California → Oregon · 2026 tax year

Moving from California to Oregon splits your tax year in two.

You will file two part-year returns, each state taxes its slice at full-income rates, and if you landed in the Portland metro there are two local taxes nobody withheld for. This playbook is exactly what to do about it, from StateSplit, a CPA-led team that has made this exact move.

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17 pages · 11 sections · 2026 figures · updated annually · instant PDF
StateSplit The part-year tax toolkit
2026 tax year edition
The CA → OR
Move Tax Playbook
You moved from California to Oregon mid-year. This is exactly what to do about it: payroll, DMV, residency evidence, the two state returns, and the Portland-area taxes almost nobody withholds for.
What's inside
The two-return math, worked start to finish
The first-30-days payroll checklist
A residency evidence kit built the way an auditor thinks
The Portland-metro taxes most movers owe with $0 withheld
Built by a CPA-led team with an audit background
Every rule stated plainly, with the form number attached
2026 figures, refreshed every tax year
The one most movers miss

About $560 a year in Portland taxes, and your employer withholds $0 of it.

Land in Multnomah County with income over $125,000 and two local income taxes apply: Metro Supportive Housing Services at 1% and Preschool for All at 1.5%. Neither appears on your Oregon return. Employers only withhold for them above $200,000 in wages, so for most movers the first notice is a balance due, with penalties attached.

Section 7 walks the boundary lookup, the registration, the move-year cash plan, and the one payroll form that makes next April boring.

2026 data · update annually
Metro SHS 1% over $125K single
Multnomah PFA 1.5% over $125K single
Withheld by default $0 under $200K wages
See your number in the calculator
How a move year works

Two states. Two returns. One split that drives everything.

For the year you move you are a part-year resident of both states: California Form 540NR and Oregon Form OR-40-P. Each state computes tax on your entire year's income at its own rates, then takes its share. Get the split right and the rest is arithmetic.

Jan 1Move date: Apr 1Dec 31
CA · 90 days
OR · 275 days
Wages follow where the work was performed Bonuses follow the period they compensate RSUs follow workdays from grant to vest
The worked example the book carries through
Meet Alex: $160K salary, $30K bonus, moved April 1, landed in Portland.

About 21% of Alex's wages are California's and 79% are Oregon's. Each state taxes his full-year income at its own rates, then takes its share. The lopsided result surprises everyone, and yes, it is correct: most Oregon-share dollars land in the 9.9% bracket that starts at $125,000.

California · 540NR
21% share
≈ $2,750
Oregon · OR-40-P
79% share, mostly at 9.9%
≈ $13,040
Run your own numbers, free
What's inside

Eleven sections. Read it like a punch list, not a book.

01How to use this playbookThree sittings, a 60-second triage table, and where to start today.
02The two-return realityThe resident-ratio math both states use, worked start to finish.
03First-30-days money movesFive payroll fixes in one afternoon: OR-W-4, DE 4, SDI, the HR email.
04The residency documentation kitThe evidence file, built the way an FTB examiner reads one.
05DMV and legal logisticsThe 30-day license and registration clock, voting, and mail.
06Income sourcing trapsBonuses, RSUs, dividends, retirement accounts, remote work.
07The Portland-metro surpriseSHS and PFA: who owes, why nothing was withheld, the fix.
08The mid-year withholding checkA five-line worksheet that replaces the April shock with a July fix.
09Oregon welcome notesNo sales tax, the kicker, the vehicle use tax, the phased-out subtraction.
10Filing-season playbookJanuary gathering, W-2 verification, software overrides, when to hire help.
11Appendices: forms and figuresThe form cheat-sheet and every 2026 number in one table.
The playbook
$39 one-time · instant PDF
→17 letter pages, 11 sections, zero filler
→2026 tax year figures, refreshed annually
→Every figure in badged data blocks, with sources
→The worked example carried through every chapter
→Questions answered by email, free if brief
Get the playbook · $39
Questions first? info@statesplit.com
The team

Built by people who did it.

Every word of the playbook comes from a licensed CPA with an audit background who made the California to Oregon move and caught the Portland local-tax surprise on his own return. The rest of the StateSplit team keeps the 2026 figures current, answers the inbox, and builds tools like the free calculator. The residency chapter is written the way an examiner thinks, because reading files like an examiner was the day job.

The credential is authorship credibility, not a service: StateSplit does not prepare returns, take clients, or give individual advice. Reading the playbook does not create a CPA-client relationship.

FAQ

Fair questions.

Is this tax advice?

No. The playbook is educational material, written by a licensed CPA on our team. Buying or reading it does not create a CPA-client relationship, and we are not your CPA. For decisions about your specific situation, engage a qualified professional who has seen your facts.

Who is it for?

W-2 employees moving from California to Oregon, especially with income over $125,000, a bonus, or RSUs. If you have a trailing spouse in California, large equity grants, or an audit letter, we say so plainly: those situations deserve a professional, and we tell you exactly what to ask them.

What is it not?

We do not prepare returns, sell filing software, or take clients. We will not file anything for you, and there is nothing to subscribe to. The playbook is a 17-page PDF that tells you what to fix, keep, and file, with the form numbers attached.

How current are the figures?

All tax figures are for tax year 2026 and sit in marked data blocks with sources. We refresh the playbook every tax year, and anything that was not final at press time gets confirm-on-the-current-form language.

What is the refund policy?

If the playbook does not tell you something worth more than $39, email us at info@statesplit.com within 30 days of purchase and we will refund you in full. No forms, no questions.

When can I buy it?

Checkout opens shortly. Until then, run the free calculator, and use the buy button to send us a launch note so we can tell you the day it goes live.

Move once. File it right.

Thirty days of paperwork decides how painful California makes it. Start with the punch list.

Get the playbook · $39 Estimate your split first