Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Tax Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Oregon legislature pauses rolling reconnect to federal tax code for 2025
Summary
The Oregon House passed House Bill 2092 A to freeze the state's connection to the federal tax code at Dec. 31, 2024 for tax year 2025, returning automatically to a rolling reconnection in 2026. Sponsors said the pause provides budgeting certainty; opponents warned it could leave Oregonians out of federal tax changes.
The Oregon House on Thursday passed House Bill 2092 A, temporarily freezing the state's connection to federal tax law for tax year 2025 and returning automatically to a rolling reconnect for 2026.
Representative Nathanson, the bill sponsor, said the measure "calls for connecting to the federal tax code as it existed at the end of last year on 12/31/2024." He said the one-year pause is intended to "bring some certainty to forecasting and budgeting" while federal action on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act remains unresolved.
The resolution responds to uncertainty in Washington, D.C., where the future of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and other federal tax provisions remains unclear. Nathanson said the freeze means "the taxes we file for tax year 2025 this year will be as we know it now, and after this 1 year pause, we automatically return to a rolling reconnect."
Representative Reschke opposed the bill on the floor, calling it a step that would create "local uncertainty to fix federal uncertainty." He warned that if Congress later expands or changes federal provisions, Oregonians could miss out on benefits for 2025 and face new compliance complexity. "People aren't going to know that," Reschke said of potential mismatches between federal and state treatment of items such as tips or overtime.
Both sponsors and opponents acknowledged tradeoffs. Nathanson said the freeze preserves current federal provisions for 2025 and allows the Legislature and Department of Revenue a predictable baseline while awaiting federal action. Reschke urged the House to keep the usual rolling reconnect so state taxpayers automatically receive any favorable federal changes passed retroactive to 2025.
The House declared House Bill 2092 A passed after voting, with the chair saying the bill "having received the constitutional majority, is declared passed." The transcript does not record a roll-call tally of individual yea and nay votes in the floor exchange.
Why it matters: Oregon relies heavily on personal income tax revenue, and changes in the federal code can affect state revenue estimates and taxpayer liability. The one-year freeze means any federal change retroactive to 2025 would not be reflected in Oregon returns for that year unless the Legislature or Department of Revenue takes further action.
What the bill does: HB 2092 A sets the state's definition of taxable income for tax year 2025 to the federal code as of Dec. 31, 2024. The bill specifies an automatic return to the rolling reconnect for tax year 2026.
Next steps: The Department of Revenue would implement the statutory connection for the 2025 filing year; lawmakers noted they could convene a special session if later federal action required an earlier state response.
Speakers quoted in this article are identified from the House floor transcript for March 20, 2025.
