Oregon payroll taxes and calculator for employers (2026)

The Oregon payroll stack, line by line

Oregon's $56,700 UI base is the fourth highest in our 51-state SUTA table, after Washington, Hawaii and Idaho, so unemployment tax runs on almost all of a typical salary. Then come the extras:

Transit taxes follow where the work is done, not where your office is. An employee working from home inside the TriMet district brings you into that tax even if your company sits outside it. Rates, filing and the Portland high-earner rules are on our Oregon local payroll tax page.

Other Oregon rules to set up in your payroll system:

• No tip credit. Tipped staff get the full minimum wage: $15.55 standard, $16.80 in the Portland metro area and $14.55 in nonurban counties (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027). Compare other states in the 2026 minimum wage table, and see restaurant payroll software if you run a tipped team.
• Next-day final pay. Fired employees are paid by the end of the first business day after termination (ORS 652.140).
• Contractors on the new hire report. Report new hires, rehires and newly engaged independent contractors within 20 days.
• 2027 notices are close. OED mails 2027 UI rate notices by November 13, 2026, and they appear in Frances Online on November 15, 2026. Paid Leave Oregon 2027 rate notices are due by November 13, 2026 too.

Oregon employer payroll facts at a glance

Setting up an Oregon employer account

1. Get a federal EIN from the IRS.
2. Create a Frances Online employer account with the Oregon Employment Department. Form OQ, Oregon's quarterly combined payroll return, which also carries the statewide and regional transit taxes, can be filed there.
3. Register for Oregon withholding with the Department of Revenue, which administers the statewide, TriMet and Lane transit taxes.
4. If you have a Metro or Multnomah County location and anyone earns $200,000 or more, set up SHS and PFA withholding with the City of Portland Revenue Division, which runs quarterly returns due April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31.
5. Report new hires and newly engaged contractors to the Oregon Department of Justice Child Support Program within 20 days.
6. Buy workers comp. Almost every Oregon employer with one or more paid workers needs it.

What a $50,000 Oregon employee costs

Start with the simplest case: a new business with under 25 employees and no one working inside a transit district.

That is $5,067, or 10.13% on top of pay, mostly because Oregon UI covers the full $50,000. Two common changes push it up:

• At 25 or more employees, add the 40% employer share of Paid Leave Oregon: 0.4% x $50,000 = $200.
• If the job is inside TriMet, add 0.8237% x $50,000 = $411.85. A 25+ employer in Portland pays $5,678.85 in total.

The employee separately has $300 in Paid Leave Oregon (0.6%) and $50 in statewide transit tax (0.1%) withheld, plus state income tax from the graduated 2026 tables. The calculator below covers federal taxes and UI; add the Oregon extras by hand.

Oregon payroll services and PEOs

Portland employers should confirm a provider can file Form OQ with TriMet and the statewide transit tax, assign each employee to a work location for transit purposes and handle Metro and PFA withholding for high earners. Gusto Simple starts at $49 a month plus $6 per person for one-state payroll (checked October 16, 2026); see our payroll software rankings for how others compare on local tax filing.

For PEOs, a secondary source (Harbor Compliance) says Oregon requires PEO registration; we have not confirmed the regulator, so ask the PEO for its Oregon filing. Start with the PEO rankings and what PEOs charge per employee.