How Do I Calculate My Oregon Kicker?
Determine your personal Oregon kicker amount. This guide clarifies the direct link between the state's tax surplus and your prior year's tax liability.
The Oregon “kicker” is a state tax mechanism that returns surplus revenue to taxpayers. It is triggered when the state’s actual revenue collections over a two-year budget cycle exceed the forecasted amount by at least 2%. The amount of the credit is not a flat rate for everyone; instead, it is a specific percentage of each individual’s tax liability from the prior year.
Information Needed for Your Calculation
To determine your specific kicker amount, you must first locate your tax liability from the previous tax year. This figure is found on your Oregon Personal Income Tax Return, Form OR-40. For the kicker claimed on your 2023 tax return (filed in 2024), you will need to reference your 2022 Form OR-40 and find the amount listed on line 22. This line represents your total Oregon income tax before any credits or payments are applied.
The second piece of information required is the official kicker percentage. This rate is determined by the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis after the state’s biennial budget cycle concludes. For the surplus distributed in 2024, the state announced a kicker of 44.28%. The Oregon Department of Revenue also provides an online calculator to help taxpayers determine their amount.
The Kicker Calculation Formula
The calculation itself is a straightforward multiplication. You will take your prior year’s tax liability and multiply it by the declared kicker percentage for the current distribution. The formula is: [Prior Year’s Tax Liability] x [Kicker Percentage] = Your Kicker Credit.
To illustrate, if your tax liability on line 22 of your 2022 Form OR-40 was $2,500, you would use the 44.28% rate. The math would be $2,500 multiplied by 0.4428, which equals a kicker credit of $1,107. This resulting figure is the amount you are entitled to claim on your tax return for the 2023 tax year.
How You Receive Your Kicker
The kicker is not distributed as a separate check in the mail. Instead, it is claimed as a refundable credit on your current year’s Oregon tax return. This means the calculated amount will either increase your total tax refund or decrease the amount of tax you owe.
Eligibility for the credit is contingent on having an Oregon tax liability in the preceding year. For those filing a joint return, the kicker is based on the combined tax liability of both spouses from the prior year’s return. The credit is then applied to their joint return for the current year.