Payroll and Self-Employment Tax Information

Employer and employee payroll taxes that provide operating revenue for LTD are administered and collected by the Oregon Department of Revenue.

Employer Payroll Transit Tax

An employer payroll tax (“transit tax”) is paid by employers and self-employed individuals in the Eugene-Springfield metro area and nearby rural communities served by LTD to the Oregon Department of Revenue to help fund LTD service.

Instructions to employers and self-employed individuals:

The transit tax rate is 0.80% of the wages paid by an employer and the net earnings from self-employment for services performed within the LTD District boundary.

Businesses need to file using the EIN assigned by the IRS. The tax is based on where the work is performed, and whether that location is within the LTD District boundary.

Oregon employers are also responsible for withholding the statewide employee payroll tax (see below) from employee wages. The employee payroll tax is one-tenth of 1 percent (or 0.001) and must be withheld from the wages of Oregon residents — regardless of where the work is performed — as well as nonresidents performing services in Oregon.

Employers must also report and remit the taxes withheld quarterly (annually for domestic or agricultural employers), and reconcile their quarterly or annual reports on their annual reconciliation return.

Employers can file electronically through the Oregon Department of Revenue’s Revenue Online, or they can file a paper return.

Employers who don’t withhold the tax or don’t file and pay on time may be subject to a penalty of $250 per employee, up to $25,000 for each tax period, in addition to any other penalties or interest allowable under state laws.

LTD District Boundary

To find out if a business or property is located within the LTD District boundary, check the interactive map or static boundary map linked below.

LTD District Boundary Map

Employee Payroll Transit Tax

As of July 1, 2018, wage earners in Oregon pay a statewide transit tax that helps sustain and improve local public transit services. The tax is one-tenth of one percent (0.001), or $1 per $1,000.

Instructions to employees:

Employers will generally withhold the tax automatically — just like the personal income tax — so employees shouldn’t need to do anything.

Oregon residents performing services outside Oregon for a non-Oregon employer should ask their employers to withhold this tax as a courtesy. If they do not, they are responsible for reporting and paying the tax when they file their Oregon personal income tax return.

Learn more about the statewide employee payroll transit tax