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Form OR-TM Instructions
TriMet Self-Employment Tax 2023
Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District

This publication is a guide, not a complete statement, of Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) and Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR).
For possible updates and more information, visit www.oregon.gov/dor/business.

Important reminders Who must file and pay this tax?

A completed copy of federal Schedule SE must be included Individuals
with Form OR-TM.
Anyone who has self-employment earnings from business
If you conduct business both inside and outside the district, or service activities carried on or delivered in the TriMet
use an apportionment formula that is calculated by complet- District must pay this tax.
ing Schedule OR-TSE-AP and including it with your transit People who must pay the self-employment tax include:
self-employment tax return (ORS 314.280, 314.650 to 314.675 • Self-employed individuals, sole proprietors, independent
and supporting administrative rules). contractors, members of a partnership, and persons who
have net self-employment earnings greater than $400 from
E-file: You may file your return through the federal/state
doing business or providing services within the TriMet
e-filing program. For more information about e-filing, go to District.
our website at www. oregon.gov/dor.
• Real estate agents. Federal laws generally treat real estate
Revenue Online. You may also file directly with us through agents as self-employed. This includes those who provide
Revenue Online. Revenue Online is a secure online portal services to real estate brokers under contract. This means
that commissions on sales are subject to the TriMet self-
that provides access to your tax account at any time. You can:
employment tax.
• File a return.
Partnerships
• Check the status of your refund.
• View and print letters from us. Partnerships aren't subject to the TriMet self-employment tax.
• Make payments or schedule future payments. The individual self-employed members of the partnership
• Securely communicate with us. are responsible for filing and paying the tax. However, a
• Update your information. partnership may choose to file one return and pay the tax
for all of its individual partners. See “Partnership election”
• Check balances and view your account history.
instructions on page 3.
• File an appeal.
Exemptions
Visit www.oregon.gov/dor to sign up for a Revenue Online
account. • Ministers. Compensation received by a minister or mem-
ber of a religious order when performing religious services
isn't subject to this tax. However, compensation received
What is the TriMet self-employment tax? for performing religious services as an independent con-
tractor has been and remains subject to this tax.
The TriMet tax helps fund mass transportation in the TriMet
District. This tax is applied to self-employment earnings of • Insurance agents. The exemption applies only to insurance
related income. Non-insurance related self-employment
individuals doing business or providing services in the dis-
activities are subject to this tax (ORS 731.840).
trict. This includes portions of Multnomah, Clackamas, and
• C and S corporations. Distributions aren't subject to this
Washington counties. We collect the tax for TriMet.
tax. However, all employers who pay wages for services
A list of ZIP codes included in the district boundary is on performed in the district must pay a transit payroll tax.
page 5. For more information, call TriMet at 503-962-6466, or This includes corporation officers who receive compensa-
tion for services performed. For more information about
visit www.trimet.org/taxinfo.
payroll transit tax, call 503-945-8091 or email payroll.help.
The tax rate is 0.008037 (.8037 of 1 percent). dor@dor.oregon.gov.

150-555-001-1 (Rev. 10-16-23) 1 2023 Form OR-TM Instructions

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How to file                                                        Frequently asked questions

Visit us online at   www.oregon.gov/dor for current infor-         I have more than one business. How should I file  
mation about electronic filing or how to file using Revenue 
                                                                   my return?
Online.
Complete Form OR-TM, TriMet Self-Employment Tax Return             File one return. If you have separate business activities within 
and include the following:                                         the district, include a schedule that shows net earnings or 
                                                                   losses for each business. Compute the self-employment 
• Federal Schedule SE.
                                                                   earnings from the total net income of all your Schedule C 
• Schedule OR-TSE-AP if you're apportioning.
                                                                   activities within the same transit district. See instructions  
Payments                                                           for line 1 on page 4.

