If you’re asking what tax bracket you’re in for Oregon, the state uses four graduated rates — 4.75%, 6.75%, 8.75%, and 9.9% — and your bracket is set by your filing status and your Oregon taxable income after state-specific adjustments.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 316-037 – Personal Income Tax The rate that gets called “your bracket” is your top marginal rate, meaning the rate charged on your last dollar of income. The rest of your income is taxed at the lower rates below it.
The Four Oregon Rates
Oregon’s rate tiers are set in ORS 316.037:
- 4.75% on the lowest tier of taxable income
- 6.75% on the next tier
- 8.75% on the middle tier, which covers the widest income range
- 9.9% on all taxable income above the top threshold
The dollar thresholds where each rate kicks in are not permanently fixed. The statute directs the Department of Revenue to adjust them each year using a cost-of-living formula, so the breakpoints shift slightly upward over time.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 316-037 – Personal Income Tax The base statutory table for a single filer sets the tiers at $2,000, $5,000, and $125,000 before indexing. The real brackets on the return you file are higher. For the exact current-year numbers, download the Form OR-40 instructions from the Oregon Department of Revenue for the tax year you’re filing.
How Filing Status Changes Your Thresholds
Oregon recognizes the same five filing statuses as the federal return: Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Head of Household, and Qualifying Surviving Spouse. You use the same status on Form OR-40 that you used federally.2Oregon Department of Revenue. Form OR-40 Oregon Individual Income Tax Return for Full-year Residents
The statute doubles every bracket threshold for joint filers, heads of household, and qualifying surviving spouses compared to single or married-filing-separately filers.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 316-037 – Personal Income Tax A married couple filing jointly stays in the 8.75% bracket for roughly twice as much income as a single filer before the 9.9% rate takes over. The doubling is clean, with no marriage penalty built into the bracket widths.
Finding The Income Number That Sets Your Bracket
The figure that determines your bracket is Oregon taxable income, not federal taxable income and not gross wages. Oregon starts from your federal return, then applies state-specific additions and subtractions before you take an Oregon deduction.3Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 316 – Personal Income Tax 2025 Edition – Section: MODIFICATIONS OF TAXABLE INCOME (Generally) The number that comes out the other end is what you run through the bracket table.
For 2026, the Oregon standard deduction is $2,910 for single filers and $5,820 for married couples filing jointly.4Oregon Department of Revenue. Payroll Formulas, Tables and Deductions – Businesses These are much smaller than the federal standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 joint for 2026), so some taxpayers who take the federal standard deduction come out ahead itemizing on the Oregon return.
Three Oregon subtractions matter most for bracket placement because they can be large enough to drop you into a lower tier:
Federal income tax paid. Oregon is one of the few states that lets you subtract the federal income tax you paid from your state taxable income. The subtraction is capped at a dollar amount the Department of Revenue publishes each year, and the cap phases down based on income. The current cap and phase-down schedule appear in the Form OR-40 instructions.5Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 316 – Personal Income Tax 2025 Edition – Section: 316.680 Modification of Taxable Income
Social Security benefits. Oregon fully excludes Social Security benefits from state income tax. Whatever amount you included on your federal return comes right back out on the Oregon return.6Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 316 – Personal Income Tax 2025 Edition – Section: 316.054 Social Security Benefits to Be Subtracted From Federal Taxable Income For retirees, that can shift the bracket meaningfully.
Oregon 529 and ABLE contributions. Contributions to an Oregon 529 college savings plan or an Oregon ABLE Savings Plan qualify for a subtraction with a base statutory limit of $2,000 per year for single filers and $4,000 for joint filers.7Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 316 – Personal Income Tax 2025 Edition – Section: 316.695 Additional Modifications of Taxable Income Those base amounts are indexed for inflation, so the actual limit is somewhat higher and varies by tax year.
What “My Bracket” Actually Means
Oregon’s system is marginal. Your whole income is not taxed at one rate. Each rate applies only to the slice of income inside that tier.
Say your Oregon taxable income is $50,000 and you file as single. Using the base statutory thresholds to illustrate: the first $2,000 is taxed at 4.75%, the next $3,000 (from $2,000 to $5,000) at 6.75%, and everything from $5,000 to $50,000 at 8.75%. You never pay 8.75% on the entire $50,000. Your effective rate, meaning total tax divided by total income, comes out below your top marginal rate.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 316-037 – Personal Income Tax
So when you ask what bracket you’re in, the useful answer is your top marginal rate. That rate tells you how much of each additional dollar goes to Oregon. If you’re in the 8.75% bracket, every extra dollar of overtime, side work, or a Roth conversion is taxed at 8.75% by the state, on top of whatever federal rate applies. That marginal number matters more than the effective rate when you’re deciding whether to take on extra income or time a capital gain.
Credits That Change The Bill After The Bracket Math
Your bracket sets the tax before credits. Credits come off the tax itself, dollar for dollar, so they change what you actually owe without changing which bracket you landed in.
Oregon provides a personal exemption credit for each qualifying exemption on your return, including yourself, your spouse, and your dependents. For 2025 returns filed in 2026, the credit is $256 per exemption. It phases out entirely if your adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000 for single or married-filing-separately filers, or $200,000 for joint filers and heads of household.8Oregon Department of Revenue. Tax Benefits for Families – Individuals An additional credit is available if you or your spouse has a severe disability, subject to the same income limits.
Oregon also has a surplus-refund mechanism called the kicker. When actual state revenues exceed the forecast by more than 2%, the surplus comes back as a credit on the following year’s return. For 2025 returns filed in 2026, the kicker credit equals 9.863% of your 2024 Oregon personal income tax liability.9Oregon Department of Revenue. Oregon Surplus Revenue Kicker Credit Fact Sheet If you owed $5,000 in Oregon tax for 2024, the kicker puts roughly $493 back when you file your 2025 return. The kicker doesn’t appear every year, so check whether one applies for the tax year you’re filing.