Arts Tax Exemptions

Information
Information about the requirements for claiming an exemption, including a permanent exemption, from the Arts Tax with the City of Portland's Revenue Division.
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General Exemption Information

The Revenue Division will verify income and/or exemption claims with information provided to the Division by the Internal Revenue Service. Penalties may be assessed if these claims cannot be verified.

The Revenue Division may request financial information from the taxfiler to evaluate any exemption claim.


Household Poverty Exemption

The federal poverty guideline is issued annually in the Federal Register by the Department of Health and Human Services(HHS).  The guidelines are used for administrative purposes — for instance, determining financial eligibility for certain federal programs. The Arts Tax uses this guideline for determining whether a household is exempt from paying the tax.

You must file an Arts Tax Return to claim this exemption annually.


Non-taxable Income Exemption

If you are claiming a non-taxable income exemption because your only source of income is non-taxable (benefits paid by: Social Security (SS), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), federal Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (RR), Oregon Public Employee Retirement System (PERS), federal retirement benefits (FERS and CSRS), VA disability, United States Treasury interest (USTI), or any combination of these benefits):

When filing your Arts Tax Return select "Annual taxable income less than $1,000" if:

  1. You individually have $0 to $999.99 of annual income for the tax year; or
  2. Your only income cannot be taxed by the City (examples are Social Security, Oregon PERS pension benefits, FERS pension benefits or interest income from US Treasury bill notes and bonds); or
  3. Your primary income source cannot be taxed by the City (examples above) and you individually have $0 to $999.99 in other taxable income for the tax year.

Permanent Filing Exemption for Low Income Seniors or Low Income Permanently Disabled Individuals

Qualifying taxpayers with

  • only non-taxable income (for example, Social Security, Federal Employee Retirement, Oregon Public Employee Retirement, U.S. Treasury interest, VA disability income) OR income below the federal poverty-level
  • AND are either 70 years old or older or permanently disabled

can request a permanent filing exemption. This exempts the taxpayer from filing for the Arts Tax annually. If the taxpayer’s financial situation changes, the taxpayer must notify the Revenue Division and file an Arts Tax return for any year that the taxpayer no longer qualifies for this exemption.

Households with individuals under 70 years of age, unless those individuals are permanently disabled, still need to apply annually for the household poverty exemption.

Contact

Arts Tax Help

Revenue Division

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