| Oregon Registered Domestic Partnership (RDP) Frequently Asked Questions |
|
|
 |
| FAQs |
|
1. How do I become a registered domestic partner (RDP) in Oregon?
2. What does the Oregon Family Fairness Act say about the taxation of RDPs?
3. Does Oregon recognize a domestic partnership, civil union, or marriage formed in another state?
4. What forms do my partner and I need to submit to with my Oregon tax return now that we’re RDPs?
5. Can I file a joint Oregon return with my domestic partner for tax years before 2008?
6. Are all domestic partners required to file joint or married filing separate returns under the new law?
7. Will RDPs use the same filing status rules as married individuals when filing Oregon returns?
8. Can RDPs file an Oregon tax return with the same filing status as they use on their federal return?
9. What if my employer pays for my partner’s medical insurance? Can I still subtract that from my Oregon income?
10. Do RDPs combine the number of exemptions they claim on their separate federal returns to arrive at the total number of exemptions they claim on their Oregon return?
11. Can an RDP who lives with their partner and files head of household (HOH) for federal purposes use the HOH filing status for state purposes, too?
12. Are there any situations where an RDP can file as head of household (HOH) on a Oregon return?
13. If my RDP dies, can I file a joint return?
14. How do RDPs who file an Oregon joint return combine their incomes, deductions, credits, etc., from their separate federal returns to complete their Oregon return?
15. Will RDPs need to update their employees withholding allowance (W-4)?
16. Can an RDP who files an Oregon married/RDP filing joint return exclude up to $500,000 of capital gain on the sale of a principal residence for Oregon purposes?
17. Can an RDP who filed a joint return apply for relief under Oregon's innocent spouse provisions?
18. My partner and I filed an Oregon joint tax return and our refund was offset for a state debt that my partner owes. How can I get my portion of the refund back?
19. If a court orders termination of a registered domestic partnership and an Oregon court awards spousal support (alimony), what is the tax treatment of these payments?
Answers
1. Information on how to become a RDP in Oregon is available at the Department of Human Services.
2. In general, Oregon now affords the same rights and responsibilities to RDPs that were available only to married individuals. For Oregon tax purposes, the same rules that apply to married individuals now also apply to RDPs.
The federal government doesn’t recognize domestic partners as married individuals for federal tax (IRS) purposes. RDPs must continue to file as unmarried individuals on their federal returns. You must create an “as if” federal return from which you will use the federal information to complete your Oregon return.
3. No. You must be a registered domestic partnership in Oregon. 4. For instructions on how to put your Oregon return together, see page 37 of the Oregon income tax booklet for full-year residents or page 40 of the Oregon income tax booklet for part-year residents and nonresidents. 5. No. RDPs cannot file a married filing joint or married filing separate return for tax years before 2008. For those years, you must use the same filing status for state income tax purposes that you used or would have been used for federal income tax purposes. For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2008, RDPs are required to use the same filing status in Oregon as they use on their federal “as if” return.
Back to the top.
6. No. Only domestic partners who are registered with an Oregon county clerk must file using the RDP filing joint or RDP filing separate filing status. Unregistered domestic partners may not file RDP filing jointly or RDP filing separately for Oregon. 7. Yes. You will be treated in all respects as if you were married for purposes of Oregon income tax. However, you must choose the filing status “registered domestic partner filing jointly” or “registered domestic partner filing separately,” so that your return will process accurately and quickly. 8. No. The new Oregon law requires RDPs to be subject to the same filing requirements as married taxpayers You will use the same filing status on the Oregon return as you do on your “as if” federal return. 9. Yes, but only if you are a registered domestic partner under Oregon law. You may subtract the premiums for January 2008 plus all other months beginning with the month you became an Oregon RDP, if you remain RDPs on December 31, 2008, or if your RDP died during 2008 and you didn’t enter into a new registered domestic partnership or marriage during 2008.
If your registered domestic partnership was dissolved during 2008, you may subtract the premiums only for the months in which the registered domestic partnership was in effect (in addition to January 2008).
If you are not an Oregon RDP, you may only subtract the amount of premiums paid until the Oregon Family Fairness Act became effective (February 1, 2008).
10. Yes. Your “as if” federal return will be filled out as if you were married, so all personal, blind, senior, and dependent exemptions should be combined on the RDP filing joint Oregon return.
Back to the top.
11. No. If your RDP lived with you and your child, stepchild, adopted child, or eligible foster child at any time during the last six months of the year, you do not qualify to use the HOH filing status for Oregon purposes. 12. Yes. RDPs can file HOH on an Oregon return if they maintain the main home for their child, stepchild, adopted child, or eligible foster child and are “considered not in a registered domestic partnership.”
To be “considered not in a registered domestic partnership” you must meet all of the requirements that a married taxpayer must meet to be “considered unmarried” for federal tax purposes:
- Your RDP didn’t live in your home during the last six months of the tax year and was not temporarily absent.
- You file a separate return.
- You pay more than half the cost of keeping up your home for the tax year.
- Your home was the main home of your child, stepchild, or eligible foster child for more than half the year.
- You must be able to claim an exemption for the child (or you would have been able to claim the child’s exemption except that the noncustodial parent can claim the child).
For details on filing HOH see IRS Publication 501.
13. Yes. If your RDP dies, you can file in Oregon as an RDP filing jointly for the year the RDP dies, as long as you don’t enter into a new registered domestic partnership or marriage by the end of the year. 14. RDPs create a federal “as if” return that shows what their federal return would look like if the federal tax law treated RDPs the same as married couples. Use this “as if” return to complete your Oregon tax return and compute Oregon tax. 15. Although revising the withholding allowance for Oregon purposes is not required, RDPs may update their filing status withholding allowances on a Form W-4 to avoid over or under withholding of Oregon income taxes. Ask your employer for a W-4 form. Write “for Oregon purposes only” on the top of the form then submit it to your employer’s payroll office.
Back to the top.
16. Yes, if the RDP is able to meet the capital gain exclusion rules when preparing the RDP’s “as if” federal return, the RDP may exclude that amount on the Oregon return. For more information, see IRS Publication 523. 17. Yes, Oregon innocent spouse provisions apply to anyone who files a married/RDP filing joint return. 18. If your joint tax returned is used to pay off a state debt (offset) your partner owes, we’ll send you a notice that explains that. To request your portion of the refund, you must write us a letter within 30 days from the date of the notice. Mail your letter to the address shown on the notice. 19. If the payment satisfies the requirements under tax law for alimony, for Oregon purposes (and the “as if” return) it would be deducted by the payor and included by the payee. However, federal treatment of these payments is uncertain and both affected persons should consult with their tax professionals.
Back to the top.
|
|
| |
|
|
