CPA and tax preparation in Vancouver, WA

Tax preparation in Vancouver, WA when your paycheck comes from Oregon

Washington does not currently have an individual income tax. A Vancouver household that earns all of its money inside Washington often has a short list at tax time: a federal return and very little else. That changes as soon as someone in the house takes a job in Portland, Beaverton or anywhere else in Oregon, because Oregon taxes income from Oregon sources even when the earner lives in Clark County.

The Oregon Department of Revenue has a separate return for this. Form OR-40-N is the nonresident return, used to report income from Oregon sources. If you moved between Oregon and Washington during the year, Form OR-40-P, the part year resident return, is usually the one to file instead. The two forms treat your income differently, so choosing the right one comes first.

Oregon employers also withhold the statewide transit tax from nonresidents who work in Oregon. It is one tenth of 1% of wages. The amount is small, but it is one more line a CPA checks when your W-2 shows Oregon wages next to a Washington home address.

Metro and Multnomah County taxes on Portland wages

Two Portland area income taxes can reach Vancouver residents who have never lived in Oregon. The Metro Supportive Housing Services (SHS) personal income tax covers income earned while working inside the Metro district. The Multnomah County Preschool for All (PFA) tax covers income sourced in Multnomah County. Both are filed with the City of Portland Revenue Division, separately from your Oregon return.

Neither tax starts at the first dollar. For tax year 2025, both begin above $125,000 of taxable income for single filers and $200,000 for joint filers. SHS is 1% of the amount above that line. PFA is 1.5% above it, with another 1.5% on income above $250,000 single or $400,000 joint. For tax year 2026, the SHS thresholds move up to $128,000 single and $205,000 joint.

Nonresidents file Form MET-40-NP for SHS and Form MC-40-NP for PFA. For wages, Metro uses a days worked formula: the days you actually worked in Metro, divided by all the days you actually worked, times your total wages. Holidays, vacation and sick days count in your wages but not as days worked. If you work from home in Vancouver part of the week, a simple calendar of office days can change the number you report.

Deadlines follow the federal schedule. These local returns are generally due when your federal and Oregon returns are due, typically 4/15, and the Revenue Division notes that an extension gives more time to file but not more time to pay. A Vancouver resident who extends the Oregon return should still estimate and pay any Metro or PFA tax on time.

Washington B&O tax and licenses for Vancouver businesses

For a business based in Vancouver, the tax that matters most is often not an income tax at all. Washington's Business and Occupation (B&O) tax is figured on gross receipts, meaning the total value of products sold or the total income the business earns. The Washington Department of Revenue states plainly that businesses cannot deduct expenses such as labor, materials or taxes from that base.

Rates depend on the kind of activity, and a business that does more than one thing can owe under more than one classification. Some smaller businesses qualify for the Small Business B&O Tax Credit, which reduces the tax due. A CPA can sort your income into the right classifications and check the credit before each return goes in.

Inside city limits, Vancouver also requires its own business license on top of your state registration. The application runs through the Washington Business Licensing Service, and the city license appears as an endorsement on your state business license. The city says the rule includes companies with remote employees who work from a location inside Vancouver, which matters if you hire someone who works from home in the city.

Capital gains and the coming Washington income tax

Washington does tax some investment profits. Its capital gains tax is 7% on the sale or exchange of long term capital assets, plus an additional 2.9% on taxable gains above $1 million starting with tax year 2025. It applies only to individuals, and it reaches gains allocated to Washington. You can also owe it through your share of a pass through business. For 2025, the standard deduction was $278,000, so smaller gains are not taxed at all. The return is due on the same day as your federal return.

Larger changes are on the calendar. The 2026 Washington Legislature passed Senate Bill 6346, which creates a 9.9% tax for individuals and married couples filing jointly with adjusted gross income above $1 million. It takes effect on 1/1/2028, and the first returns are due in 2029.

Most Vancouver families will never come near that level. Business owners planning a sale and people expecting a large one time gain are different, and for them the timing of a transaction between now and 2028 is worth a conversation before anything is signed.

Clark County businesses that also work in Oregon

If your Vancouver business takes on jobs or clients across the river, Oregon and Portland area taxes can apply on the business side too. Doing business in Multnomah County can bring in the Multnomah County Business Income Tax, which is 2%. Doing business inside Portland city limits can add the City of Portland Business License Tax.

Both have gross receipts exemptions. The county exempts businesses whose total gross receipts, inside and outside the county, are under $100,000. The city exemption is $75,000 for tax year 2026 and $100,000 from 2027 on. A contractor with one large Portland job a year can cross those lines without noticing.

Employers and self employed people also owe the TriMet transit payroll tax on wages and net self employment earnings for work done inside the TriMet district, at a rate TriMet lists as 0.8237%. Larger companies should watch Oregon's Corporate Activity Tax (CAT): registration is required once Oregon commercial activity reaches $750,000, and a return and payment once it passes $1 million.

If you own the business through a single member LLC, the Revenue Division treats the owner who reports that income on a federal return as the filer. Keeping a log of which jobs were done in Portland, in the rest of Multnomah County and in Washington keeps the Oregon side and the Washington side of your books consistent.

How Vancouver clients work with a Portland CPA

Our office is at 515 NW Saltzman Rd in Portland. We do not have an office in Vancouver, and most clients never need one. You upload documents online, talk with your CPA by email or video, and review your return before it is filed. When a meeting in person makes sense, it can be arranged.

Tell us what you need and a licensed CPA who works with people like you gets in touch with a clear, fixed quote. For a Clark County household, that means someone who prepares Oregon nonresident returns and Portland local tax returns as a normal part of the job, alongside the Washington filings your business may need.

Common questions