The local layer
What's different about a Portland paycheck
A Portland pay stub looks nearly identical to one from Salem or Bend — until your income climbs past about $125,000. Then a second, mostly invisible tax system switches on. Metro's Supportive Housing Services tax and Multnomah County's Preschool for All tax are real income taxes on top of everything Oregon and the IRS already take, and because many employers never withhold them, thousands of Portland-area earners owe a surprise bill every spring.
This calculator is built on the Oregon Department of Revenue's official 2026 withholding formula and then adds both local taxes to the results panel — so the take-home number you see genuinely reflects what living in the Portland Metro area costs at your salary, not an optimistic figure that ignores the county.
One clarification up front: Portland has no city income tax in the ordinary sense. The taxes that bite are district- and county-level, plus the flat Arts Tax. Here's the full picture.
1%
Metro Supportive Housing Services (SHS)
Metro SHS is a 1% income tax that funds affordable housing, shelter and services for people experiencing homelessness across the Portland metropolitan region. It was approved by voters in 2020 and applies to two groups:
- Residents of the Metro district — which covers all of Multnomah and Washington Counties and the urban parts of Clackamas County.
- Non-residents who earn income inside the district boundary.
The tax applies to taxable income above $125,000 for single filers and $200,000 for joint filers, so it's a high-earner tax, not a general one. On the money above those thresholds you pay a flat 1%. A single filer at $150,000 in Metro territory owes about $220 in SHS; at $300,000 the bill is roughly $1,720.
One detail to flag: the thresholds became inflation-adjusted beginning in 2026. The figures in this calculator are the current published numbers, and we update them whenever Metro announces an adjustment.
1.5–3%
Multnomah County Preschool for All (PFA)
Preschool for All is a Multnomah County income tax passed in 2020 to fund universal preschool. It is more aggressive than Metro SHS because it has two tiers:
- 1.5% on taxable income above $125,000 (single) / $200,000 (joint), plus
- an additional 1.5% — 3% combined — above $250,000 (single) / $400,000 (joint).
It applies to Multnomah County residents and to income sourced within the county. Portland sits entirely inside Multnomah County, so nearly every Portland resident in the income range pays PFA — and residents of Gresham, Beaverton's Washington County neighbor, may also owe it depending on where their income is sourced.
| Taxable income | Single filer | Married / joint |
|---|---|---|
| Below threshold | $0 (under $125k) | $0 (under $200k) |
| First tier | 1.5% over $125,000 | 1.5% over $200,000 |
| Second tier | 3% over $250,000 | 3% over $400,000 |
"Taxable income" for both local taxes means your Oregon taxable income — approximated here as wages minus the Oregon standard deduction. The calculator handles this automatically.
Real numbers
What the local taxes cost at common Portland salaries
Single filer, one allowance, no pre-tax deductions, inside Multnomah County. The "local tax" column is the annual Metro SHS + Multnomah PFA bill, computed from your Oregon taxable income:
| Salary | Oregon tax | Local tax | Take-home |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | $7,147 | $0 | $71,333 |
| $150,000 | $12,805 | $552 | $99,384 |
| $200,000 | $17,755 | $1,802 | $128,063 |
| $300,000 | $27,655 | $5,009 | $181,106 |
| $500,000 | $47,455 | $13,009 | $278,406 |
Notice the take-home column already deducts federal, FICA, Oregon income tax, the transit tax and Paid Leave Oregon — then the local tax on top. At $300,000, Portland's local layer costs more than the entire 0.6% Paid Leave Oregon contribution for a median earner, so it is not a rounding error.
$35 a year
The Portland Arts Tax nobody withholds
On top of both local income taxes, every Portland resident who earns at least $1,000 a year owes a flat $35 Arts Tax. It funds arts education and culture programs. It is never taken from a paycheck — it arrives as a separate annual bill, usually combined with your Multnomah County property or utility statement. It won't move your take-home number in the calculator, but it's real money and a common reason Portlanders feel taxes "add up" beyond their stub.
Who gets hit
Married filers and two-income households
Both local taxes use the married-filing-jointly thresholds for couples, which are meaningfully higher: $200,000 and $400,000 instead of $125,000 and $250,000. That creates a striking asymmetry — a single Portlander at $150,000 pays local taxes while a married couple with the same household income usually pays none. For two-income households, remember it's combined taxable income that counts, not each spouse's salary. A couple earning $120,000 each has $240,000 of combined income, which crosses the joint first tier.
The calculator's "Married" setting reflects these higher thresholds automatically, so you can see exactly where your household lands.
The catch
Why your stub may not show these taxes
Oregon employers are not required to withhold Metro SHS or Multnomah PFA in most situations, and few do. The practical result: if you're above the thresholds and your employer doesn't withhold, the tax appears only when you file — as a balance due you didn't budget for. Two ways to protect yourself:
- Request voluntary withholding from your employer on Metro's and Multnomah County's forms (SHS-1 / PFA withholding request).
- Make quarterly estimated payments to the county/district, roughly matching the calculator's local-tax figure.
Don't rely on the state's numbers
Metro SHS and Multnomah PFA are separate returns — they are not filed with the Oregon Department of Revenue. Use the calculator's local-tax figure as your planning baseline, then confirm the current thresholds and your filing status with the county before paying.
Compare
Portland vs. the rest of Oregon
The local layer is the entire difference between a Portland paycheck and one from Bend or Medford. Before the $125,000 mark, a Portland resident's take-home is identical to anywhere else in the state — same federal, FICA, Oregon, transit and Paid Leave deductions. Above it, Portland-area earners give back 1% to 3% of the excess, which is why high-income workers sometimes negotiate for remote roles or look outside the district. The calculator's location selector compares all three scenarios side by side.
Bottom line
How to use this calculator
Set your filing status, enter your gross pay, choose Multnomah County (or the Metro district) in the location field, and open the advanced panel if you contribute to a 401(k), an HSA or have dependents. The results panel splits out the local tax on its own line so you always know what Portland's layer is costing you — and whether your employer is probably not withholding it.