Know your real Oregon take-home pay

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How this Oregon paycheck calculator works

Most paycheck calculators treat Oregon like any other state: apply a rate, subtract FICA, done. That produces numbers that don't match real pay stubs, because Oregon's withholding doesn't work that way. The state uses a formula that first subtracts the federal income tax you paid, then a standard deduction, and only then applies its brackets — finally subtracting a credit for each allowance you claim.

This calculator implements that formula directly from the Oregon Department of Revenue's 2026 publication. It annualizes your pay, computes your federal withholding, feeds that into Oregon's base wage calculation, applies the correct bracket table for your wage level, subtracts your allowance credits, then adds the two payroll deductions unique to Oregon and any Portland-area local tax. The result matches what your employer actually withholds far more closely than a flat-rate estimate.

Change any field and the numbers update instantly — no button, no reload, nothing sent to a server. Use the tabs above the breakdown to flip between yearly, monthly, biweekly, weekly, daily and hourly views, and open the advanced panel for retirement contributions, bonuses, dependents and extra withholding.

The anatomy of a stub

Everything that comes out of an Oregon paycheck

Six separate deductions stand between your gross pay and your bank account, and Oregon workers face two that most Americans never see.

Notice what's missing: there is no sales tax in Oregon. That's the trade. Oregon's income tax rates rank among the highest in the country precisely because the state collects almost nothing at the register. A dollar of Oregon take-home pay buys measurably more than a dollar in Washington or California, which is worth remembering before comparing net pay across state lines.

State tax

Oregon income tax rates for 2026

Oregon has four progressive brackets. In the withholding formula they're applied to your base wage — your gross pay minus federal tax withheld minus the state standard deduction — not to your gross salary. That distinction matters enormously, and it's why Oregon's headline 9.9% rate overstates what most people actually pay.

The 2026 state standard deduction used in withholding is $2,910 for single filers claiming fewer than three allowances and $5,820 for married filers (and single filers claiming three or more). Each allowance you claim on Form OR-W-4 is worth a $263 credit subtracted from your annual tax — though allowances are ignored entirely once wages pass $100,000 for single filers or $200,000 for married filers.

Two quirks are worth knowing. First, the 8.75% bracket is enormous: it covers everything from about $11,400 to $125,000 of base wage, which means the great majority of Oregon workers sit in the same marginal bracket. Second, the top bracket threshold isn't inflation-indexed the way the lower ones are, so bracket creep is real over time.

Oregon's signature quirk

The federal tax subtraction almost nobody models

This is the single biggest reason generic calculators get Oregon wrong. Oregon is one of a handful of states that lets you subtract the federal income tax you paid before calculating state tax. For 2026 the maximum subtraction in the withholding formula is $8,750.

The subtraction doesn't apply forever. It phases down in steps as wages climb, and disappears completely at the top:

The practical effect is a hidden cliff. A single filer moving from $124,000 to $146,000 doesn't just enter a higher bracket — they also lose an $8,750 deduction from their Oregon base wage, worth roughly $770 in additional state tax on its own. If you're negotiating a raise near those thresholds, the real marginal cost is higher than the bracket table suggests. This calculator applies the phase-out automatically, so the number you see already accounts for it.

Payroll deductions

Paid Leave Oregon and the statewide transit tax

Paid Leave Oregon funds up to 12 weeks of paid family, medical and safe leave. The total 2026 contribution is 1% of gross wages up to a wage base of $184,500. Employees pay 60% of that — 0.6% of your gross pay — and employers with 25 or more workers pay the remaining 40%. Smaller employers are exempt from their share but must still withhold yours. It shows up as its own line on your stub, separate from state income tax.

The statewide transit tax is 0.1% of all Oregon wages with no ceiling at all. On a $70,000 salary that's $70 a year — small enough to ignore, large enough that leaving it out makes a calculator wrong.

Separately, employers in the TriMet district (Portland area) and Lane Transit District (Eugene) pay their own transit taxes — around 0.82% and 0.79% respectively. Those are employer taxes, so they don't reduce your take-home pay, but they're part of the true cost of employing you.

Portland metro

Metro SHS and Multnomah County Preschool for All

If you live or work in the Portland area and earn a high income, two local taxes apply on top of everything else. Both are income taxes filed separately from your Oregon return, and both only bite above roughly $125,000.