To make payments online, visit us at  www.oregon.gov/dor.          Can I file a joint return?
To pay using a check or money order, make it payable to            No. Each taxpayer having self-employment earnings must 
"Oregon Department of Revenue" and write the following:            file a separate Form OR-TM. That’s true even if you and your 
• Daytime telephone number.                                        spouse file a joint federal income tax return. The only excep-
• Tax year beginning and ending dates.                             tion is a partnership filing for all partners. Both spouses can 
• "Form OR-TM."                                                    be members of the same partnership.
• SSN or FEIN.
                                                                   I’m getting a refund on my Oregon individual income 
To pay by mail  separate from filing your return, send 
                                                                   tax return. Can I have that refund applied to this tax?
your check or money order with Form OR-TM-V payment 
voucher. Mail to: Oregon Department of Revenue, PO Box             No. We can't apply any income tax refund to pay your TriMet 
14950, Salem OR 97309-0950.                                        self-employment tax.
To pay by mail  when you file your return, include your 
                                                                   Can I file my return electronically?
check or money order in the same envelope with your 
return. Don't include a Form OR-TM-V payment voucher.              Yes. Visit us online at  www.oregon.gov/dor for current 
Mail your return with payment included to: TMSE, Oregon            information about electronic filing.
Department of Revenue, PO Box 14555, Salem OR 97309-0940.
                                                                   Can I file an amended return?
Important filing information
                                                                   Yes. File an amended return any time you need to correct 
• Don't combine your TriMet self-employment tax payment            your return as originally filed. Generally, you're allowed 
  with any other tax payment made to the Oregon Depart-            three years from the due date of the return or the date the 
  ment of Revenue.                                                 return was filed, whichever is later, to file an amended 
• Don't attach your Form OR-TM to your Oregon income               return to claim a refund. Check the “amended return” box 
  tax return.                                                      on your return.
• E-file or mail your return to the Oregon Department of 
  Revenue.                                                         What if business is done both inside and outside of  
File one return for all of your self-employment earnings.          the district?
To avoid penalty and interest, file your return and pay your       Use an apportionment formula by completing Schedule OR-
tax by the due date. Payments received after the original due      TSE-AP. Self-employment earnings are apportioned using a 
date will be applied first to penalty, then to interest accrued,   100 percent sales factor unless you're a qualifying taxpayer 
and then to tax due [ORS 305.265(13)].                             in utilities or telecommunications. A taxpayer primarily 
Extension payments. If you were granted an extension,              engaged in utilities or telecommunications may elect to use 
include your extension payment with Form OR-TM-V and               the double-weighted sales factor formula.

mark the extension payment box. Don't file Form OR-TM              What if I’m audited by the IRS?
with your extension payment. Extension payments are 
mailed with Form OR-TM-V to: Oregon Department of Rev-             If changes are made that affect your self-employment 
enue, PO Box 14950, Salem OR 97309-0950.                           earnings, file an amended return to report and pay any 
                                                                   additional tax due. If the change reduces your tax, you have 
Individual fiscal year filers. If you're an individual fiscal 
                                                                   two years from the date of the audit report to claim a refund.
year filer and your tax year begins in 2023 you should file 
on a 2023 tax return.                                              See more FAQ at  www.oregon.gov/dor.

150-555-001-1 (Rev. 10-16-23)                                    2                                2023 Form OR-TM Instructions

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                                                                     to the partnership’s earnings. If some partners have different 
Due date—when to file                                                tax years than others, net earnings from self-employment is 
Your return is generally due the same day as your federal            determined using amounts from different tax years.
and Oregon individual income tax returns. For most taxpay-           The partnership’s return and payment shall be based upon 
ers, the 2023 due date is April 15, 2024. For individuals filing     the net earnings from self-employment of the individual 
a fiscal year return, the return is due on the 15th day of the       partners from the partnership for their taxable years ending 
fourth month after the end of the fiscal year. When the due          with or within the calendar year.
date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the due 
                                                                     You must include a schedule with Form OR-TM. Include 
date will be the next business day.
                                                                     each partner's name, SSN, share of partnership income, and 
                                                                     individual exclusion. Your return can't be processed without 
Extensions to file                                                   this information.
If you received a federal extension or an extension to file          Due date for calendar year filers: April 15, 2024. The part-
your federal or Oregon individual income tax return, it will         nership must file a return and pay the tax due on or before 
also extend your TriMet Self-Employment Tax Return.                  April 15, 2024.
Check the “An extension has been filed” box on your Form             Fiscal year filers.  If you're a partnership fiscal year filer and 
OR-TM. Don't include a copy of your federal extension with           your tax year ends in 2023, file on a 2023 tax return.
your Oregon return. Keep it with your records.                       Example: If a partnership has a tax year ending August 31, 
An extension doesn't mean more time to pay.                          2023, the partnership must pay on or before April 15, 2024, 
                                                                     the tax due from the partners' net earnings from the partner-
If you have an extension, you must make your payment by the 
                                                                     ship for its taxable year ending August 31, 2023.
original due date of the return to avoid a penalty and interest 
charge. Complete Form OR-TM-V payment voucher and send               Partners: If your partnership is filing on behalf of all part-
it with your payment of tax. Form OR-TM-V is available at            ners, you don't need to file a separate Form OR-TM    unless 
        www.oregon.gov/dor. Use the same name and Social Secu-       you have net self-employment earnings from sources other 
rity number (SSN) or federal employer identification number          than the partnership. Report only these additional net self-
(FEIN) that you'll use on your return when you file.                 employment earnings on your individual Form OR-TM.
Extension payments are mailed with Form OR-TM-V to:                  Note: You may only take one $400 exclusion for all self-
Oregon Department of Revenue, PO Box 14950, Salem OR                 employment income.
97309-0950.
If you can't pay all the tax you expect to owe, pay what you         Amended returns

