Oregon Working Family Household and Dependent Care Credit (2025 Tax Year)

Captured cycle: This page is retained for historical guidance. Confirm whether the program has reopened before planning an application.

Oregon Working Family Household and Dependent Care Credit (2025 Tax Year)

At a glance

Status of this page

This page covers WFHDC for qualifying expenses paid in the 2025 tax year. That return filing cycle is still open for taxpayers filing on a valid extension: the Oregon Department of Revenue says 2025 individual returns on extension are due 2026-10-15, so the metadata deadline remains that date and this page is not a historical reference. The ordinary filing deadline was 2026-04-15. This is a tax-return filing deadline, not a separate WFHDC application window; the credit is claimed as part of the Oregon return.

Oregon recognizes a federal extension. If you requested a federal extension, you do not need to request another Oregon extension; check the “Extension filed” box when filing the Oregon return. A taxpayer without a federal extension may request an Oregon extension in the circumstances described in Publication OR-40-EXT. An extension gives more time to file, not more time to pay. The DOR says tax expected to be owed should be paid by the regular due date to avoid interest and possible penalties. If you missed the ordinary due date and are unsure whether you have a valid extension, check the DOR extension instructions before relying on the extended deadline.

The official WFHDC page links to the 2025 Schedule OR-WFHDC, its instructions, the student schedule and instructions, and the percentage calculator. The Department’s current materials provide no 2026 tax-year WFHDC schedule or eligibility table. The 2025 figures and steps below apply only to a return claiming the credit for qualifying 2025 expenses; do not carry them forward to 2026 expenses without new Oregon materials. The credit remains listed by the Department, so the absence of a 2026 schedule does not establish that the program has ended. No 2026 tax-year WFHDC limits or forms are published in the materials reviewed here.

What the credit does

WFHDC is an Oregon income-tax credit for low- to moderate-income families that pay for dependent care or household services so a taxpayer can work, look for work, or attend school. It is claimed through the tax-return process. There is no separate WFHDC application portal described by the official source, and a household does not apply by sending a general-interest form to the Department of Revenue.

The credit is based on qualifying expenses and an Oregon percentage. It is not a flat payment per child and it is not automatically equal to the amount spent. For the 2025 Schedule OR-WFHDC, the expense ceiling is $12,000 when there is one qualifying individual and $24,000 when there are two or more. The schedule then limits the amount using the expense, earned-income, and filing information on the return and applies the percentage from the WFHDC online calculator or Publication OR-WFHDC-TB. The result is entered as the Oregon credit; the cap is not a promise that a household will receive $12,000 or $24,000.

The 2025 instructions say to complete federal Form 2441 before completing the Oregon schedule, even when the taxpayer is not claiming the federal credit. That preparation order matters because the Oregon schedule uses information about qualifying people, providers, expenses, and earned income from the federal dependent-care calculation.

Who may qualify for the 2025 calculation

The official 2025 instructions require all of the following, subject to the special rules in those instructions:

1. At least one qualifying individual needed care so the taxpayer could work, look for work, or attend school.
2. The taxpayer paid or incurred qualified expenses for care or household services supplied by a qualified provider.
3. The taxpayer had earned income Oregon can tax, or qualifies for imputed earned income because of student status or the specified disability rules.
4. A married taxpayer did not file married filing separately, unless the special requirements on the instructions’ separate-filing section are met.
5. Your adjusted gross income is not more than the limit for your household size. For a full-year resident, the instructions use federal AGI on Form OR-40, line 7. For a nonresident or part-year resident, they use the greater of federal AGI or Oregon AGI on Form OR-40-N or OR-40-P, line 29S.

For the 2025 tax year, the AGI limits in the official Schedule OR-WFHDC instructions are:

These limits are tied to the 2025 schedule. They should not be copied forward to a later tax year without a new official Oregon publication.

Qualifying individuals

The 2025 instructions identify three main categories:

• A qualifying child who was under age 13 at the end of the tax year and could be claimed as a dependent. If the child turned 13 during the year, only the period before the birthday is treated as the qualifying period.
• A spouse with a disability that made the spouse physically or mentally incapable of self-care, provided the spouse lived with the taxpayer for more than half of the year.
• Another person with a disability who lived with the taxpayer for more than half of the year, was not capable of self-care, and could be claimed as a dependent, subject to the exceptions in the 2025 instructions.

The child rules include more than a simple age test. The child generally must have lived with the taxpayer for more than half of the year, must not have provided more than half of their own support, and must not have filed a joint return except to claim a refund. For divorced or separated parents, the custodial parent is generally the parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights. The custodial parent may qualify for WFHDC even if the other parent claims the child as a dependent. If the number of nights is equal, the 2025 instructions refer taxpayers to the federal rules, including the AGI tie-breaker and the special night-work exception.

Student and disability rules

The 2025 instructions allow imputed earned income in limited situations. A student may qualify when enrolled and attending school as a full-time or part-time student in a degree-seeking program, qualified for financial aid even if the aid was not accepted, and paid for care so the student could attend school. The instructions exclude an on-the-job training course, correspondence school, training center, or school offering courses only through the internet from their school definition.

A person with a disability may have imputed income in a joint-filing situation when the spouse had qualifying individuals who needed care so the spouse could work, look for work, or attend school, and the disabled taxpayer could not provide the care. The Department of Revenue may request proof. These are fact-sensitive rules, so a taxpayer should use the student schedule and its instructions when that calculation applies rather than assume the regular calculation is sufficient.

