Oregon 'kicker' tax credit hits nearly $1.9 billion, how much will you see?

PORTLAND, Ore. – With a nearly $1.9 billion tax surplus, Oregon taxpayers will be seeing a “kicker” credit on their taxes in the 2021 year.

Instead of checks, the state Office of Economic Analysis says the surplus will go back to Oregonians through a credit on their 2021 state personal income taxes filed in 2022.

Wondering how much you will see?

You can use the “What’s My Kicker?” calculator on the state’s website. People can also calculate their own credit using the formulas below.

Initial estimates suggest the median credit will be $420 and the average will be $850.

Taxpayers are eligible if they filed a 2020 tax return and had tax due before credits, the state says. The kicker is triggered when actual revenue exceeds the projected revenue by at least 2%.

Even if you don't have a filing obligation for 2021, you still must file a 2021 tax return to claim your credit. There will be detailed information on how to claim your credit in the 2021 Oregon personal income tax return instructions: Form OR-40 for full-year Oregon residents, Form OR-40-P for part-year residents, and Form OR-40-N for nonresidents. Composite and fiduciary-income tax return filers are also eligible.

Keep in mind that the state may use all or part of your kicker to pay any state debt you owe, such as tax due for other years, child support, court fines, or school loans.

HOW TO DETERMINE YOUR ‘KICKER’ CREDIT:

To calculate the amount of your credit, multiply your 2020 tax liability before any credits—line 22 on the 2020 Form OR-40—by 17.341 percent. This percentage is determined and certified by OEA. Taxpayers who claimed a credit for tax paid to another state would need to subtract the credit amount from their liability before calculating the credit.