can, then call us as soon as possible to set up a payment plan       If you need to amend your tax return, use the Form OR-TM 
to reduce penalties and interest.                                    for the specific tax year. You must file an amended return to 
                                                                     claim a refund of tax paid. To file an amended return, use 
Penalties                                                            the appropriate form for the year of the original return and 
                                                                     check the  “amended return” box.   Include an explanation 
You'll owe a 5 percent late-payment penalty on any tax not           of the changes made with the return. Oregon doesn't have a 
paid by due date of the return, even if you've filed an extension.   separate amended transit tax return.
Oregon doesn't allow an extension of time to pay even if the 
IRS allows an extension.
                                                                     Form OR-TM instructions
If you file your return more than three months after the due 
date (including extensions), a 20 percent late-filing penalty        Check the box if any apply:
will be added; you'll owe a total penalty of 25 percent of any       • Amended return checkbox. Check the box if this is an 
tax not paid. A 100 percent penalty is charged if you don’t            amended return.
file a return for three consecutive years by the due date of         • An extension has been filed checkbox.  If you received 
the third year, including extensions.                                  a federal extension to file, or are filing an extension for 
                                                                       Oregon only, check the box on the return. 
                                                                     • Utility or telecommunications companies checkbox. 
Partnership election
                                                                       Taxpayers primarily engaged in utilities or telecom-
A partnership may elect to file and pay the transit self-employ-       munications may elect to apportion income using the 
ment tax for the individual partners. The partnership must             double-weighted sales factor formula (ORS 314.280 and 
use net earnings from self-employment as reported on federal           OAR 150-314-0060). Check the box if you're making this 
Form 1065 to figure the tax. Don't make Oregon modifications           election.
150-555-001-1 (Rev. 10-16-23)                                      3                                   2023 Form OR-TM Instructions

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Name and address section Line 2. Apportionment:
Individuals: Fill in your name, SSN, telephone number, and • Fill out and include a completed Schedule OR-TSE-AP with
business address. Form OR-TM if your business activity is carried on both
in and out of the district.
Important! Don't include a FEIN (federal employer identifi-
• If all of your business activity is within the transit district
cation number) if you're filing as an individual. don't fill out the Schedule OR-TSE-AP.
The request for your SSN is authorized by Section 405, Title • Percentage can't be less than 0 percent or more than 100
42, United States Code. You must give us this information. It percent.
will be used to establish your identity for tax purposes only. • Round the percentage to four decimal places. For example,
12.34558 percent should be 12.3456 percent.
Partnerships: Fill in the partnership name, FEIN, telephone
number, and business address. Note: If you have multiple businesses within the district
that must apportion income or losses: determine each busi-
ness's apportionment percentage separately; apply each
Line instructions—Form OR-TM
percentage to the earnings of the respective business; add
Instructions are for lines not fully explained on the return. the amounts; and enter on line 3. Include a schedule showing
your calculations.
Rounding to whole dollars. Enter amounts on the return and
accompanying schedules as whole dollars only. Example: For example: Business 1 Business 2
$4,681.55 becomes $4,682; and $8,775.22 becomes $8,775. Sales in District $20,000 $5,000
Gross Sales 100,000 5,000
Line 1. Self-employment earnings.
Apportionment 20.0000% 100.0000%
• Individuals: Fill in the amount from federal Schedule SE, Total Earnings (Loss) 25,000 (1,000)
Section A, line 3; or Section B, line 3 unless you meet one Earnings in District 5,000 (1,000)
of the exemptions. Net earnings to enter on line 3 $4,000
More than one business included on federal Schedule SE? Line 4. Exclusion. Each taxpayer’s exclusion is the lesser of
Only include earnings from line 3 of your federal Sched- the taxpayer’s self-employment earnings (line 3), or $400.
ule SE that are from businesses that are doing business or
providing services in the TriMet District. You may use a Individuals: Enter $400 or the amount on line 3, whichever
business with a net loss to offset a business with net earnings is less. Was the exclusion partially or completely used on
if they're both within the TriMet District. another 2023 Form OR-TM filed by your partnership? If so,
fill in only the unused amount of the $400 exclusion.
Example: Business A has net earnings of $20,000 and Busi-
ness B has a net loss of $10,000. Both businesses are in the Partnerships. Enter $400 for only those partners whose
TriMet District. The amount on line 3 of your federal Sched- share of positive earnings are included in the amount on
line 3. If any partner’s exclusion was partially or completely
ule SE is $10,000. Fill in line 1 on Form OR-TM the amount of
used on another 2023 Form OR-TM, include on line 4 only
$10,000. File one return. Include a schedule with the return
that partner’s unused amount of the $400 exclusion. Each
and list each separate business and their net earnings or
partner is responsible for ensuring that the total of all
losses. Losses can't be carried forward to another year.
exclusions doesn't exceed $400.
Did you receive Partnership income? Did the partnership
Don't include any partner with a loss.
file Form OR-TM and pay the tax for the partners? If so,
reduce the amount from your federal Schedule SE, Section Line 7. Prepayments. Fill in the amount of any advance pay-
A, line 3; or Section B, line 3 by the amount of your income ments you made for this tax year.
from that partnership. Line 8. Tax to pay. Calculate your tax to pay. An expected
Important. Don't make Oregon changes or modifications refund from your state income tax can't be used to pay your
to federal income on Form OR-TM. Your earnings that are transit tax.
subject to TriMet self-employment tax will generally be the You may pay online at www.oregon.gov/dor.
same as the earnings you report on your federal Schedule
To pay using a check or money order, make it payable to
SE, Section A, line 3; or Section B, line 3.
"Oregon Department of Revenue" and write the following:
• Partnerships: Fill in the net earnings from federal Partner-
• Daytime telephone number.
ship Form 1065. Don't include Oregon modifications.
• Tax year beginning and ending dates.
Note: Partnership net earnings may be netted with Sched- • "Form OR-TM."
ule C gains or losses for TriMet tax purposes. • SSN or FEIN.

