2021 Instructions for Schedule OR-A, Oregon Itemized Deductions, 150-101-007-1

150-101-007-1 (Rev. 10-27-21)

Schedule OR-A Instructions

General information

Use Schedule OR-A to figure your Oregon itemized deduc-

tions using federal definitions and limitations, with the

modifications noted in these instructions. Generally, for

Oregon, you’re allowed the larger of your itemized deduc-

tions or your standard deduction.

Note: Your Oregon standard deduction will be zero if you

are married filing a separate return and your spouse item-

izes, or if you are a nonresident alien.

If you itemize, you can deduct a part of your medical and

dental expenses, amounts you paid for certain taxes, inter-

est, gifts to charity, and certain miscellaneous expenses.

Don’t include items that you deducted elsewhere on your

federal or Oregon tax return forms or schedules, such as

Schedule C, C-EZ, E, or F. In some cases, you may have to

add some deductions back or reduce some income items on

your Oregon return. See the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

publications referred to in these instructions and Publica-

tion OR-17 for more information.

Medical and dental expenses

In general

You can deduct only the part of your medical and dental

expenses that exceeds 7.5 percent of the amount of your fed-

eral adjusted gross income on Form OR-40, line 7, or Form

OR-40-N or OR-40-P, line 29F.

Examples of medical and dental payments

you can deduct

To the extent you weren’t reimbursed, and with certain lim-

itations, you can generally deduct what you paid for:

• Insurance premiums for medical and dental care, includ-

ing Medicare Parts B and D.

• Prescription medicines and insulin.

• Healthcare professionals, including medical doctors,

dentists, physical therapists, and psychologists.

• Medical examinations, X-rays, laboratory fees, diagnos-

tic tests, and other services.

• Hospital care and nursing help.

• Ambulance service and other travel costs.

• Nicotine cessation, medical weight-loss, and addiction

treatment.

• Hearing aids, eyeglasses, wheelchairs, guide dogs, and

other medical aids.

• Lodging costs and travel for treatment away from home.

• Lactation supplies.

Examples of expenses you can’t deduct

• Elective cosmetic surgery.

• Over-the-counter medications.

• Drugs that are illegal under federal law.

• Funeral, burial, or cremation costs.

The above lists are not exhaustive. IRS Publication 502, Med-

ical and Dental Expenses, describes the types of expenses you

can and can’t deduct in greater detail. It also explains when

you can deduct capital expenses and special care expenses

for disabled persons. Note: You don’t have to reduce your

expenses if you’re claiming the federal credit for business

or health coverage.

Whose medical and dental expenses

can be included?

You can include medical and dental bills you paid in 2021

for anyone who was one of the following, either when the

services were provided or when you paid for them:

• Yourself and your spouse.

• All dependents you are claiming on your Oregon return,

and any child you can’t claim as a dependent because of

the rules for children of divorced or separated parents.

• Any person you could have claimed as a dependent on

your Oregon return except that their gross income for

2021 was $4,300 or more or they filed a joint return.

• Any person you could have claimed as a dependent

except that you or your spouse (if filing a joint Oregon

return) can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s

2021 return.

Deceased taxpayer. Certain medical expenses paid out of a

deceased taxpayer’s estate can be claimed on the deceased

taxpayer’s final return. See IRS Publication 502 for details.

Coordination with the Working Family

Household and Dependent Care (WFHDC) credit

Some medical expenses for the care of qualifying persons

may also qualify as expenses for purposes of claiming the

WFHDC credit. These expenses can be included in your

itemized deductions or be used for the WFHDC credit, but

they can’t be used for both. See “Additions” in Publication

OR-17 for more information.

Lines 1 through 4

Line 1. Medical and dental expenses. Enter the total of

your medical and dental expenses, reduced by any pay-

ments you received from insurance or other sources.

Schedule OR-A Instructions

Oregon Itemized Deductions

2021

150-101-007-1 (Rev. 10-27-21)

Schedule OR-A Instructions

Don’t include:

• Payments that your insurance company paid directly to

the provider.

• Amounts that were paid through an employer-sponsored

(cafeteria) plan, unless those amounts were included in

box 1 of Form W-2.

• Expenses that you’re using for the WFHDC credit unless

you also report any required add back.

Line 2. AGI. Enter the amount from Form OR-40, line 7, or

Form OR-40-N or OR-40-P, line 29F.

Line 3. AGI threshold. Multiply line 2 by 7.5% (0.075).

Line 4. Medical and dental expense deduction. Subtract

line 3 from line 1. If line 3 is more than line 1, enter 0.

