Determination engine

Which state do you actually withhold in?

Reciprocity, convenience-of-the-employer, nonresident thresholds and unemployment localization, applied together to one employee's facts. Every answer cites the state source it came from.

Withhold Oregon income tax.

The work state does not tax these wages, so the residence state governs.

Income tax withheld to

Oregon

Graduated, top rate 9.9%

Employee certificate

OR-W-4

Oregon Employee's Withholding Statement and Exemption Certificate

Unemployment insurance

Washington

Localized under factor 1: Localization.

Reciprocal agreement

Washington has no reciprocal agreements.

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No Washington withholding

Washington has no personal income tax on wages, so nothing is withheld for the work state.

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Oregon still taxes this income

A resident state taxes its residents on all income regardless of where it is earned. If you have nexus in Oregon you should register and withhold Oregon tax; if you do not, the employee must cover it through estimated payments.

Oregon has local income taxes at the residence

Oregon has multiple employee-withheld local taxes: the Multnomah County Preschool for All personal income tax, the Metro Supportive Housing Services personal income tax, the Eugene Community Safety Payroll Tax, and the statewide transit tax (0.1% of wages). TriMet and Lane Transit District payroll taxes are employer-paid. Oregon also has the state Paid Leave Oregon employee contribution.

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Washington paid family and medical leave contributions

Washington PFML total premium rose to 1.13% for 2026 (from 0.92%) on wages up to $184,500. Employees pay 71.43% of the premium (about 0.8072% of wages) and employers with 50+ employees pay 28.57%. Separately, the WA Cares Fund long-term care premium of 0.58% is withheld from employees. Employee contribution: 0.8072%. These follow the state of unemployment coverage, not the income tax state.

Oregon also runs a paid leave program

The employee resides in Oregon, which has a mandatory paid leave program, but unemployment coverage is localized to Washington. Check whether Oregon requires coverage based on residence; several programs use a work-location test and a few do not.

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Employer registrations you will need

Oregon — Income tax withholding: Oregon Department of Revenue
Washington — Unemployment insurance: Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD)

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Get the form

OR-W-4 — Washington (official state source)

Washington profile Oregon profile Full write-up for this pair

Change the inputs

Withholding determination

Answer six questions. The result is a shareable link, so you can paste it into a ticket or an email.

Employee lives inState of residence

Work is performed inWhere the employee physically sits

Employer is based inWhere the work is directed from

Days in the work stateThis calendar year, leave blank if unknown

Wages from work-state daysUS dollars, leave blank if unknown

Arrangement Works remotely rather than at an employer location Remote work is an employer necessity, not employee preference

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This is a determination aid, not advice. StateSide encodes published state rules and applies them mechanically to the facts you enter. It does not know your entity structure, your nexus history, your equity compensation, or the dozens of exceptions that turn a clean rule into a judgement call. Every determination cites the state source it came from — verify against that source, and take anything consequential to a payroll tax professional before you act on it.