The letter doesn’t go away just because you don’t open it or respond. Ohio knows you received it and ignoring it starts a clock that makes everything worse.

The first consequence is additional penalties and interest. Ohio charges penalties for late filing, late payment, and underpayment. Interest accrues on what you owe starting from the original due date. While you’re ignoring the letter, these amounts keep growing. A small balance can double in a year or two of inaction.

If you don’t respond to initial notices, Ohio will issue a formal assessment. This is the state’s official determination of what you owe, including penalties and interest calculated to date. Once assessed, you have a limited window to challenge it. Miss that window and the assessment becomes final. You owe what they say you owe, whether it’s accurate or not.

After the assessment, collections begins. Ohio has significant power to collect tax debts without going to court. They can file a state tax lien against your business, which shows up on credit reports and makes it difficult to get financing or sell property. The lien attaches to your business assets and follows them even if ownership changes.

Beyond liens, Ohio can levy your bank accounts. This means taking money directly from your account without your permission. They can also garnish payments owed to you by customers. These actions happen administratively because tax collection authority is built into state law. You don’t get a warning before the money disappears.

For businesses that need a vendor’s license to operate in Ohio, ignoring CAT obligations can lead to license revocation. If you can’t legally sell to customers without that license, your business effectively shuts down until you resolve the tax issue and get reinstated. Working with a Hancock County bookkeeper before things reach this point can save you significant trouble.

If you’ve been ignoring CAT letters, the path forward is to respond now. Open the letters and figure out what Ohio is asking for. Sometimes it’s a simple registration issue. Sometimes it’s an assessment you need to pay or dispute. The longer you wait, the fewer options you have.

Getting your CAT filing back on track is usually possible if you address it before collections actions become severe. Waiting until there’s a lien or levy makes resolution harder and more expensive. The bottom line is that ignoring these letters doesn’t make the problem disappear. It turns a manageable tax issue into a business-threatening crisis.