Coordination with the special

medical subtraction

If you or your spouse turned age 66 by the end of the tax

year, and your federal AGI wasn’t more than $200,000

($100,000 if your filing status is single or married filing

separately), you may qualify for the special Oregon medi-

cal subtraction. You’ll need the information from Sched-

ule OR-A, lines 1 and 4, when you figure your subtraction

amount. See “Special Oregon medical subtraction” in Pub-

lication OR-17 for more information.

Taxes you paid

In general

You may deduct certain state or local income taxes or foreign

income taxes you paid during the tax year, such as income

taxes paid to a state other than Oregon, mandatory contri-

butions to certain employment-related programs in other

states, and taxes on real or personal property located in the

United States that are based on the property’s value (known

as ad valorem tax). Income-based taxes paid to a local gov-

ernment within Oregon, such as Portland’s Arts Tax, may

be deducted because they’re not paid to the State of Oregon.

Limitation on income and property tax

The total amount of income and property taxes you can

deduct can’t be more than $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing

separately).

Examples of taxes you can’t deduct

• Oregon income tax.

• Charitable contributions claimed as payments of Oregon

income tax.

• Income taxes paid to another state on which you’re bas-

ing an Oregon credit.

• Oregon statewide transit tax.

• Federal income tax.

• Sales tax.

• Tax on real property paid to a foreign country.

• Social Security, Medicare, unemployment, or railroad

retirement tax.

• Gift tax.

• Estate tax, other than federal estate tax on income in

respect of a decedent (see below).

• Customs duties.

• Gasoline tax.

• License fees.

• Assessments for property improvements.

• Taxes you paid for someone else.

Charitable contributions claimed as Oregon tax payments.

You can’t deduct a charitable contribution for which you

received an Oregon tax credit as a payment of Oregon

income tax. See “Gifts to charity” and the “Credits” section

of Publication OR-17 for more information.

Federal income tax. You can’t claim an itemized deduction

for federal income tax paid during the tax year. However,

see “Federal tax liability subtraction” in Publication OR-17

for more information.

Income taxes paid to another state. If you’re claiming

a credit on your Oregon return for income taxes paid to

another state, you must reduce your deduction by the

amount of tax paid to the other state.

Credit and deduction—same year. If you claimed a credit

on an Oregon return for taxes you paid during this tax year,

you must reduce your deduction by the amount of the other

state’s tax liability or the amount you’re deducting, which-

ever is less.

Example 1: Inga, an Oregon resident, paid $11,000 in

income tax to Maine and $12,000 in income tax to Arizona

this year. She’s claiming a credit for the taxes paid to Maine

on this year’s Oregon return. She had $13,000 in Maine

tax and $15,000 in Arizona tax withheld from her income

during the year, for total income taxes paid to a state other

than Oregon of $28,000 ($13,000 + $15,000). On Inga’s Maine

return, her net tax liability is $12,000. She reduces her

Oregon deduction for taxes paid to Maine by $12,000. She’ll

report $16,000 ($28,000 – $12,000) on Schedule OR-A, line 5.

Credit and deduction—different years. You must reduce

this year’s deduction for taxes you paid to another state if:

• You claimed a credit for taxes paid to the other state on

an Oregon return for a prior year,

• The credit was based on tax you owed the other state for

the year you claimed the credit, and

• This year, you paid the tax that you owed the other state

for the prior year.

Reduce your deduction by the smaller of:

• The other state’s tax for the year you claimed the credit, or

• The amount of the other state’s tax for that year which

you paid this year.

The total amount of your reduction will equal the total

amount of tax on which your credit was based.

Example 2: Peggy is an Oregon resident. She owes $3,000 to

Iowa for 2021 tax on income that is also taxed by Oregon.

She’s claiming a credit on her Oregon return that is based

on her $3,000 Iowa tax liability. Peggy had $1,250 in tax

withheld from her Iowa income in 2021. She’s paying the

150-101-007-1 (Rev. 10-27-21)

Schedule OR-A Instructions

remaining $1,750 in April 2022 when she files her 2021

returns. Peggy’s deduction for tax paid to Iowa for 2021 is

the $1,250 in withholding, and if she itemizes in 2022, her

deduction will be the remaining $1,750. For 2021, her Oregon

itemized deduction for taxes paid to Iowa is reduced by

$1,250, the tax she’s deducting on which her credit is based.

If she itemizes in 2022, she’ll reduce her deduction for taxes

paid to Iowa by $1,750, the remaining portion of the tax on

which her 2021 credit is based.

