Key figures
Oregon payroll
2026, with sources
One quarterly report, many lines
Oregon collects most payroll taxes on one quarterly Combined Payroll Tax Report: unemployment insurance (2.4% for new employers on the first $56,700 in 2026), Paid Leave Oregon contributions, state income tax withholding, the statewide transit tax, the TriMet or Lane Transit District tax, and the Workers’ Benefit Fund assessment. Workers’ compensation insurance itself is bought from a private insurer or through a PEO; every employer with a subject worker needs it.
Paid Leave Oregon is 1% of wages up to $184,500 in 2026, split 60% employee and 40% employer. Employers with fewer than 25 employees on average don’t pay the employer share, but still withhold and remit the employee’s.
Portland’s payroll taxes
Example: a 10-person Delaware startup hires its first Oregon engineer in Portland at $180,000. Out of the engineer’s pay come state income tax, $180 of statewide transit tax (0.1%) and $1,080 of Paid Leave Oregon (60% of 1% × $180,000). The company pays 2.4% UI on the first $56,700 ($1,360.80) and $1,482.66 of TriMet tax (0.8237%); with under 25 employees it owes no Paid Leave employer share. At $180,000 the engineer is under the $200,000 line for mandatory Metro SHS and Preschool for All withholding, but owes those taxes on their own return if their income is above the thresholds.
Metro’s Supportive Housing Services tax is 1% of Metro taxable income above $125,000 single or $200,000 joint; Multnomah County’s Preschool for All tax is 1.5% above $125,000 single ($200,000 joint) and another 1.5% above $250,000 ($400,000 joint), with a 0.8% increase the City’s Revenue Division schedules for 2028. From 2026 the SHS thresholds are indexed to inflation.
Wage-and-hour
Oregon sets its minimum wage by geography and adjusts it every July 1 for inflation, so the rate depends on where the employee works and changes mid-year.
- Three minimum wages from July 1, 2026: $16.80 Portland metro, $15.55 standard, $14.55 nonurban.
- Final pay by the end of the next business day after a discharge.
- Sick time: one hour per 30 worked, up to 40 a year; paid at 10+ employees (6+ with a Portland location).
- OregonSaves: employers without a retirement plan must facilitate the state program.
Deadlines
- QuarterlyUI, Paid Leave, withholding, transit taxes and Workers’ Benefit Fund assessmentForm OQ / Combined Payroll Tax Report
- Within 20 days of hireEmployees and individual contractors to the Oregon Child Support ProgramNew hire report
- Jan 31Annual withholding reconciliation, with W-2s through iWireForm WR
The federal baseline
This page covers what Oregon adds. The federal rules underneath it apply here too.
Common questions
When is the final paycheck due in Oregon?
By the end of the next business day for someone who is fired. An employee who quits with at least 48 hours’ notice is paid on their last day; without notice, within five business days or on the next regular payday, whichever is first. Late final pay can cost a penalty wage of eight times the regular rate for each day it is late, up to 30 days.
What local taxes come out of a Portland paycheck?
Many do. Employees in the TriMet district carry an employer-paid 0.8237% TriMet tax, everyone has 0.1% statewide transit tax withheld, and employees in the Metro district and Multnomah County who earn over $200,000 have Metro SHS and Preschool for All tax withheld unless they opt out.
Do we have to offer paid sick leave?
Paid sick time is required once you have 10 employees in Oregon, or 6 if you have a location in Portland. Below that, employees still accrue protected sick time — one hour per 30 worked, up to 40 hours a year — but it can be unpaid.
Payroll next door
- CACalifornia payrollCalifornia payroll runs through one EDD account — UI at 3.4% for new employers, ETT, and 1.3% SDI with no wage cap — under a $16.90 minimum wage, daily overtime and same-day final pay.
- IDIdaho payrollIdaho payroll is lean: 5.3% flat withholding, a 1.000% standard UI rate on $58,300, workers’ comp from employee one, the federal minimum wage and no paid leave premiums.
- NVNevada payrollNo wage tax, but a payroll tax: the Modified Business Tax at 1.17% on quarterly wages above $50,000, alongside ESD unemployment insurance on a $43,700 wage base.
- WAWashington payrollWashington payroll has no income tax withholding, but carries UI on $78,200, Paid Family & Medical Leave at 1.13%, WA Cares at 0.58% and state-fund workers’ comp, under a $17.13 minimum wage.
How Oregon compares
- No tax on wagesStates with no state income tax on wagesOregon: withholds state income tax. 9 of 51 states are on the list.
- Paid leave payrollStates with a paid leave or disability payroll programOregon: state paid leave or disability program. 16 of 51 states are on the list.
- Local payroll taxStates with city, county or district payroll taxesOregon: city, county or district taxes on wages. 14 of 51 states are on the list.
Founder guides on this
- PeopleContractor or employee? Classification for startupsContractor or employee depends on control, not the contract. The IRS test, state rules, 1099s, payroll registration and the cost of getting it wrong.
- RunwayBurn rate and runway: how to calculate them correctlyGross burn, net burn and months of runway, done the way an investor checks them: from cash, averaged, and with the hires you’ve already committed to.
More of the Oregon guide
- AccountingAccounting and state tax in OregonCorporate tax, conformity to federal rules, apportionment and what it does to your books
- ReceivablesReceivables and sales tax in OregonSales tax registration, economic nexus, whether SaaS is taxable, and collecting from customers
- PayablesPayables and contractors in OregonPaying vendors and contractors: 1099 filing, use tax, contractor tests and withholding
- ComplianceCompliance and filings in OregonRegistering to do business, annual reports, franchise tax and the filing calendar
- AdvisoryAdvisory: credits and decisions in OregonCredits, incentives and the decisions that are cheaper to get right the first time
Sources
Checked against each agency’s own page on . Rates and thresholds change, usually on January 1.
- BOLI — Minimum wage
- Oregon Employment Department — 2026 UI tax and Paid Leave Oregon rates (Nov 18, 2025)
- Paid Leave Oregon — Common questions
- Oregon DOR — Statewide transit tax
- Oregon DOR — 2026 Oregon Combined Payroll Tax Report instructions
- City of Portland Revenue Division — Personal income tax filing and payment (Metro SHS, Multnomah PFA)
General information for US companies, not tax, legal or accounting advice for yours. Rules and thresholds change; confirm the specifics with a CPA or the agency before you act on them.