The Political Tax Credit
To take advantage of the tax credit and to contribute to the OAASIS PAC please use the donate button below or send your check to The OAASIS PAC, PO Box 2161, Portland OR 97208. Please address the check to OAASIS PAC.
Thank you for your support!
A Summary of the Political Tax Credit – The Short of It
- The Political Tax Credit allows a married couple filing jointly to give up to $100 to a qualified political committee—individuals can give up to $50— and then receive the entire amount back when they file their Oregon tax return.
- This is money that you cannot keep or give to your favorite charity. You must either give it to a qualified political organization or pay it in taxes. It’s that simple.
- The deadline to use the Political Tax Credit is December 31, 2012. If you don’t use it by then, the government simply keeps that money in the form of taxes.
You can donate this tax credit to the following entities:
- A political party.
- A qualified candidate (or the candidate’s principal campaign committee) for federal, state, or local office to be voted for in Oregon.
- A political action committee certified in Oregon.
A Summary of the Political Tax Credit – The Long of It
The Political Tax Credit is a no-cost way to support the political cause of your choice. Said another way, the political tax credit allows you to “re-direct” a portion of your taxes. You can say “rather than giving this $100 to the government, I will give it to a worthy Oregon political organization instead.” Either way, you still have to spend the money, but you decide how it gets used. So the Political Tax Credit literally costs you nothing. If you don’t contribute to the tax credit, your $50/$100 goes directly to the state’s general fund.
Please note, this is not a tax deduction like your home mortgage interest deduction or contributions to a charity. This is a dollar-for-dollar credit. In other words if your total state taxes for 2009 were $500 and you made a political contribution to a qualified political committee of $100, you would only pay $400 in taxes to the state.
Either the state gets your $50/$100, or the political action committee will. The credit cannot be more than your tax liability for Oregon. Any credit not used this year is lost.