See “Income taxes paid to another state” in Publication

OR-17 for details about the credit.

Sales tax. Oregon doesn’t allow a deduction for sales tax

paid. Important: If you made the election on your federal

Schedule A to deduct sales tax paid instead of income tax

paid, you can’t deduct income tax paid on your Schedule

OR-A. (ORS 316.821)

Lines 5 through 11

Line 5. State and local income taxes. Enter the total of the

state and local income taxes you paid to a local govern-

ment or to a state other than Oregon, reduced as explained

above for any credits you’re claiming for income taxes paid

to another state.

Note: If you deducted sales tax paid instead of income

tax paid on your federal Schedule A, you must enter 0 on

line 5.

Line 6. Real estate taxes. Enter the state or local taxes you

paid on real estate you own that wasn’t used for business,

but only if the taxes are assessed uniformly at a like rate

on all real property throughout the community, and the

proceeds are used for general community or governmental

purposes. See IRS Publication 530, Tax Information for Home-

owners, for more information.

Don’t include the following:

• Taxes on real property located outside the United States

or its possessions.

• Itemized charges for services to specific property or per-

sons (for example, a flat fee charged by the county for

mowing a lawn that has grown beyond the permitted

height).

• Charges for improvements that tend to increase the

value of your property, such as sidewalk assessments.

Line 7. Personal property taxes. Enter the state or local per-

sonal property taxes you paid that were:

• Based only on the property’s value (ad valorem) and

• Imposed on a yearly basis.

Line 8. Reserved.

Line 9. Total income and property taxes. Enter the total

of lines 5, 6, and 7. Don’t enter more than $10,000 ($5,000 if

married filing separately).

Line 10. Other taxes. List the type and amount of other

deductible taxes that aren’t already included on lines 5, 6,

or 7.

Interest you paid

You may deduct the following interest on Schedule OR-A:

• Home mortgage interest. Interest paid on a home

mortgage that is secured by your main home or sec-

ond home, including first and second mortgages and

refinanced mortgages, including mortgage points.

Don’t include interest paid on home equity loans. See

IRS Publication 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduc-

tion, for debt and income limits and other information.

Note: If you had to reduce your deduction on your fed-

eral return because you claimed the mortgage inter-

est credit, you may subtract the reduction amount on

Schedule OR-ASC or OR-ASC-NP. See “Federal tax

credits” in Publication OR-17 for more information.

• Mortgage insurance premiums. Mortgage insurance

premiums are deductible as a form of interest for tax

year 2021. You may deduct premiums paid or accrued for

mortgage insurance on your main home or second home

if the amount on Form OR-40, line 7, or Form OR-40-N

or OR-40-P, line 29F isn’t more than $109,000 ($54,500 if

mar ried filing separately). If the amount on Form OR-40,

line 7, or Form OR-40-N or OR-40-P, line 29F is more than

$100,000 ($50,000 if married filing separately), use the

“Mortgage Insurance Premiums Deduction Work sheet”

in the instructions for federal Schedule A to calculate

your mortgage insurance premium deduction. See IRS

Publication 936 for limits and other details.

• Investment interest. This is interest paid on money

you borrowed to buy property held for investment.

Your investment interest deduction is generally limited

to the income, after other expenses, from the invest-

ments. Investment interest expense that exceeds the

investment income may be carried forward to next year.

Note: If the interest is allocable to income that is exempt

from Oregon tax, you may have to modify the income

on Schedule OR-ASC or OR-ASC-NP. Unless an excep-

tion applies, if you are deducting investment interest,

you must complete federal Form 4952, Investment Interest

Expense Deduction. Keep a copy of this form with your

tax records; don’t include it with your Oregon return. For

more information, limitations, and additional require-

ments, see IRS Publication 550, Investment Income and

Expenses, and the instructions for Form 4952. For more

information about income with related interest expense,

see Publication OR-17.

Lines 12 through 17

Line 12. Mortgage interest and points reported on Form

1098. Enter the home mortgage interest and points reported

to you on federal Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement.

Line 13. Mortgage interest not reported on Form 1098.

Enter the home mortgage interest you paid to a recipient

who didn’t provide you with a Form 1098. If the recipient

was the person from whom you bought the home, enter the

person’s name, address, and Social Security number (SSN)

(if an individual) or employer identification number (EIN)

on the dotted line next to line 13.

