What Is the Oregon Transit Tax?

Are you an employer in Oregon? If so, you should familiarize yourself with state-specific taxes, including the statewide Oregon transit tax. This tax applies to all businesses with employees working or living in the state of Oregon.

The Oregon statewide transit taxis separatefrom the TriMet and Lane transit district payroll taxes. Confused yet? You’re not alone. Read on for the scoop.

The Oregon transit tax is a statewide payroll tax that employers withhold from employee wages. Oregon employers must withhold 0.1% (0.001) from each employee’s gross pay.

Withhold the state transit tax from Oregon residents and nonresidents who perform services in Oregon. If an employee is an Oregon resident but your business isn’t in Oregon, you can withhold the tax as a courtesy.

Employees are not exempt from the statewide transit tax withholding, even if they are exempt from federal income tax withholding.

As the employer, you do not pay the Oregon transit tax.You are only responsible for withholding, reporting, and remitting withheld taxes to the state government.

The statewide Oregon transit tax goes to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund. Funds cover public transportation-related investments and improvements.

更多信息在矿石gon transit tax, check outOregon’s website.

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Oregon transit tax vs. TriMet tax vs. Lane tax

不同于俄勒冈州过境税,TriMet和车道Transit District taxes are employer taxes. Instead of withholding the TriMet and Lane taxes from employee wages, you pay them.

Not all Oregon employers have to pay the TriMet and Lane taxes. You must pay the tax on your employees’ wages if they work in the TriMet Transit District or Lane Transit District. To see whether you owe the TriMet or Lane taxes, consultOregon’s zip code list.

If you owe the TriMet and/or Lane taxes, you are still responsible for withholding the Oregon transit tax from employee wages.

Paying and reporting the Oregon state transit tax

After withholding the Oregon transit tax from employee wages, you must remit the funds to the state of Oregon. You need to report the transit tax, too.

How to pay

You can pay the withheld Oregon transit tax by:

EFT: You can pay the statewide transit tax via anelectronic funds transfer
Cash:You can only make a cash payment in person (955 Center Street NE in Salem, Oregon)
Check or money order:You must fileForm OR-OTC-V, Oregon Combined Payroll Tax Payment Voucher

How to report

To report the collected tax, you must file an Oregon transit tax form and a detail report. You can file an electronic or paper return and report. You must set up aRevenue Online accountto file electronically.

So, what forms do you need to report the withheld tax on? Use Forms:

OR-STT-1 or OR-STT-A
OR-STT-2
W-2

If you are a quarterly filer, you must report the tax usingForm OR-STT-1, Oregon Quarterly Statewide Transit Tax Withholding Return. If you are subject to the tax, you must file Form OR-STT-1—even if you didn’t have a payroll during the quarter—and enter $0 in the subject wages box.

If you are an annual filer, report the tax usingForm OR-STT-A, Oregon Annual Statewide Transit Tax Withholding Return.

In addition to the transit tax return, you must also fileForm OR-STT-2, Statewide Transit Tax Employee Detail Report. Use the detail report to list employee names, wages, and withheld transit tax. Send Form OR-STT-2 when you send either Form OR-STT-1 or Form OR-STT-A.

You must also report the withheld transit tax on each employee’sForm W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. Enter the amount of the transit tax in Box 14, Other.

Filing and payment due dates

If you are a quarterly filer, Forms OR-STT-1 and OR-STT-2 are due, with payments, by the following due dates:

Quarter 1: April 30
Quarter 2: July 31
Quarter 3: October 31
Quarter 4: January 31

If you are an annual filer, Forms OR-STT-A and OR-STT-2 are due by January 31.

Failing to file and pay the statewide transit tax can result in hefty penalties and interest. You may also owe $250 per employee, up to $25,000 per tax period.

This article has been updated from its original publication date of October 22, 2018.

This is not intended as legal advice; for more information, pleaseclick here.

What Is the Oregon Transit Tax?