Businesses subject to Oregon’s Corporate Activity Tax will be allowed to file fiscal-year returns beginning with the 2021 tax year according to statutory changes approved by the Legislature in June.
Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 164 into law in July and it will go into effect September 25. The legislation adds a fiscal-year filing option for CAT taxpayers who use a fiscal tax year rather than the calendar year for federal tax purposes.
For a fiscal tax year ending during 2021, the measure requires taxpayers to file a short-year CAT return covering January 1, 2021 through the end of their fiscal tax year. Those short year returns are due by April 15, 2022.
Additionally, SB 164 changes the return filing due date to the 15th day of the fourth month following the end of the tax year. It also changes the due dates for estimated payments to the last day of the fourth, seventh, and 10th months of the tax year and the first month following the end of the tax year.
The department is developing administrative rules related to the changes made by SB 164. More details about those changes will be available on the CAT page of the Department of Revenue website in early 2022. Current CAT forms and instructions can be found by searching “Corporate Activity Tax” on the forms page of the department’s website.
To receive information on the rules process, taxpayers can sign-up for the Corporate Activity Tax Update newsletter.
Additional changes made to CAT by SB 164 are outlined in a fact sheet on the CAT page.
The Corporate Activity Tax went into effect January 1, 2020.The CAT is imposed on businesses for the privilege of doing business in Oregon. It applies to all business entities including those located inside and outside of Oregon. It is measured on a business’s commercial activity—the total amount a business realizes from transactions and activity in Oregon. Businesses with taxable commercial activity in excess of $1 million must pay the Corporate Activity Tax. The tax is $250 plus 0.57 percent of gross receipts greater than $1 million after subtractions.
Taxpayers with general questions about the CAT can email cat.help.dor@oregon.gov or call 503-945-8005.