150-101-007-1 (Rev. 10-27-21)

Schedule OR-A Instructions

Line 14. Points not reported on Form 1098. Points are shown

on your settlement statement. You may deduct points paid

to borrow money but not for other purposes. Points paid to

refinance a mortgage must be deducted over the life of the

loan. See IRS Publication 936 for more information.

Line 15. Enter the premiums you paid for mortgage insur-

ance provided by the federal Department of Veterans

Affairs, the Federal Housing Administration, the federal

Rural Housing Service, or private mortgage insurance.

Note: If the amount from Form OR-40, line 7, or

Form OR-40-N or OR-40-P, line 29F is more than $100,000

($50,000 if married filing separately), refer to the instructions

for mortgage insurance premiums, above, for guidance.

Line 16. Investment interest. Enter the interest you paid on

money you borrowed to buy property held for investment.

Use the amount you calculated using federal Form 4952, if

applicable.

• Don’t include interest paid on money you borrowed to

buy bonds issued by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

or the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, Samoa, or the

Virgin Islands. Income from these bonds isn’t taxable

by Oregon.

• If you’re deducting interest paid on money you bor-

rowed to buy U.S. bonds, notes, or other obligations,

you’ll need to reduce your subtraction for this income

on your Oregon return. See “Interest and dividends on

U.S. bonds and notes” in Publication OR-17 for more

information.

• You’ll have an addition on your Oregon return if you

have income from bonds and notes issued by another

state, or political subdivision of another state. The

income from these bonds and notes isn’t subject to fed-

eral tax, but it is taxable by Oregon. However, you may

reduce your addition by the amount of related invest-

ment expense that you couldn’t include in your federal

itemized deductions. See “Interest on state and local gov-

ernment bonds outside of Oregon” in Publication OR-17

for more information.

Gifts to charity

You can deduct contributions or gifts you gave to orga-

nizations that are religious, charitable, educational, scien-

tific, or literary in purpose, including organizations that

work to prevent cruelty to children or animals. See IRS

Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, for limitations

and other details.

Charitable contribution adjustment. This federal deduc-

tion is from the CARES Act and is for taxpayers who made

charitable contributions of up to $300 ($600 if married filing

jointly) and are not claiming federal itemized deductions

for tax year 2021. Note: If you’re itemizing deductions for

Oregon, you can’t claim the subtraction on your Oregon

return. Instead include this deduction with any other chari-

table contributions you claim on Schedule OR-A.

Amounts you can deduct

Contributions can be in cash, property, or certain out-of-

pocket expenses you paid to do volunteer work for a chari-

table organization. Single gifts of $250 or more require a

written statement showing the amount of cash contributed,

description of any property you donated, and a description

and estimated value of any goods or services you received

in return. Be sure to keep records of all your contributions,

including pay statements if you made cash contributions

through payroll deduction, receipts, written statements

from organizations, and any appraisals or other required

documentation. Unless directed otherwise, keep all state-

ments and other documentation with your tax records; we

may ask to see them later. See IRS Publication 526 for AGI

limits and other restrictions, treatment of gifts for which

you received a benefit, and additional information.

Amounts you can’t deduct

In general. You can’t deduct such things as political contri-

butions, dues paid to fraternal orders or similar groups, or

the value of services you performed or benefits you received

in connection with your contribution. For additional items

that can’t be deducted, see IRS Publication 526.

Disqualified charities. If a charitable organization doesn’t

spend at least 30 percent of its annual functional expenses

for program services, you must add back your contribu-

tions to that organization on Schedule OR-ASC or OR-ASC-

NP. See the Oregon Department of Justice website, www.

doj.state.or.us, for a list of organizations that don’t meet

Oregon’s spending requirement. See “Additions” in Publi-

c at ion OR-17.

Contributions for disaster relief

Certain contributions made for relief efforts following

a presidentially-declared disaster are subject to special

treatment. See IRS Publication 976, Disaster Relief, for more

information.

Coordination with Oregon tax credits

In general. If you’re claiming an Oregon tax credit that is

based on contributions you made to a charitable organiza-

tion or fund, you must add back some or all of those contri-

butions if you’re claiming them as an itemized deduction.

You must add back contributions you made to the follow-

ing if you include any amount as an itemized deduction

and you’re claiming a credit for those contributions on your

Oregon return:

• Oregon Production Investment Fund (Oregon Film &

Video Office, auction).

• College Opportunity Grant Fund (Higher Education

Coordinating Commission auction).

• University Venture Development Fund (various

Oregon universities).

• Oregon IDA Initiative Fund.

