Oregon LLC for Online Sellers: No Sales Tax, What Still Applies

Does an Oregon LLC mean I never collect sales tax?

No. Oregon has no general sales tax, so an Oregon LLC charges none on its own sales. But other states tax by where the buyer is, and the state of formation does not change that. Oregon's Department of Revenue says Oregon businesses selling online to buyers in a state that requires online retailers to collect "will need to collect and pay sales taxes" there if they meet that state's requirements (Oregon DOR).

What decides it is the buyer's state, your work location and each state's threshold, not the state on your LLC's certificate. See when you must collect sales tax for the tests.

This is a simple case only when your sales to every other state stay under its threshold. Sales into many states, or years of sales without checking, need professional judgment. Gather your sales by destination state and month, and the state where you live and work.

Does Oregon charge sales tax on my sales, and what does an Oregon buyer pay?

Oregon has no general sales or use tax, so an Oregon buyer pays none on goods you sell. The one exception DOR names is a vehicle use tax on new vehicles bought outside the state (Oregon DOR).

"No sales tax" is not "no tax". Oregon taxes business activity in other ways, covered below.

What is the Oregon corporate activity tax, and does a small online store reach it?

The corporate activity tax (CAT) is a yearly tax on the receipts a business earns in Oregon, with no deduction for most expenses. It applies to corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships and other entities, so an LLC can be a taxpayer. A small store that ships mostly out of state often stays far under it (Oregon DOR).

Late registration can cost $100 a month, up to $1,000 a year (ORS 317A.131; return date: ORS 317A.137). A subtraction of 35% of the greater of cost of goods sold or labor costs lowers the taxable amount (ORS 317A.119).

DOR says it will not apply a bright-line nexus test to the CAT. A seller close to these lines, or with Oregon inventory, should have the figures reviewed. Subtraction and group rules are in gross receipts taxes in other states, which is written for data center suppliers.

Which of my sales count as Oregon sales for the CAT?

Goods count as Oregon sales when they are delivered to a buyer in Oregon, wherever the seller or the LLC is. Sales delivered outside Oregon are excluded (ORS 317A.128; Oregon DOR).

So the ship-to address, not the checkout's location, sorts a store's sales. An Oregon warehouse shipping to buyers in other states adds nothing to the Oregon figure for those orders. The statute lets a taxpayer or DOR use another method if these rules do not fairly show the Oregon share (ORS 317A.128).

What do marketplace sales change?

For sales tax in other states, a marketplace may collect on sales it handles, but your own sales and presence can still require action. Texas is one example: a seller is not responsible for tax on marketplace sales if the marketplace provider has certified it collects, yet a Texas seller still needs its own permit and returns, while a remote seller selling only through such a marketplace needs no Texas permit (Texas Comptroller). Rules differ by state; when you must collect covers marketplace collection and permits.

For the Oregon CAT, the statute sources goods by delivery, not by sales channel, and chapter 317A has no marketplace provision (ORS 317A.128). DOR excludes amounts an agent receives for another party above the agent's fee (Oregon DOR), but its pages do not say how a marketplace seller counts these orders. Ask DOR or a CPA how yours count before you rely on a total. Marketplace payouts and reports on the income tax side are in online seller income tax.

What does Oregon charge the LLC itself each year?

An Oregon LLC owes an annual report to the Secretary of State with a fee of $100, due by the anniversary of the date its articles were filed (ORS 56.140; ORS 63.787). Income tax then depends on how the LLC is taxed for federal purposes.

Which fee applies. The Secretary of State's fee schedule shows two renewal lines for LLCs. The $100 line is for a domestic LLC, one formed in Oregon. The $275 line is for a foreign LLC, one formed in another state and authorized to do business in Oregon (fee schedule; ORS 56.140). The Secretary of State also warns that mailings from private companies can charge more than the $100 state fee (Secretary of State).

If it is missed. The Secretary of State can administratively dissolve an LLC that fails to file. One dissolved for less than 5 years can generally reinstate online by paying a reinstatement fee and the missed annual fees (Secretary of State). An Oregon LLC must also keep a registered agent at a physical Oregon street address; a mail-forwarding service or virtual office does not qualify (ORS 63.111).

Income tax by LLC type. Oregon follows the federal classification, so an LLC files in Oregon the way it files federally (Oregon DOR).

Sources: partnerships, S corporations, C corporations. Partnerships and other pass-through entities with nonresident owners may have more filing and payment duties (Oregon DOR). The corporate minimum taxes are set in ORS 317.090; the tables here come from the latest published instructions, for 2025. Federal tax on the profit is in online seller income tax.

Do Portland, Multnomah County or Metro taxes apply to a home-based seller?

They can. Portland and Multnomah County tax net business income of a business "doing business" there. The Revenue Division generally treats any profit-seeking activity there as doing business, names a stock of goods, an office or a place where business is regularly conducted, and checks the address of your work location; its page does not mention home offices by name. Both exempt a business whose gross receipts from all business anywhere fall under a threshold, and a business that qualifies must still file to claim the exemption (City of Portland Revenue Division).

