How to Fill Out and Submit Form BZT-V: Portland Business Tax Voucher

Form BZT-V is the payment voucher the Portland Revenue Division uses to process payments for the Portland Business License Tax and the Multnomah County Business Income Tax. You use the Portland business tax voucher Form BZT-V when you need to send money separately from your Combined Tax Return, most often because you’ve filed for an extension but still owe tax by the original deadline. Download it free from portland.gov and submit it by mail, in person, or through the Portland Revenue Online (PRO) portal.¹

When You Need to Use Form BZT-V

The voucher is not the tax return. It is the slip that tells the Revenue Division which account a payment belongs to when the payment is traveling on its own. You need it in three situations: making an estimated payment during the year, sending a payment ahead of filing your return, or paying a balance due while your return is on extension.¹

If you’re paying the full balance with a timely Combined Tax Return, you don’t need BZT-V at all. The return itself routes the money.

How to Fill Out the Voucher

Download the form from the Revenue Division’s payment page at portland.gov. Two versions are posted: a fillable PDF and a printable version for handwriting. If you use the fillable one, save it to your computer and open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Filling it out inside a web browser can cause the calculation fields to misbehave.¹

The form asks for:

Your Revenue Division account number, assigned when you registered your business. If you can’t find it, check your most recent filing or your PRO dashboard.
Your Federal Employer Identification Number, or Social Security Number if you’re a sole proprietor without an EIN.²
The tax year the payment covers. Calendar-year filers enter the year; fiscal-year filers enter their fiscal year end date.
Legal business name and mailing address, matching what the Revenue Division has on file.

The voucher has separate lines for the City of Portland payment and the Multnomah County payment. Calculate each one on its own. The Portland Business License Tax is 2.6 percent of net income; the Multnomah County Business Income Tax is 2.0 percent.³ The same office collects both, but the money goes to two different governments, so keep the amounts distinct on the form.⁴

How to Submit and Pay

By Mail or In Person

Write one check per voucher. Make it payable to “City of Portland.” Mail or drop off the completed voucher and payment to:¹

Revenue Division
111 SW Columbia St., Suite 600
Portland, OR 97201-5840

In-person payments can be made with cash, check, money order, or a debit or credit card at the same address. Don’t staple or clip the check to the voucher. The Revenue Division runs payments through automated processing, and loose documents move through faster.

Online Through Portland Revenue Online

The Revenue Division’s portal is at pro.portland.gov. You need a Revenue Division tax account to log in.⁵ Once in, choose the option to make a payment rather than file a full return. The portal accepts electronic funds transfers and card payments. Credit and debit card payments carry a convenience fee charged by the payment service provider; the city does not set that fee.⁶

Online payments are timestamped the moment you submit, which eliminates the risk of a mailed payment arriving late. Save or print the confirmation.

When the Payment Is Due

Business tax payments are due on the fifteenth day of the fourth month after the close of your tax year. Calendar-year filers owe by April 15.⁷ A business with a June 30 year-end would owe by October 15.

You can request a six-month extension by filing Form EXT by the original due date, or by having a timely federal extension on file. Here is the catch that catches most people: the extension buys more time to file the return, not more time to pay. All tax owed is still due by the original deadline.⁸ That is where BZT-V earns its keep. You estimate what you owe, fill out the voucher, send the payment, and finish the return later.

C corporations get a one-month filing extension because Portland’s return relies on the Oregon Form 20/20-INC. The extended filing deadline shifts by one month too. The payment deadline does not shift. It stays on the fifteenth of the fourth month.⁷

What It Costs to Pay Late

The Revenue Division assesses three penalties, and they stack:

Late payment or filing after the original due date: up to 25 percent of total tax liability.
Late payment or filing after the extended due date: an additional penalty of up to 25 percent of total tax liability.
Underpayment penalty: 5 percent of the underpaid amount, with a minimum of $5.

You can avoid the underpayment penalty by paying, by the original due date, at least 90 percent of your current-year tax liability (and no less than $100), or at least 100 percent of the prior year’s total tax liability.⁹ Once cumulative penalties reach 25 percent for a tax year, additional penalties for that year are capped at 5 percent each.¹⁰

Interest accrues on unpaid tax at 0.833 percent per month, or 10 percent per year, as simple interest from the original due date through the fifteenth of the month after you pay.¹¹ Interest also applies to missed or underpaid quarterly estimated payments, running from each quarterly due date until the annual return’s original due date.

Vouchers for Other Portland-Area Taxes

BZT-V handles only the Portland Business License Tax and the Multnomah County Business Income Tax. The Revenue Division administers other local taxes, and each uses its own voucher. Form CES-V is for the Portland Clean Energy Surcharge, which applies to large retailers with at least $1 billion in retail sales worldwide and $500,000 or more within Portland.¹² Form BIT-V is for the Metro Supportive Housing Services Business Income Tax, a 1 percent tax on businesses with gross receipts above $5 million operating within Metro’s jurisdiction.³

If you’re paying more than one of these at the same time, write a separate check for each voucher. Combining payments on a single check delays processing and can send funds to the wrong account.¹

1
Portland.gov. Pay Your Business Tax
2
Portland.gov. Register for a Revenue Division Tax Account
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Portland.gov. Business Tax Filing and Payment Information
4
Multnomah County. Multnomah County Business Income Tax
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Portland.gov. Portland Revenue Online Makes It Faster, Easier to Pay City Taxes
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Portland.gov. Acceptance of Electronic Payments
7
Portland.gov. Tax Return Due Dates
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Portland.gov. File Your Business Tax Returns
9
Portland.gov. Portland City Code 7.02.700 – Penalties
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Portland.gov. Penalty Assessment
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Portland.gov. Portland City Code 7.02.710 – Interest
12
City of Portland. Clean Energy Surcharge