Moving to Pacific Northwest: Vancouver vs Portland (credit, home)

[Topaz]

tinyfairypeople, you need to talk with a tax professional as the Oregon state income tax is based on where you WORK, not where you live. See:

Department of Revenue: Personal Income Tax Which Oregon Tax Form Do I File?

The Vancouver/Camas area is full of people who work in Oregon but live in Washington State and they all pay the Oregon state income tax. I believe the "N" in Form 40N means "Nonresident."

[Balco9]

Oh no!!!!!!
She must owe a lot of back pay to the IRS.

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by tinyfairypeople

That is not true. We live in Washington (as do the other 10 people in my husband's office) and work in Oregon and do not pay Oregon Income Tax. It is based on where you live, not where you work.

I'm sorry, but this is not completely accurate. Oregon bases this tax on where you work and where you live.

You will pay OR income taxes if...
1.) ...you live in Oregon and work anywhere.
2.) ...you work in Oregon and live anywhere.

You'll avoid OR income taxes if...
...you live in Washington and your work is not done in Oregon.


I lived in WA and worked in OR for many years. There are a couple loopholes that can be used, but they're rare and exceedingly specific. Here are the couple that I know of:

• Workers for a WA temp agency working at a job site in Oregon aren't nailed for the OR income tax. Technically, their work is considered to be done in WA even if one of their contract locations is in OR. They're employer is the temp agency and as such, the work performed is considered being done wherever that agency is located.
• If you can get your company to allow you to telecommute from your home in WA, you can sometimes avoid the OR income tax since your work is not being performed in OR. (This usually only works with large, multi-state companies who have a WA location or division.)

The good news is that you'll likely get back most of what you pay to Oregon for income taxes unless you're in a fairly high tax bracket. But, it's a PIA that I'd avoid if at all possible.

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by tinyfairypeople

Fisher's Landing, Camas, and Washougal tend to have houses that are incredibly expensive.

Um, Washougal is still pretty affordable. That is, unless you're looking to buy in one of the Parade of Homes neighborhoods. Those will be pretty spendy. But, in general, Washougal is a great alternative to the more expensive homes in Camas and Fisher's Landing. A fixer-upper in Washougal will still be considerably less expensive than many other areas of the county.

[tinyfairypeople]

Well, first of all, we had our taxes done at HR Block last year, the year we moved to Washington and they mentioned nothing about it. They knew that my husband works in Portland. We are military so maybe that has something to do with it. We have been house hunting for over 2 months now and haven't seen anything in the buyer's price range in Washougal, hence my suggesting that it isn't affordable. It might be in the higher ranges but we haven't even seen listings lately. Awww, here is is........

Military personnel

Nonresidents stationed in Oregon. Oregon doesn't tax your military pay while you are stationed in Oregon. File an Oregon Form 40N if you or your spouse had income from other Oregon sources or to claim a refund of Oregon tax withheld from your military pay. Nonresident members of the Oregon National Guard or reserves will be treated the same as other nonresident military members working in Oregon.


My apologies. I wasn't aware that there was any distinction between military and non military.

[Balco9]

Most or all of miltary bases are closed in Oregon...
Except for military reserves which is not the same as active.
i know there are a few Coast Guard bases on the coast, but
are a bit different from Army, Air Force, and Marines.

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by tinyfairypeople

Military personnel

Nonresidents stationed in Oregon. Oregon doesn't tax your military pay while you are stationed in Oregon. File an Oregon Form 40N if you or your spouse had income from other Oregon sources or to claim a refund of Oregon tax withheld from your military pay. Nonresident members of the Oregon National Guard or reserves will be treated the same as other nonresident military members working in Oregon.


My apologies. I wasn't aware that there was any distinction between military and non military.

Ahhh....that's makes sense. Military personnel have slightly different tax issues than us civilians.

And to whomever mentioned that all the bases in OR were closed, I'll give you that one because I don't know for sure or not. However, there will still likely be recruitment offices that don't require a base to function adequately.

Originally Posted by tinyfairypeople

We have been house hunting for over 2 months now and haven't seen anything in the buyer's price range in Washougal, hence my suggesting that it isn't affordable. It might be in the higher ranges but we haven't even seen listings lately.

Yep, that's pretty accurate. With the introduction of the Parade of Homes into Washougal, the higher priced homes are MUCH higher priced. But the regular homes, while they've increased, haven't priced out us regular folks completely

[Topaz]

Ah! That's good! We were all starting to think you'd have some huge Oregon back tax bill!

[tinyfairypeople]

Originally Posted by Balco9

Most or all of miltary bases are closed in Oregon...
Except for military reserves which is not the same as active.
i know there are a few Coast Guard bases on the coast, but
are a bit different from Army, Air Force, and Marines.

The Portland Air National Guard Base next to the airport is a full time active status guard base, as is the base in Salem. There are two more air guard bases in Oregon in K-falls and in Warrenton. There are probably some full time people at those bases as well. I just want to clarify so that you are not confusing it with an "active duty" base. The Air National Guard is an extention of the Air Force and works directly with the Air Force. The nearest active duty Air Force base is McChord AFB in Tacoma.

[Julie_Baldino]

It's actually based on where your company's home office is located. If it's in Washington, you don't pay additional Oregon tax.... If it is in Oregon, you do pay the tax. We live in Washington and have paid Oregon tax for 12 years because my husband works at Intel(his company home base is in WA). We do get an Oregon return though.... not nearly as much as we pay!

I have owned a business in WA and agree we are taxed to death for a small business. Also, in Oregon people are willing to pay more for quality and service... so as far as opening a business, I would tend to go with the Portland side.

Whatever you do, if you want to make a smart purchase, don't do it in Battle Ground. The market has been soft there for years due to over-building of cheap homes. You can easily find a home(especially a fixer-upper) in your price range, in an appreciating neighborhood. I'd be happy to help you... just ask!