July 31, 2026 Meeting Questions and Answers
Yes, you can use the short form.
No, prior year forms should not be impacted. Use only the 2026 OR-706 for deaths that occur in 2026.
Processing of the return is based on staffing and work volume. The discharge from personal liability process can take up to 18 months. This is allowed per Oregon Statute.
Various sources, including public records that show assets held by the decedent.
The instructions for OR-706 contain a list of documents that should be provided with the return. In addition, the federal Form 706 instructions used for the schedules provides information on supporting documents. At this time, we are unable to accept documentation via flash drive or electronically.
It can be submitted with the return. If doing so, please include it towards the beginning of the filing, for example behind the OR-706. Sometimes with larger returns it can get overlooked so it is also helpful if a cover letter or table of contents is included.
There are no license requirements for volunteers at tax preparation workshops.
Currently, due to a heavier tax season resulting with the kicker, the average processing timeframe is approximately four to six months. For 2026 returns, this will likely be on the higher end of that same time frame.
Preparers Exam – Current total pass rates are at 34.5 percent which is in line with last year's numbers but slightly lower than 2023-2024's at 37 percent. The two years prior to that are both at 32 percent. Consultants Exam – Current total pass rates are at 16.7 percent which is lower than last year's numbers at 21.8 percent but falls in line with 2023-2024's numbers. The two years prior to that are both slightly higher than the current pass rate. Consultant State Only Exam – Current total pass rates are at 56 percent which is currently lower than the past three years of exams, most of those years were either in the 70 percentile or slightly below. The only year that is lower is 2021-2022 which came in at a 50.8 percent. Final numbers will be available for this year's exam after October 1.
Yes, there are fines for anyone who advertises as a License or Registration they don't carry.
Board meetings are public, and most board meetings are held virtually via Teams. The only in-person board meeting currently scheduled is our May board meeting, which will the public can also attend virtually via teams.
Yes, anyone working on Oregon Personal Income Tax returns for a fee need to be either licensed or registered in Oregon.
The credit isn't restricted to a specific type of entity, just that they are engaged in one of the qualifying industries.
An information slide is not available for the handout, however the Business Oregon webpage will be updated with this information in the next couple of weeks.
Business Oregon is developing a webpage with additional information. They will have it posted to the Business Oregon website in the next couple of weeks.
Yes, anyone working on a personal Oregon income tax return needs to be either licensed or registered with the Board. The Enrolled Agent license itself does not allow for work on Oregon personal income tax returns.
For the authorization forms, yes, last 4 digits.
DOR does not send out receipts for Charitable Checkoff donations and we do not send taxpayer information to the charities.
The agency recently published an Oregon Estate Transfer Tax Return Statistics report. This report discusses the returns filed, and funds raised. The report can be found research and results page here.
It's preferred that the returns and supporting records are not bound and have no staples. A large paperclip or binder clip is a good option.
All returns are scanned in black and white when they are received. When including supporting records such as appraisals, be sure to include the entire document or report.
When attaching the federal schedules and supporting documents, include all federal schedules together, and then the supporting records after.
For real estate, a retrospective appraisal is preferred. However, if using the closing statement, supporting documentation should be included supporting that value as date of death value.
Personal Income Tax division
October 31, 2025 Meeting Questions and Answers
A couple of the questions, for example, “With the passage of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill, will it have an effect on Oregon's PTE-E program," and another one of, “Can you share the results of the Voluntary Self-identification of Race and Ethnicity program," were discussed during their own segments of the presentation. The remaining questions were answered live during the presentation and are captured here:
As
we all know, the department use to issue paper Form 1099s but moved to
electronic copies several years ago. With today’s criminal activities, such as
the recent email scam that was using the department’s name, we are always
looking for better ways to secure taxpayer information, and we also want
taxpayers to know if we are sending them information. Having electronic Form 1099s
isn’t as convenient as it was when it was paper, but it offers better
protection for our customers.
The
kicker percentage information is released during the economic forecast
presentations to the legislature. They do not release that information to us
early. The next forecast is scheduled for November 19, 2025, and can be watched
online by going to the Oregon Legislative Information System, also known as
OLIS.
We know this was asked of one of our disclosure presenters several meetings ago. We reached out to our Internal Controls Office, which continues to encourage the use of the department's authorization forms. However, in certain instances such as this, the preparer may be able to talk us with implied consent under Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 305.193 and Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) 150-305-0120.
You might want to consider if you are using implied consent, such as whether this is most likely a one-call situation, or possibly multiple contacts. Is this a rush, or do you have time to send a form? Keep in mind that staff has discretion to determine if enough information has been provided to warrant implied consent, with some staff requiring much more information. We want to help resolve issues, but also want to secure taxpayer data, and face heavy fines and possible jail time for improper disclosure. Our rule has quite a few examples of instances where implied consent may be granted.
ORS 316.690 addresses foreign income taxes, and subsection 2(a) allows for a $3,000 foreign income tax subtraction unless limited by ORS 316.695(3), which is the phaseout amounts. The example in the question is in excess of the phaseout amount, so the taxpayers would not be able to deduct the federal or foreign tax paid.
Payroll
October 31, 2025 Meeting Questions and Answers
Thank you to the attendees of the Tax Professional Liaison meeting who submitted questions during the presentation. The following questions and answers were asked during the presentation.
Issues
with TriMet and Lane Transit Tax (LTD) are not limited to QuickBooks. We have also
seen taxpayers encounter errors while using other payroll programs. A large
contributor to the errors seems to be the taxpayers’ lack of understanding of
the tax programs.
TriMet
and LTD tax is based on where the work is being done. Depending on the business
location, they might need to keep track of hours worked inside and outside of
each district. For example: a business in Portland hired a Woodburn-based
company to install cabinets. The Woodburn-based business has a total of 15
hours for this job. Ten hours of the labor are at the Woodburn shop making and
preparing the cabinets for installation. The business has five hours of labor
onsite at the customer’s business in Portland. The five hours labor in Portland
is subject to TriMet. For questions regarding TriMet or LTD, please contact
Chris Cox at chris.cox@oregon.gov or 503-509-5188.
The Form W-2 given to the employees should report the
STT withheld and paid by the employer in box 14. The total of the amount withheld for STT from
all W-2s should equal the total reported to the department for that year. When
there is a difference, an amended form should be filed.
Please see pages five and six of the Paid Leave Oregon handbook for examples of how to calculate employer size for the year. For complicated situations like your example, we recommend the business or authorized person contact the Oregon Employment Department (OED) at 503-947-1488, after all Form OQs have been submitted for the previous year, to verify before the first quarter tax is due, to make sure the business doesn't have to pay the employer portion.
In general, a Business Change in Status Form might be worked separately and the business might have the revenue side closed quicker than the employment side, or vice versa. It depends on who gets to the form first. Both agencies will complete the necessary work in their system, but it is not always at the same time.
As long as you have those client's payroll accounts linked to your Revenue Online account through third-party access. You will need access to their withholding reconciliation (WR) account to file iWire.
Speaking on behalf of the department, we send a lot of letters that are often triggered by a specific account action. We also share communications through Revenews and other department bulletins, so please sign up if you have not already. If you have specific examples of changes not being communicated, please send them to Chris Cox at chris.cox@dor.oregon.gov.
Yes, as long as there is nothing subject to payroll. Corporate officer wages and draws are subject to payroll tax withholding (Oregon Revised Statutes 316.167).