On October 1, 2017, the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis announced that the 2017 surplus refund (kicker) rate is 5.6 percent. The kicker is a refundable tax credit claimed on the Oregon personal income tax, composite tax, or fiduciary income tax return for 2017. To determine the credit amount, multiply the 2016 tax liability before credits, excluding credit for taxes paid to another state, by 5.6 percent. To receive the kicker, taxpayers must file a 2017 return, even if they’re not otherwise required to do so.
The Oregon Department of Revenue (DOR) will have a “What’s my kicker” calculator available online, for personal income tax filers only, before filing season begins. Taxpayers who don’t have access to their 2016 returns should visit the Oregon DOR website in January 2018 for help calculating their kicker credit. Fiduciary and composite return filers will need to look at the form instructions for how to calculate the kicker.
For individuals, if their filing status changed between the 2016 and 2017 tax years, here are general instructions to help determine their credit amount:
If their filing status changed from single, head of household, qualifying widow(er), or married/RDP filing separately in 2016 to married filing jointly in 2017, the surplus credit allowed on the joint return is the combination of each individual’s surplus credits as calculated based on their separate 2016 returns.
If their filing status changed from married filing jointly in 2016 to single, head of household, or married filing separately in 2017, the surplus credits claimed by each taxpayer on their 2017 separate returns are prorated based on each individual’s percentage of the 2016 federal adjusted gross income (AGI).
Death of individual or spouse. If an individual died during 2016 or 2017, the taxpayer’s representative may file a return on his or her behalf to claim the surplus credit. If one of the two taxpayers on the jointly filed Oregon return dies, the surviving taxpayer may claim the full amount of the surplus credit.
More detailed information on calculating the surplus credit can be found in the forms instructions for 2017 personal, composite, or fiduciary returns, available in January on the Oregon DOR website.
If you have additional questions, please contact your Geffen Mesher advisor.
