consulate General of India in Chicago in the Embassy of India's list effective July 15, 2025.

Topics worth planning for:

• Whether FBAR and Form 8938 both apply to the same Indian accounts.
• How PFIC rules treat Indian mutual funds.
• Getting an ITIN for a spouse or dependent who is not eligible for a Social Security number.
• Reporting gifts from parents in India.

How we can help

We prepare federal and Indiana returns with the correct county rate, assemble evidence for assessment appeals, set up county withholding for employers and keep books, all remotely, and we also work on IRS notices and India reporting. When a question calls for an Indiana license or a local professional, we will tell you.

Frequently asked questions

General information only, not tax, legal or accounting advice for your situation. Rules, limits and deadlines change; confirm the current rules with the official source or a qualified professional before you act. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship with CPA Tax Payroll and Accounting Corp.