A single-member LLC that is disregarded for federal tax does not file at the LLC level. Its owner is the filer and reports the LLC's income on the owner's City and County business return. A sole proprietor who is subject to the City or County tax is not liable for the Metro business tax and falls under Metro's personal income tax instead; that tax is not covered here. Register for a Revenue Division account within 60 days of starting; a business only in the county, outside Portland, owes the County tax alone (City of Portland Revenue Division).

Oregon DOR also collects transit self-employment tax from owners with self-employment earnings from business in the TriMet (Portland area) or Lane Transit district, and it lists internet sales. Earnings from business inside and outside a district are apportioned on Schedule OR-TSE-AP; C and S corporations are exempt (Oregon DOR). This page checks only these programs; check your own city or county for others.

Does an Oregon LLC make sense if I live elsewhere, or if I am comparing Delaware and Oregon?

It can, but only as a choice about cost and paperwork, not tax. An Oregon LLC does not change your home state's income tax, where you must register, or any buyer state's sales tax. Oregon taxes a nonresident on Oregon-source income, which includes income from a business located or doing business in Oregon or providing services to Oregonians (Oregon DOR instructions). DOR lists "a stock of goods" in Oregon as doing business, so inventory in an Oregon warehouse can create an Oregon filing duty (Oregon DOR).

What you add by forming in Oregon is cost and an Oregon registered agent:

• A $100 filing fee for the articles of organization (ORS 56.140).
• The $100 annual report, plus an agent at an Oregon street address.
• Your home state's registration and fees for an out-of-state LLC, if you live or work there. See registering in another state.

For comparison, Delaware charges an LLC an annual tax of $400; see Delaware LLC annual tax. The state-by-state costs are in LLC annual fees and reports by state, and the choice itself in which state to form in.

What if I already sold past another state's threshold without collecting?

Stop and sort your sales by state and period, because the duty comes from each buyer's state, not from Oregon. The look-back, the options for coming forward and the records to build are in catching up on uncollected sales tax. Whether you passed a threshold is in when you must collect sales tax.

Which records do I keep?

Keep records that show where each sale was delivered. Oregon requires every business doing business in the state to keep receipts, invoices and other papers related to the CAT in the form DOR requires (ORS 317A.134).

• Sales by destination state, month and channel (own checkout or marketplace).
• Ship-to addresses for Oregon deliveries and the CAT total for the year.
• Cost of goods sold, which also supports the CAT subtraction.
• Marketplace statements showing which state's tax the marketplace collected.
• Inventory locations, including any Oregon warehouse.
• The LLC's registry number, annual report filings and registered agent.
• Gross receipts from all business activity, for Portland-area exemption tests.

Example

These examples are illustrative; figures are in US dollars.

Portland home seller

A single-member LLC run from a home office in Portland has $200,000 of sales, with about $10,000 delivered to Oregon buyers. Oregon charges no sales tax on those orders. Oregon deliveries are far below the CAT's registration threshold, so no CAT registration is needed. The LLC files nothing separately; the profit goes on the owner's return. Gross receipts of $200,000 are above both the City's and County's exemption thresholds. Running the store from a Portland home is profit-seeking activity there, so the owner should expect to report the income for Portland and Multnomah County business tax, and the self-employment earnings for TriMet transit tax. Each other state where sales pass its threshold still needs its own check.

Texas resident with an Oregon LLC

A Texas resident formed an Oregon LLC "for no sales tax" and sells $300,000 a year, mostly to Texas buyers. Oregon changes nothing in Texas: where she works and where each buyer is decide registration and collection. Oregon adds the formation fee, the annual report and an Oregon registered agent, and her home state may require the LLC to register there. Working from Texas also gives the LLC physical presence there, and an LLC with physical presence in Texas must report Texas franchise tax (Texas Comptroller); see Texas franchise tax.

Oregon warehouse shipping into Oregon

An LLC ships $1,500,000 of goods a year from an Oregon warehouse, all to Oregon buyers, with $900,000 of cost of goods sold. It is above the registration and filing thresholds, so registration and a return follow. The subtraction is 35% of $900,000, or $315,000, leaving $1,185,000 of taxable activity. The tax is $250 plus 0.57% of the $185,000 above $1,000,000, about $1,300. That is under $5,000, so quarterly estimates are not required; the return is still due.

Different for you?

• You sell into many states or passed a threshold: use when you must collect sales tax, and if collection was missed, catching up on uncollected sales tax.
• You need federal income and self-employment tax on the profit: see online seller income tax.
• Your Oregon receipts are near the CAT lines or you are in a group of companies: see gross receipts taxes in other states.
• Your sales or work in other states may create income or franchise tax: see business income tax in other states.
• You live outside Oregon and the LLC does business where you live: see registering in another state and which state to form in.
• You sell in many states, missed years or have more than one owner: get business formation help to settle the LLC's setup and filings.