Salem, OR— Gone are the days when US Post Offices stayed open late on Tax Day. No more lines of cars in the Post Office driveway after dark. The late local news no longer features live interviews with taxpayers explaining why they waited until the last minute to file.
Don’t be fooled, however. Taxpayers still wait until the last minute and it’s almost here.
“As much as we wish it wasn’t, it’s normal for nearly half of returns to come in the last two weeks,” said Megan Denison, Personal Tax and Compliance administrator for the Oregon Department of Revenue. “We encourage taxpayers to file early and a lot do, but there are always hundreds of thousands of returns filed in the final weeks, days, and, yes, hours before the deadline.”
With two weeks to go before the April 15 deadline, nearly 1 million taxpayers have yet to file their tax year 2025 Oregon personal income tax. The Oregon Department of Revenue is sharing tips to help those taxpayers beat the clock.
File electronically
The vast majority of filers—including those who file early, those who file late, and those who file somewhere in the middle—file their returns electronically. E-filing is the fastest way for taxpayers to get their tax refund.
Last year more than 94 percent of Oregon personal income tax returns were filed electronically. That’s up from 86 percent just 10 years ago and the percentage keeps inching up every year. The remaining 5 percent, however, still file paper returns.
Make sure to file your paper return on time
Taxpayers who choose to file a paper return should mail it early. The federal and state tax deadline is April 15, but due to changes at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), returns mailed after April 9 may not receive a postmark of April 15 or before.
Taxpayers who miss the suggested mail deadline, can take their return to a USPS office during regular business hours no later than April 15, 2026 and make an in-person request to have their return manually postmarked at the counter.
While taxpayers will find Post Offices closed after regular business hours on Tax Day, the Department of Revenue still offers a last-minute option—at least for Oregon returns.
Department of Revenue staff will be on hand in the lobby of the Revenue headquarters building in Salem to accept and date stamp returns for taxpayers 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, April 13, through Tax Day, Wednesday, April 15. Taxpayers can also hand deliver their returns to DOR Regional offices in Bend, Eugene, Gresham, Medford, and Portland during regular business hours.
After hours, paper Oregon personal income tax returns can be deposited in drop boxes available on both the east and west sides of the Salem office; on the west side of the Portland State Office Building; or outside the DOR offices in Eugene, Medford, and Bend. A drop box inside DOR’s Gresham office is available during business hours.
The department doesn’t recommend using the state drop boxes for federal returns. Paper federal returns should be sent to the IRS. Federal returns dropped in the DOR drop boxes are date stamped and forwarded to the IRS, but the Department of Revenue can’t guarantee that the IRS will accept them as having been filed on time.
Other things taxpayers should know
The Oregon surplus revenue kicker is a refundable credit that will either increase a taxpayer’s Oregon state income tax refund or decrease the amount of state taxes they owe. It is not sent to taxpayers separately as a check. Only taxpayers who filed a tax year 2024 return and also file a tax year 2025 return can receive a kicker.
Taxpayers can use Free Fillable Forms to file their federal return and then use Direct File Oregon to file their Oregon personal income tax return directly with the state through Revenue Online. Other free electronic filing options are available for taxpayers that meet income requirements. Using links from the department’s website ensures that both taxpayers’ federal and state return will be filed for free.
From IRS-sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites to Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) or AARP Foundation TaxAide locations, Oregon taxpayers needing free assistance can find free tax assistance sites near them on the Department of Revenue Department’s interactive map or through the United Way’s MyFreeTaxes program.
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