Millionaires in Ohio could soon be footing the bill for in‑state students’ tuition, if a new Democratic proposal gains traction at the Statehouse. House Bill 854, introduced this month by Reps. Munira Abdullahi and Tristan Rader, would slap a surtax on the state’s highest earners and use the money to create an Ohio free college program for public campuses. The measure is parked in the House Workforce and Higher Education Committee, where it is waiting its turn for a first hearing.
How the tax would work
HB 854 lays out a two‑tier surtax on income above $500,000. For tax year 2025, income between $500,000 and $1,000,000 would face a 5.375% surtax. Anything above $1,000,000 would be taxed at $26,875 plus 7.375% on income over that $1,000,000 mark. The bill nudges those percentages slightly higher for 2026 and beyond.
All of that new money would flow into an Ohio free college fund in the state treasury. The chancellor of higher education would manage the fund and distribute dollars to campuses to cover tuition for eligible in‑state students. Under the bill’s own example, someone earning $1.5 million would owe roughly $63,750 under the surtax. Those details appear in the bill text, as tracked by LegiScan.
What students would get
If lawmakers sign off, HB 854 would prohibit state institutions from charging instructional, general or special fees to Ohio residents for up to eight semesters, the rough equivalent of a four‑year degree. The Ohio free college fund would be used to reimburse those campuses for the waived tuition.
Sponsors say the proposal is designed to reach students at every public four‑year campus in the state. Those 14 universities are represented by the Inter‑University Council of Ohio. “Access to higher education should not be limited by a student’s economic status,” Rep. Munira Abdullahi said in a statement from the Ohio House Democratic Newsroom.
The numbers
Supporters emphasize how small the target group of taxpayers actually is. Demographic data show that about 2.38% of Ohio households earn $500,000 or more, which works out to roughly 116,277 households statewide. Using the bill’s own $26,875 baseline for income over $1,000,000 and that household count produces a rough estimate of about $3.1 billion a year in revenue.
That back‑of‑the‑envelope math has been used to argue the surtax could cover tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, but analysts warn it is a very rough cut. The estimate does not factor in tax avoidance, exemptions, or changes in behavior among top earners. The household share figure comes from Healthy Northeast Ohio, and the surtax examples have been highlighted in local coverage by FOX8 Cleveland.
What's next
The bill has been formally sent to the House Workforce and Higher Education Committee, according to the legislature’s public tracking pages, but has not yet received its first hearing. That opening hearing is typically where sponsors make their case and opponents start sharpening their arguments.
House Democrats are pitching HB 854 as a centerpiece of their broader push on college affordability. Critics, meanwhile, argue that a fresh tax on high earners will run into stiff political headwinds as the measure winds through committee. Expect the real drama to start once hearings are scheduled and lawmakers, university leaders and advocacy groups begin trading numbers on what “free” college would actually cost.
