CPA and tax preparation in Gresham

CPA services in Gresham, inside Multnomah County

Gresham is in Multnomah County and is one of the 24 cities inside Metro's service boundary. That combination puts Gresham households under two local income taxes, not one: the Multnomah County Preschool for All (PFA) tax and the Metro Supportive Housing Services (SHS) tax. Gresham businesses can also owe the Multnomah County Business Income Tax even when they never set foot in Portland.

Gresham is its own city, though, so City of Portland rules do not automatically follow you here. Portland's business license tax, for example, applies to business done inside Portland, not to a shop that only operates in Gresham. Getting those lines right is the first thing a CPA should do on a Gresham return.

If you live in Gresham and work in Portland, your commute does not change your PFA picture much. Gresham residents already count all of their Oregon taxable income for PFA, so where you work matters less for that tax than it does for people living in Washington or Clackamas County.

Moving into or out of Gresham during the year adds a step. Part year residents of Multnomah County and Metro are taxed on all income earned while they were residents, plus income sourced in the county or district after they moved. A move date in the middle of the year is worth writing down.

Preschool for All and Metro SHS for Gresham residents

Residents of Multnomah County have all of their Oregon taxable income counted against the PFA thresholds. For tax year 2025, PFA is 1.5% of Multnomah County taxable income over $125,000 for single filers or $200,000 for joint filers, plus another 1.5% on income over $250,000 single or $400,000 joint. The City of Portland Revenue Division also notes a scheduled PFA rate increase in 2028.

SHS sits on top of that. For tax year 2025, it is 1% of taxable income above $125,000 single or $200,000 joint. For tax year 2026, the SHS thresholds rise to $128,000 and $205,000, while the Revenue Division lists no 2026 change to the PFA thresholds. So the two taxes no longer start at exactly the same income.

Full year residents file Form MC-40 for PFA and Form MET-40 for SHS with the Revenue Division, separately from the Oregon return. A household that moved into or out of Gresham during the year uses the nonresident and part year versions instead. For tax year 2026, the quarterly estimated payment threshold for these taxes rises to $5,000, which matters if your employer does not withhold them.

Multnomah County Business Income Tax for Gresham businesses

A business that operates only in Multnomah County outside Portland, such as a Gresham contractor or retailer, still has to register with the Revenue Division. The difference is that it is liable only for the Multnomah County Business Income Tax, not the City of Portland Business License Tax. The county rate is 2%.

There is an exemption for small businesses. If your gross receipts from all business, inside and outside the county, are under $100,000, you do not owe the county tax. For a single member LLC, the owner who reports the business income on a federal return is the filer, so the business tax and the owner's personal return need to agree with each other.

If your Gresham business also takes jobs inside Portland city limits, the Portland tax can apply to that work. The city exempts businesses with gross receipts under $75,000 for tax year 2026 and under $100,000 from 2027. Larger companies operating in Metro with gross receipts above $5 million also face the Metro SHS business income tax at 1%.

Even a business that owes nothing because of the exemption may still need to register and file. The Revenue Division says taxfilers who qualify for an exemption must still file a return with supporting tax pages, so a CPA should check before you assume a Gresham business can skip it.

Gresham business and rental licenses

The City of Gresham requires a business license from anyone who conducts business in Gresham, including businesses based somewhere else. The city lists the general license fee at $80 plus $3 per employee after the first two. Nonprofits can get the fee waived with proof of nonprofit status. Keeping the license receipt with your business records makes the expense easy to support at tax time.

Landlords have a separate requirement. Gresham requires a rental license for all residential rental properties, including houses, duplexes, apartments, condominiums and rooms in a lodging house, with fees based on the number of units. If you own even one rental in Gresham, that license belongs on your annual checklist next to your Schedule E, the federal schedule for rental income.

Home based businesses are licensed as home occupations, and the city sorts them into Type I or Type II. A CPA will not decide your zoning type, but can make sure the license costs and rental fees land in the right place on your books.

Payroll for Gresham employers

Gresham sits inside the TriMet district, at least in part. TriMet lists 97030 as completely inside its district and 97080 as only partly inside, so employers in 97080 should check the work address with TriMet's district map. Inside the district, employers and self employed people pay the TriMet transit payroll tax, which TriMet lists at 0.8237% of wages and net self employment earnings.

Separately, employers withhold the statewide transit tax, one tenth of 1%, from employees' wages. A payroll setup that handles both, along with federal and Oregon withholding, saves you from patching mistakes at the end of each quarter. Small errors in transit tax lines tend to repeat every pay period until someone catches them.

If you hire your first employee, a CPA can walk through registering for Oregon payroll accounts, choosing a pay schedule and making sure the TriMet line is set correctly from the first paycheck. Fixing a payroll setup after several quarters of reports is far more work than getting it right at the start.

How Gresham clients work with us

Our office is at 515 NW Saltzman Rd in Portland. We do not have an office in Gresham. Most clients work with their CPA online, sharing documents and questions by email or video, and meetings are arranged when needed.

Tell us what you need and a licensed CPA who works with people like you gets in touch with a clear, fixed quote. If you run a business, mention whether you work only in Gresham or also take jobs in Portland, since that changes which returns you file.

Sending last year's federal, Oregon, PFA, SHS and business tax returns with your request lets the CPA see quickly which filings you already make, and which ones may have been missed. Notices from the Revenue Division are worth including too.

Common questions