150-101-007-1 (Rev. 10-27-21)

Schedule OR-A Instructions

Exception: Contributions to the Child Care Fund. You

must add back only the portion of your contributions for

which you received a credit. For example, if you received

a tax credit for half of your contribution amount, you must

add back any portion of the tax credit amount that you’re

deducting as a charitable contribution; you don’t have to

add back the other half.

Don’t deduct any charitable contributions that you’re

claiming as a payment of Oregon income tax on your fed-

eral return.

See “Additions” in Publication OR-17 for more information.

Lines 18 through 21

Note: Limits to lines 18, 19, and 20 should be applied on

each line individually. With limits already applied, line 21

should be the true total of lines 18, 19, and 20. For limits, see

the IRS guidelines under “Charitable Contribution Deduc-

tions” on the IRS website or IRS Publication 526.

Line 18. Gifts by cash or check. Enter the total value of

the gifts you made in cash or by check, including unreim-

bursed out-of-pocket expenses.

Line 19. Gifts other than by cash or check. Enter the total

value of your contributions of property other than by cash

or check. For used items, such as clothing or furniture, you

may deduct their fair market value at the time you donated

them. Fair market value is what a willing buyer would

voluntarily pay a willing seller for the item. If the amount

of your deduction is more than $500 (before applying any

income limits), complete federal Form 8283, Noncash Chari-

table Contributions. Keep a copy of this form with your

Oregon tax records; we may ask for it later. For additional

requirements, see the instructions for Form 8283.

Line 20. Carryover from prior year. Enter contributions

that you couldn’t deduct in an earlier year because they

exceeded that year’s limits. Your total contributions for this

year, including any carryover amount, can’t exceed this

year’s limits.

Other miscellaneous deductions

You may deduct certain other items that aren’t deducted

elsewhere on the return or on other supporting schedules.

These miscellaneous deductions include claim of right

income repayments in excess of $3,000, gambling losses,

and federal estate tax on income in respect of a decedent.

(Note: See these topics below for amounts you may need

to add back on Schedule OR-ASC or OR-ASC-NP.) If you’re

deducting a casualty loss or theft related to a presiden-

tially-declared disaster, include the amount here. Don’t

include miscellaneous deductions that are subject to the

2 percent AGI limitation, such as employee business

expenses or tax preparation fees. For more information

about these and other allowable deductions, along with a

list of items that aren’t deductible, see IRS Publication 529,

Miscellaneous Deductions.

Claim of right income repayments. In some cases, repay-

ments of more than $3,000 in income that you‘d included

in a prior year’s taxable income under a claim of right

may be included in miscellaneous itemized deduc-

tions. Oregon allows a credit for repayments over

$3,000 if the income was previously taxed by Oregon.

If you claim the Oregon credit, you must add back

your itemized deduction for the repayment on Sched-

ule OR-A SC or OR-ASC-NP. See the instructions for

Worksheet OR-CRC, Oregon Claim of Right Income Repay-

ment Credit, for more information.

Gambling losses. Generally, you may deduct gambling

losses up to the amount of your taxable winnings. How-

ever, Oregon doesn’t tax winnings of $600 or less from a

single play or ticket from the Oregon Lottery. If you’re sub-

tracting Oregon Lottery winnings on Schedule OR-ASC or

OR-ASC-NP, you’ll need to add back your gambling loss

deduction by the amount of Oregon Lottery winnings that

aren’t taxed by Oregon. See IRS Publication 529 for more

information about gambling losses, including recordkeep-

ing requirements. See “Additions” in Publication OR-17.

Federal estate tax on income in respect of a decedent (IRD).

You may deduct federal estate tax that you paid on IRD if

that income is taxed by Oregon. If only a portion of the fed-

eral estate tax is on income taxed by Oregon, you must add

back the tax on the IRD that Oregon doesn’t tax. See “Addi-

tions” in Publication OR-17.

Line 22. Other miscellaneous deductions. List the type

and amount of your miscellaneous itemized deductions,

and enter the total on line 22.

Oregon itemized deductions

Line 23. Add lines 4, 11, 17, 21, and 22. Enter the total on

line 23 and on Form OR-40, line 16, or Form OR-40-N or

OR-40-P, line 37.

To ensure processing isn’t delayed on your Oregon return:

• Include Schedule OR-A with your return when you file.

• Ensure the tax year on Form OR-A is the same as the tax

year on your return.

Do you have questions or need help?

www.oregon.gov/dor

503-378-4988 or 800-356-4222

questions.dor@ dor.oregon.gov

languages.