(Photo | by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels)
The Department of Revenue reminds business owners and their tax preparers that once their business has earned more than $750,000 in commercial activity for the year, they are required to register for Oregon’s new Corporate Activity Tax (CAT) within 30 days.
The CAT applies to all business entity types, such as C and S corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships and other entities. More than 14,500 business entities have registered for the CAT since registration opened in December 2019.
Revenue has online resources to help businesses register for the CAT.
Registration is through Revenue Online. A short CAT registration training document is available on the CAT page of the Revenue website.
To register, individuals doing business in Oregon will need their name and their Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number. Businesses will need their entity’s legal name and federal employer identification number.
Businesses and individuals will need:
- Their mailing address;
- The date they exceeded or expect to exceed $750,000 in Oregon commercial activity;
- A valid email address or current Revenue Online login, and;
- Their Business Activity Code (Refer to the current list of North American Industry Classification System codes found with their federal income tax return instructions.)
Taxpayers don’t need a Revenue Online account to register for the CAT. Those who have Revenue Online accounts can’t be logged in to register for the CAT. Instead, they should go directly to the CAT webpage and click on the Register for the CAT link on the right-hand side of the page.
The 2019 Legislature created the CAT to boost funding for public schools. The CAT is imposed on businesses for the privilege of doing business in Oregon, including those located inside and outside of Oregon. It’s measured on a business’s commercial activity — the total amount a business realizes from activity in Oregon.
While all business entities with $750,000 or more in commercial activity must register for the CAT, only businesses with taxable commercial activity in excess of $1 million must pay the Corporate Activity Tax. The tax is $250 plus 0.57 percent of taxable commercial activity greater than $1 million after subtractions.
The CAT page of the Revenue website includes links to the administrative rules that govern the tax, a list of basic frequently asked questions (FAQ), and a Beyond the FAQ section that includes high-level summaries of the rules and other topics to help answer taxpayer questions.
Taxpayers with general questions about the CAT can email cat.help.dor@oregon.gov or call 503-945-8005.
Visit oregon.gov/dor to get tax forms, check the status of your refund or make tax payments; call 800-356-4222 toll-free from an Oregon prefix (English or Spanish); 503-378-4988 in Salem and outside Oregon; or email questions.dor@oregon.gov. For TTY (hearing or speech impaired), call 800-886-7204.
