A CPA for West Linn professionals and families
West Linn history starts with Robert Moore, who built his cabin on a slope overlooking Willamette Falls and ran a ferry to Oregon City. The settlements there incorporated as the City of West Linn in 1913, which let them get needed services, utilities and improvements while staying separate from Oregon City. Today the city is in Clackamas County and is one of the 24 cities in the Metro region.
A West Linn return is often simple on paper and busy underneath. The main income might be a salaried job in Portland, a medical or legal practice, or a consulting business run from home. Add a rental property or an aging parent's finances and the return gets complicated quickly.
Our office is at 515 NW Saltzman Rd in Portland. We do not have an office in West Linn. Most clients work with their CPA online, and meetings are arranged when needed.
Local taxes for West Linn residents who work in Portland
Because West Linn is in Clackamas County, residents do not owe the Multnomah County Preschool for All (PFA) tax as residents. Where the income is earned can be a different story. PFA applies to nonresidents on income earned inside Multnomah County, so a West Linn consultant or business owner with income from Portland work may be in scope once income passes the threshold.
The Metro Supportive Housing Services (SHS) personal income tax applies to residents inside the Metro boundary. For tax year 2025, both SHS and PFA started at taxable income over $125,000 for single filers and $200,000 for joint filers. SHS is 1% above that line. PFA is 1.5%, with an additional 1.5% above $250,000 single and $400,000 joint.
If you work for a Portland employer but do most of your work from a home office in West Linn, the location of the work matters for these local taxes as well. Your CPA reviews where your income was actually earned before deciding which local filings you need.
Both are filed with the City of Portland Revenue Division and are separate from your Oregon return. Your CPA makes sure the local filings go out with the state and federal ones.
What we help people in West Linn with
- Federal and Oregon personal returns
- Metro SHS and PFA filings
- Schedule C returns and quarterly estimates
- S corp election planning
- Rental property returns on Schedule E
- Trust and estate returns, including Form OR-706
- Bookkeeping for consultants and small firms
- Help with IRS and Oregon notices
Consultants and home based businesses
If you left a corporate job to consult from a home office in West Linn, your taxes changed more than your commute. You now report profit on Schedule C, pay self employment tax, and need to make quarterly estimated payments to the IRS and Oregon so you are not hit with underpayment interest at the 4/15 deadline.
Your CPA can help you set up clean books, track a home office deduction properly, and decide when an S corp election starts to make sense. For many consultants that decision depends on profit level and how much salary you would pay yourself, so it is worth running the numbers with a CPA rather than guessing.
If your work is done inside the TriMet district, self employed people owe the TriMet transit tax on net earnings from that work. Your CPA can review where your work is actually performed.
Rental property and second homes
If you own a rental, whether a former home you kept after moving to West Linn or a property bought as an investment, the rules get detailed fast. Rental income goes on Schedule E, and the rules on depreciation, repairs versus improvements, and passive losses decide how much of the loss, if any, you can use this year.
When you sell, depreciation you took, or could have taken, comes back into the calculation. A CPA can plan the sale with you, including the timing, before you list the property.
A West Linn home turned into a rental after a move also raises the question of the home sale exclusion later on. How long you lived there and how long it was rented both affect the result, so keep records of the dates.
Planning for parents, estates and trusts
Oregon has its own estate tax with a much lower filing line than the federal one. An estate must file Form OR-706 when the total value of its assets is $1 million or more and it holds property Oregon can tax. For deaths on or after 1/1/2022, the return is due 12 months after the date of death.
If you are the executor for a parent, or the trustee of a family trust, your CPA can prepare the final personal return, any trust or estate income tax returns, and the Oregon estate return. Legal questions about the will or trust stay with your attorney.
It also helps to start early. Gathering account statements and values while a parent is still able to help is much easier than piecing them together later.
Getting started from West Linn
Use the quote form to tell us what you need, for example a joint return with a consulting business, or help as an executor. A licensed CPA who works with people like you gets in touch with a clear, fixed quote.
After that you upload documents, answer your CPA's questions, and approve returns before filing. If a meeting in person would help, it can be arranged.
Who we work with here
- Professionals who commute to Portland
- Consultants working from a home office
- Owners of a rental or second home
- Executors and trustees
- Families over the Metro SHS threshold
Common questions
Do West Linn residents pay the Preschool for All tax?
Not as residents, since West Linn is in Clackamas County. You can still owe PFA on income you earn inside Multnomah County once your income is over the threshold.
Does the Metro SHS tax apply in West Linn?
West Linn is one of the cities Metro serves. If your home is inside the Metro boundary and your Oregon taxable income is over the threshold, it applies. For tax year 2025 the thresholds were $125,000 single and $200,000 joint.
Do you have an office in West Linn?
No. Our office is at 515 NW Saltzman Rd in Portland. Most clients work with their CPA online, and meetings are arranged when needed.
I just started consulting. Do I need to pay quarterly taxes?
Usually yes, once no tax is being withheld from your income. Your CPA can work out the amounts for the IRS and Oregon and set up a schedule.
When does an estate need to file an Oregon estate tax return?
When the total value of the estate is $1 million or more and it holds property Oregon can tax. Form OR-706 is due 12 months after death for deaths on or after 1/1/2022.
Will I get a price before work starts?
Yes. After you send the quote form, a licensed CPA who handles your type of work gets in touch with a clear, fixed quote.
Can a CPA help me sell a rental property?
Yes. Your CPA can estimate the tax on the sale, including depreciation recapture, and help you plan the timing before you list.
Does working from home in West Linn change my local taxes?
It can. Nonresident PFA applies to income earned inside Multnomah County, so where you actually do your work matters. Your CPA reviews your work pattern before filing.