PORTLAND, Ore. — Tax season has officially opened, the IRS and the Oregon Department of Revenue will start processing 2023 federal and state income tax returns that are electronically filed on Jan. 29.
Electronically filed returns are processed in the order they are received. Based on previous years, personal income tax refunds will not be issued until after Feb. 15, the Oregon Department of Revenue said in a press release.
The state places a "refund hold" on all tax returns for the department's tax fraud prevention efforts and to confirm information on tax returns is accurate.
Taxpayers have until April 15 to submit their returns from 2023.
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The department said taxpayers will get their returns the quickest if they file electronically. Taxpayers who file electronically and request a refund with direct deposit will typically get their refund two weeks sooner than those who file paper returns and request paper refund checks.
The state will begin processing paper filed returns starting in mid-February.
Oregon 2024 kicker
This year, Oregon is set to pay a record-breaking $5.61 billion through the "kicker" rebate, which kicks in when revenues collected exceed official projections at the start of the budget cycle. If that happens, state law requires the surplus to be sent to taxpayers as a rebate.
The amount sent to individual Oregonians is based on how much they paid in taxes for 2022, so higher income earners can expect to receive much larger kicker payments. The Oregon Department of Revenue has rolled out an online "What's My Kicker?" tool where taxpayers can look up their cut by entering their name, social security number and filing status.
Taxpayers can also manually calculate their expected kicker by multiplying their 2022 tax liability — line 22 on form OR-40 from 2022 — by 44.28%, which is the percentage by which the state's actual revenue exceeded the projected revenue for the 2021-2023 biennium.
What do I need to file my tax return?
While the required documents might depend on your individual case, here is a general list of what everyone needs:
- Social Security number
- W-2 forms, if you are employed
- 1099-G, if you are unemployed
- 1099 forms, if you are self-employed
- Savings and investment records
- Any eligible deduction, such as educational expenses, medical bills, charitable donations, etc.
- Tax credits, such as child tax credit, retirement savings contributions credit, etc.
To find a more detailed document list, visit the IRS website.
What free resources are out there?
On federal tax returns, those who make $73,000 or less per year, the IRS offers free guided tax preparation that does the math for you. If you have questions while working on your tax forms, the IRS also offers an interactive tax assistant tool that can provide answers based on your information.
The IRS also funds two types of programs that offer free tax help: VITA and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly program (TCE). People who earn $60,000 or less a year, have disabilities or are limited English speakers, qualify for the VITA program. Those who are 60 or older, qualify for the TCE program. The IRS has a site for locating organizations hosting VITA and TCE clinics.
For state income tax returns, a new platform, called Direct File Oregon, was launched where taxpayers can file through Revenue Online for free, as part of a pilot program through the IRS. Currently, Direct File Oregon is not linked with the IRS Direct File, taxpayers will need to file a separate federal return prior to filling out the state income return with Direct File Oregon.
More free options and services for state income tax returns are listed here.
