Senate Bill 1520 was passed by the Oregon legislature during the 2024 legislative session.
The bill created two separate personal income tax subtractions related to civil action arising from a qualifying wildfire.
A qualifying wildfire is one that:
- Is the subject of a state of emergency declared by the Governor;
- Occurs in an area subject to an executive order of the Governor invoking the Emergency Conflagration Act; or
- Is a federally declared disaster, whether located within Oregon or elsewhere.
The declaration or executive order for the wildfire must have been issued after January 1, 2018, and before January 1, 2026, to qualify.
Subtractions
Wildfire civil action settlement or judgment subtraction:
You may subtract income received in judgment or settlement of a civil action arising from a qualifying wildfire. The subtraction is only for settlement or judgment money received that is included in your adjusted gross income (AGI). If the judgment or settlement money was compensating for losses, expenses, or other damages already compensated for by insurance or otherwise, it cannot be included in this subtraction.
Wildfire civil action legal fees subtraction:
You may subtract legal fees incurred in litigation related to a qualifying wildfire. The subtraction is limited to the amount of legal fees that exceed 2 percent of your AGI of the year you are filing. To calculate the Wildfire civil action legal fees subtraction, multiply your adjusted gross income by 0.02. Subtract that amount from your legal fees.
The subtractions do not have a sunset date.
Claim one or both subtractions on Schedule OR-ASC or OR-ASC-NP. Use code 312 for the Wildfire civil action settlement or judgment subtraction and code 313 for the Wildfire civil action legal fees subtraction.
Refunds for Amended Returns
Tax Years 2018, 2019, and 2020
If you qualify for a subtraction for tax years 2018, 2019, and/or 2020, the due date to claim a refund for these years is May 14, 2025. Only refunds caused by either of these subtractions will be issued for tax years 2018, 2019, and 2020. Refunds issued for tax years 2018, 2019, and 2020 for either of these subtractions do not bear interest.
Tax Years 2021 and After
If you qualify for a subtraction and you've already filed your return, you may amend your return to claim a refund. Generally, the statute of limitations on refunds is three years from the due date of your original return. For example, for tax year 2021, three years after the original due date is April 18, 2025. Refer to Publication OR-17 for more information on the statute of limitations on refunds.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. A wildfire that was a federally declared disaster and was not in Oregon is still a qualifying wildfire. If you received the wildfire settlement when you were an Oregon resident, you can claim this subtraction for the settlement.
Please amend your return.
Yes. However, you may only subtract the same income once.