by Shaanth Nanguneri, Oregon Capital Chronicle
April 7, 2026
The Oregon Department of Revenue is urging nearly 1 million Oregonian taxpayers who rely on paper filing to mail their state income tax returns by Thursday.
The agency in a news release warned that “gone are the days when US post offices stayed open late on tax day.” State revenue officials pointed to statements from the U.S. Postal Service in January that referred to an “adjustment” in transportation operations that could result in pieces of mail being postmarked significantly later than when they were physically turned in.
Most Oregonians file their personal income tax returns electronically, a method that has steadily increased in popularity over the past decade, according to the revenue department. The official deadline allows Oregon taxpayers to file by April 15, but taxpayers run the risk of not receiving a postmark that meets that deadline if they fail to mail their forms by Thursday.
Though the U.S. Postal Service has claimed that postmarking is not a service that has historically been provided to the public, federal law dictates that postmarking is how the Internal Revenue Service validates the timeline of a tax return, as U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden wrote in a March letter to Postmaster General David Steiner. The revenue department noted that Oregonians can turn to a USPS office during business hours until April 15 to turn in their returns or make an in-person request to have their return manually postmarked.
“As much as we wish it wasn’t, it’s normal for nearly half of returns to come in the last two weeks,” Megan Denison, personal tax and compliance administrator for the agency, said in a statement. “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.”
The warning comes after the Trump administration gutted a free e-filing program for federal income taxes for 2026. Oregon was one of 25 states to have partnered with the IRS to offer an online pilot allowing taxpayers to directly file their federal income taxes. While around 4,700 Oregonians took advantage of that program in 2025, nearly 14,000 people participated in Oregon’s own system for directly filing electronic state income tax returns.
There is also a last-minute option from the revenue department to handle state tax returns. Agency staff will be in the lobby of the revenue department’s Salem headquarters to accept and date stamp returns for taxpayers from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during April 13 to April 15.
Revenue department regional offices in Eugene, Bend, Medford, Gresham and Portland also can assist taxpayers. Aside from the Gresham location, these offices have drop boxes where individuals can turn in their tax returns after hours.
The revenue department has already compiled a list of free tax preparation services as well as approved commercial options such as H&R Block, TaxHawk.com, 1040Now, CashApp and FileYourTaxes.com.
Some free options include:
- The American Association of Retired Persons Foundation Tax-Aide program, which provides assistance to anyone free of charge with a focus on low- and middle-income individuals older than 50.
- The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program gives free assistance to people who make less than $60,000 annually, people with disabilities and individuals who speak limited English. The IRS lists locations for these program sites on its webpage.
- The Portland-based nonprofit Metropolitan Family Service has a Creating Assets, Savings and Hope program which offers a dozen free volunteer tax sites in the Portland and Eugene areas as well as virtual options. The program is geared to low- to moderate-income working families and individuals and provides culturally responsive outreach.
- The Oregon Taxpayer Advocate Office also lists an interactive map on the revenue department’s website of free tax preparation sites as of 2024, though it notes those appointments are often filled quickly.
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