Which costs can qualify

Qualified expenses must be for care of a qualifying individual or household services needed to care for that person and run the home. The official instructions describe examples such as a babysitter, housekeeper, cleaning person, cook, or maid when the services are partly for the qualifying individual’s care. They do not include a chauffeur or gardener. A taxpayer may also include the taxpayer’s share of employment taxes paid on wages for qualifying care services.

Care outside the home can qualify for a dependent child under 13 or another qualifying individual who regularly spends at least eight hours a day in the taxpayer’s home. A day camp can qualify even when it specializes in an activity such as computers or soccer, but the expense must still be care rather than a separate educational or recreational charge. For after-school activities and boarding school, only the dependent-care portion is eligible.

The DOR program page and 2025 instructions list these exclusions:

• Public or private K-12 school costs.
• Summer school or tutoring.
• Sports programs.
• Overnight camps.
• Child-support payments.
• Food, lodging, gas, or supplies, except for narrow incidental-cost rules in the instructions.
• Late-payment charges and most fees.
• Amounts paid or reimbursed by another person or organization on the taxpayer’s behalf, including state social-service assistance, another family member, or the child’s other parent.

The payment source matters. An expense can look like qualifying care on an invoice but still be excluded from the amount the taxpayer personally paid. The Oregon schedule asks taxpayers to distinguish total expenses from amounts paid by someone else, including assistance and employer benefits.

Records the Department expects

The DOR page says proof of both payment and receipt is required for each expense. A usable record set should connect the provider, the qualifying individual, the dates of care, the amount, and the payment method. The official page lists acceptable payment evidence such as a cancelled check, a bank statement showing a cash withdrawal together with receipts or a detailed year-end statement, or an electronic history showing who sent the money, who received it, and what the payment was for.

Receipts should be obtained when payment is made and should match the payment evidence. The DOR page says a receipt must include the qualifying individual’s full name, dates of care, date and amount paid, name of the person or agency paying, provider name, address and phone number, provider SSN, ITIN, or FEIN, and payment method. The Department may ask a provider to complete Form OR-PS. If a provider is tax-exempt, the 2025 instructions explain when federal Form W-10 may be needed.

Before filing, make one table for each provider with the care dates, qualifying individual, amount charged, amount actually paid by the taxpayer, payment proof, and provider identification. Keep copies of the schedules and supporting records with the return. A bank withdrawal by itself does not identify the care provider or prove what the cash purchased, so cash payments need matching receipts and detailed notes.

How to claim the credit

For a verified 2025 return, use this sequence:

1. Complete federal Form 2441 first. Follow the Oregon instruction even if the federal credit is not being claimed. Gather the provider and qualifying-person information needed for the federal form.
2. Separate qualified expenses from excluded or third-party-paid amounts. Check each payment against the Oregon exclusions and remove amounts reimbursed or paid by others.
3. Complete Schedule OR-WFHDC. Enter qualifying individuals, providers, expenses, household size, AGI, and earned-income information from the return and supporting records.
4. Calculate the percentage. Use the Oregon WFHDC online calculator or Publication OR-WFHDC-TB. Do not substitute a remembered percentage from another year.
5. Complete Schedule OR-WFHDC-ST when the student calculation applies. Use the student instructions to determine the alternative calculation and include the schedule with the return.
6. Attach the Oregon schedules to the personal income-tax return. The DOR page directs taxpayers to include OR-WFHDC and OR-WFHDC-ST when applicable and claim the credit on Schedule OR-ASC or OR-ASC-NP using code 895.
7. Retain the proof packet. Keep receipts, payment records, provider information, Form 2441, the Oregon schedules, and any student, disability, custody, or extension documentation.

Part-year and nonresident taxpayers have additional Oregon-percentage rules. The 2025 instructions say the credit is prorated by the Oregon percentage on the nonresident or part-year return. Do not use a full-year calculation automatically when filing Form OR-40-N or OR-40-P.

Deadline and next step

The metadata deadline is 2026-10-15, the Oregon Department of Revenue’s published extended filing deadline for a 2025 personal income-tax return. The regular deadline was 2026-04-15. Oregon recognizes a timely federal extension, and its extension guidance describes when a taxpayer may request an Oregon extension directly. The extension moves the filing deadline; it does not extend the time to pay tax owed. Check the DOR extension page or Publication OR-40-EXT if you need to confirm which extension rules apply to your return.

To claim WFHDC on a 2025 return, follow the official 2025 Schedule OR-WFHDC instructions and include the applicable schedules with the Oregon personal income-tax return. Taxpayers with a valid extension should file by the extension date and mark the extension box as instructed. If you are filing after the applicable deadline or correcting an earlier return, use current DOR instructions for that filing situation; the credit’s expense and eligibility rules do not themselves extend a return deadline.

The official program page currently links to 2025 WFHDC forms and instructions but does not announce a 2026 tax-year schedule or 2026 limits. Before claiming the credit for expenses associated with a later tax-year return, revisit the Oregon Department of Revenue page and use that year’s forms and tables. For help, use [email protected] or call 503-378-4988 or 800-356-4222.

Official sources

• Oregon Department of Revenue WFHDC program page
• 2025 Schedule OR-WFHDC Instructions
• 2025 Schedule OR-WFHDC
• Oregon Department of Revenue tax calendar
• Oregon Department of Revenue extension guidance
• WFHDC online calculator