150-555-001-1 (Rev. 10-16-23) 4 2023 Form OR-TM Instructions

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To pay by mail separate from filing your return, send
your check or money order with Form OR-TM-V payment TriMet ZIP codes
voucher. Mail to: Oregon Department of Revenue, PO Box TriMet serves the Portland Metropolitan area, which includes
14950, Salem OR 97309-0950. parts of Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties.
To pay by mail when you file your return, include your For information on TriMet boundaries, call 503-962-6466 or
check or money order in the same envelope with your visit www.trimet.org/taxinfo.
return. Don't include a Form OR-TM-V payment voucher. ZIP codes completely in TriMet Transit District
Mail your return with payment included to: TMSE, Oregon
Department of Revenue, PO Box 14555, Salem OR 97309- 97003 97035 97205 97215 97223 97239
0940. 97005 97036 97206 97216 97225 97253
Line 9. Penalty and interest. For filing or paying late. 97006 97068 97209 97217 97227 97256
Due date. Form OR-TM is generally due the same day as 97008 97077 97210 97218 97229 97258
your federal and Oregon income tax returns. For a calendar 97024 97201 97211 97219 97230 97266
year return, this is April 15, 2024. 97027 97202 97212 97220 97232 97267
Interest. If you're paying your tax after the due date, include 97030 97203 97213 97221 97233
interest on any unpaid tax. 97034 97204 97214 97222 97236
If you don't pay the tax by the due date, interest will be
ZIP codes partially in TriMet Transit District
charged on the unpaid tax. Interest periods generally begin
the day after the return is due. Interest is figured daily. Inter- 97007 97022 97062 97086 97123 97231
est rates may change once a calendar year. 97009 97023 97070 97089 97124
To calculate interest due: 97015 97045 97078 97113 97140
• Tax × Daily interest rate × Number of days. 97019 97060 97080 97116 97224

Interest rates and effective dates:
PO Box ZIP codes completely in TriMet District
For periods beginning Annual Daily 97075 97228 97268 97282 97291 97296
January 1, 2024 8% 0.0219% 97076 97238 97269 97283 97292 97298
January 1, 2023 6% 0.0164%
97207 97240 97280 97286 97293
January 1, 2022 4% 0.0110%
97208 97242 97281 97290 97294

Interest accrues on any unpaid tax during an extension of
time to file.
Taxpayer assistance
Additional interest on deficiencies and delinquencies.
Interest will increase by one-third of 1 percent per month Do you have questions or need help?
on unpaid tax. If the tax isn't paid within 60 days of our bill,
the interest rate increases by 4 percent per year. www.oregon.gov/dor
503-378-4988 or 800-356-4222
Penalty. Include a penalty payment if you:
questions.dor@dor.oregon.gov
• Mail your payment of tax due after the due date (even if
Contact us for ADA accommodations or assistance in
you have an extension), or
other languages.
• File your return showing tax due after the due date, includ-
ing any extension. See page 3. TriMet Transit District boundary information
Payments received after the original due date will be applied
Telephone.............................................................. 503-962-6466
first to penalty, then to interest accrued, and then to tax due
Internet .............................................. www.trimet.org/taxinfo
[ORS 305.265(13)].
Sign your return. Please sign and date your return
before mailing.

150-555-001-1 (Rev. 10-16-23) 5 2023 Form OR-TM Instructions

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