Both TriMet (TM) and Lane (LTD) now have their own tax payment vouchers for all previous and future tax years. You'll need to include a voucher with all tax payments you send us.
What are Transit District Self-employment taxes? The Oregon Department of Revenue (DOR) is responsible for collecting Tri-County Metropolitan (TriMet) Transportation District and Lane Transit District (LTD) self-employment taxes. This tax is applied to the self-employment earnings of taxpayers doing business, or providing services within the transit districts.
Who must file and pay?
Individuals—Anyone who has self-employment earnings from business or service activities carried on in the TriMet or LTD districts may need to file a return and pay this tax. This includes self-employed individuals, sole proprietors, independent contractors, and real estate salespeople.
Partnerships—Partnerships are not subject to the tax, but the partnership may choose to file one transit self-employment tax return and pay the tax for all of its individual members.
Partnership Apportionment—If your partnership chooses to file and pay the transit self-employment tax for all the individual partners, you must figure the tax based on net earnings (including partners' guaranteed payments), from self-employment as reported on federal Form 1065. The apportionment is based on the partnership as a whole, not the individual partner.
Example: Self-Employment earnings from Partnership
Form 1065.........................................
$ 2,000,000.00
Sales within Transit district...................
$ 30,000.00
Total Partnership Sales.........................
$ 3,000,000.00
Transit Apportionment..........................
0.01
Net self-employment earnings...............
$ 20,000.00
Complete Form TSE-AP, Schedules AP-1 or AP-2, to determine the apportionment percent. Most taxpayers will use Schedule AP-1, unless you meet the following exception.
Exception: Use Schedule AP-2 if you are an electing telecommunications or utility taxpayer.
Remember: If you meet the exception, please check the box "Utility or telecommunications" on the front of Form TM or Form LTD.
The election for taxpayers primarily engaged in utilities and telecommunications to apportion income using the doubleweighted sales factor formula provided in ORS 314.650 (1999 edition) will continue to apply. However, this election may later be revoked.
Exemptions—The following are not subject to this tax:
C and S corporation distributions.
Ministers—applies only to compensation received for religious services.
Insurance agents—applies only to insurance-related income.
What are the tax rates?
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
TriMet
.006518
.006618
.006718
.006818
.006918
LTD
.006200
.006400
.006500
.006600
.006700
How do we determine self-employment income?
Self-employment earnings are those reported on your individual federal Schedule SE, line 3, as defined in IRC € 1402. When determining the amount of your self-employment earnings subject to the transit self-employment tax, one $400 exclusion is allowed per taxpayer no matter how many businesses an individual may have.
If a taxpayer has more than one business included on federal Schedule SE, only include those businesses from line 3 of your federal Schedule SE that have net earnings. Do not use a business with a net loss to offset a business with net earnings.
Use the ZIP code list below as a guideline to help determine if you have self-employment earnings in the Portland Metropolitan area, which includes parts of Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties. Some ZIP codes may not coincide with the district boundary maps. Call the TriMet District at 503-962-6466 for specific boundary questions.
Use the ZIP code list below as a guideline to help determine if you have self-employment earnings in the Eugene-Springfield urban and rural areas served by Lane County Transit District. Some ZIP codes may not coincide with the district boundary maps. You may call the LTD District at 541-682-6100 or e-mail ltd@ltd.org for specific boundary questions.
For more information, e-mail TSE.Help.DOR@state.or.us. Most e-mails will be returned within two business days. You may also call 503-378-4988, or toll-free from Oregon prefix at 1-800-356-4222.
