Pre-pay your taxes at a discount and direct your dollars to jobs and #OregonMade projects.
The Annual OPIF Tax Credit Auction will be held from 9a Monday, September 18, 2023 to 5p Friday, September 22, 2023 where $20M of state tax credits were sold at auction.
Want more updates and reminders? Please sign up for our OPIF Tax Credit Auction Newsletter on this link.
These credits can be bid on, purchased and used by individual tax payers and business tax payers alike, and are intended to be used on their Oregon state tax returns. Also, the IRS clarified the ways in which the purchase of these credits by businesses can be deducted as a business expense.
Each year Oregon Film conducts an online auction of (as of 2021) $20million in tax credits where $500 tax credit increments can be bid on for purchase for as little as $450, or 90%. Bidders can bid on as many increments as they like, but it is an auction, so the highest bid will win when there are more bids than available credits.
This means you can bid on a $50,000 tax credit (100 x $500 increments) for as little as $45,000; a savings of $5,000 and a direction of your tax dollars straight towards the development of an Oregon creative industry.
These credits are then usable for a three year period from the year they are purchased. Unused portions of the credits can be rolled over in to subsequent years during that three year period.
In most cases, you can claim your credit (Code 856) on your personal Oregon tax return (Form OR-40) where the tax credit is recorded on line 28, page 2. The credit can also then be given more detail in the filing via Schedule OR-ASC, line 4.
The Oregon Production Investment Fund (OPIF) is a state incentive program that directly supports the continued growth of Oregon's creative film, television and interactive industry. OPIF is funded by the sale of discounted Oregon income tax credits to taxpayers who contribute to the fund. Residents and businesses bid at auction to purchase state tax credits at up a 10% discount that can then be used for up to three years on their state income taxes. The OPIF program is authorized to issue up to $20 million worth of tax credits per year.
Your support of this program helps create jobs, economic activity and promotion for Oregon. During the last biennium alone this program tracked more than $300M of in-state spending supporting more than 5000 local jobs while projects like "Shrill" (Hulu), "Trinkets" (Netflix), "Top Chef" (Bravo) and "Chad" (TBS) helped promote Oregon as a creative destination to a worldwide audience.
And this work is felt throughout the state. In the past two years alone large-scale production work has spent money and time in places Curry & Coos Counties, Bend, Hood River, Tillamook, Jacksonville and Banks.
RECENT IRS NOTICES
The IRS has recently issued final regulations about the treatment of state tax credits. The IRS also issued this clarification for businesses utilizing tax credits. In addition, in 2018, the IRS issued this notice in relation to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as well as issued these proposed regulations on charitable contributions and state and local tax credits. Please consult your tax advisor if you have questions about the IRS treatment of purchased state tax credits.
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