Metro Supportive Housing Services (SHS)

A 1% tax on taxable income above about $125,000 for single filers and $200,000 for joint filers, applying to residents and to non-residents earning income inside the Metro boundary — which covers parts of Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties. Thresholds became inflation-adjusted beginning in 2026, so confirm the current figure before filing.

Multnomah County Preschool for All (PFA)

A 1.5% tax on taxable income above $125,000 single / $200,000 joint, plus an additional 1.5% (3% total) above $250,000 single / $400,000 joint. It applies to Multnomah County residents and to income sourced within the county.

Real numbers

Worked examples for 2026

Single filer, one allowance, no pre-tax deductions, living outside the Portland local-tax districts:

Figures are rounded annual estimates and assume the allowance credit applies where eligible. Notice the jump between $100,000 and $150,000: that filer crosses into the 9.9% bracket and loses most of the federal tax subtraction, which is why their Oregon tax nearly doubles on a 50% raise. Run your own numbers in the calculator above — it handles all of it.

Pay schedules

How pay frequency changes your check

Your annual take-home doesn't change with pay frequency, but the per-check amount and the rhythm of your budget do. Oregon employers most commonly pay every two weeks (26 checks a year) or twice a month (24 checks). They are not the same thing.

• Biweekly (26): two months each year contain three paychecks — a built-in bonus if you budget on a monthly basis.
• Semi-monthly (24): checks are larger but always land on the same dates, which lines up better with rent and mortgage due dates.
• Weekly (52): smoothest cash flow, most common in hourly and trades work.
• Monthly (12): rare outside salaried professional roles; requires the most disciplined budgeting.

Oregon law requires employers to establish regular paydays and pay at least every 35 days. Use the frequency tabs in the results panel to see your net pay in every format at once.

Avoid these

Common Oregon paycheck mistakes

• Using the federal W-4 for Oregon. Since 2018 the two forms have diverged. Oregon has its own Form OR-W-4, and relying on federal allowances alone is the most common cause of an unexpected April balance.
• Forgetting Portland local taxes. If you're over $125,000 in Multnomah County or the Metro district and your employer isn't withholding, you owe it anyway.
• Assuming 9.9% applies to your whole income. Oregon's brackets are marginal, and the federal tax subtraction lowers the base they're applied to.
• Ignoring the subtraction phase-out. Between $125,000 and $145,000 single, your effective marginal rate is higher than the bracket table shows.
• Not updating after a life change. Marriage, a new child, or a second job all change your correct allowance count.
• Comparing net pay to a sales-tax state. Oregon's zero sales tax is worth real money that never appears on a pay stub.

Keep more

Legitimate ways to increase your take-home value

None of these are loopholes — they're the ordinary levers Oregon payroll gives you.

• Max pre-tax retirement. Every dollar into a traditional 401(k) or 403(b) reduces both federal and Oregon taxable wages. In the 8.75% Oregon bracket plus a 22% federal bracket, a dollar deferred saves over 30 cents immediately.
• Use an HSA if you're eligible. HSA contributions through payroll dodge federal, Oregon and FICA — the only triple-advantaged deduction on this list.
• File an accurate Form OR-W-4. Over-withholding is an interest-free loan to the state; under-withholding invites a penalty. Getting allowances right is free money in timing terms.
• Time bonuses around the subtraction cliff. If a bonus would push you from $122,000 to $132,000, understand you're also giving up part of the federal tax subtraction.
• Check the Oregon kicker. When state revenues exceed forecasts, Oregon returns the surplus as a credit on your return — not through withholding.

Definitions

Oregon payroll glossary

• Base wage (BASE): Oregon's own term for gross wages minus federal tax withheld minus the state standard deduction. The brackets apply to this, not to gross pay.
• Federal tax subtraction: the amount of federal income tax you may subtract before Oregon tax, capped at $8,750 for 2026 and phased out at higher incomes.
• Allowance credit: $263 per allowance for 2026, subtracted from annual Oregon tax after brackets are applied.
• Form OR-W-4: Oregon's state-specific withholding certificate, separate from the federal W-4.
• STT: statewide transit tax, 0.1% of all Oregon wages, uncapped.
• Paid Leave Oregon: paid family and medical leave program; employee share 0.6% up to $184,500 of wages.
• Metro SHS / Multnomah PFA: Portland-area local income taxes on higher incomes.
• Kicker: Oregon's constitutional surplus refund, credited on your annual return.
• Effective rate: total tax divided by gross pay. Marginal rate: the rate on your next dollar earned.

Keep going

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