Does Oregon Have Property Tax? Caps, Deferrals, and Appeals

Yes, Oregon has property tax. County assessors collect it on real estate and on tangible property used in a business, funding more than 1,200 local taxing districts across the state.¹ Two voter-approved measures shape what you actually pay: Measure 50 caps annual growth in your taxable value at 3%, and Measure 5 limits combined operating tax rates to $15 per $1,000 of real market value. There is no general homestead exemption, but targeted relief exists for veterans, seniors, disabled homeowners, and owners of farm or forest land.²

How Your Bill Is Calculated

Every Oregon property carries two values. Real Market Value (RMV) is what the property would likely sell for. Maximum Assessed Value (MAV) is a capped figure that grows by no more than 3% per year. Your Assessed Value, the number the tax rate is applied to, is whichever of these two is lower.³

The 3% cap is the single most important feature of the system for homeowners. Even if your neighborhood’s market value jumps 10% or 15% in a year, your taxable value cannot climb more than 3%. If the market falls and your RMV drops below your MAV, your bill is based on the lower RMV. Your annual statement shows the RMV and the Assessed Value; the MAV itself does not appear.

Buying a Home Does Not Reset the Value

Unlike some states, Oregon does not reassess property to current market value when it sells. The MAV carries forward from the previous owner and keeps growing at the 3% cap.⁴ A long-held home can have a wide gap between its market price and its taxable value, and that gap survives the sale. A buyer in a hot neighborhood may pay noticeably less tax than the purchase price would suggest.

Major changes to the property itself are a different story. New construction, additions, subdivision, rezoning that leads to a new use, and the loss of an exemption can all cause the assessor to add value to your MAV outside the 3% cap. Routine maintenance and minor repairs do not.⁴

Rate Caps and Compression

The Oregon Constitution caps the combined operating taxes that overlapping local districts can charge against your property’s real market value:

Education: $5 per $1,000 of RMV
General government: $10 per $1,000 of RMV

Together, operating taxes in these two categories should not exceed $15 per $1,000 of RMV. When the math on your property runs over those caps, a process called compression brings the bill back in line. The assessor cuts rates proportionally, starting with voter-approved local option levies. If the bill still exceeds the limit, permanent rates are reduced across the remaining districts.⁵

One important exception: voter-approved bonds for capital projects like school buildings or infrastructure sit outside the Measure 5 limits. Your final bill can exceed the $15 combined cap if your area has outstanding bond levies, which appear as a separate line on your statement.

When and How to Pay

County tax collectors mail statements by October 25. The first payment is due November 15, and Oregon rewards early full payment:⁶

Pay in full by November 15 and take a 3% discount.
Pay two-thirds by November 15 for a 2% discount, with the final third due by May 15.
Pay one-third by November 15 with no discount, the second third by February 15, and the final third by May 15.

Payments must be postmarked on or before the due date to qualify for a discount or avoid interest. Miss an installment and interest accrues at one and one-third percent per month, roughly 16% annually, starting the day after the due date.⁶ That rate is steeper than most consumer debt, so paying on time, or paying in full for the 3% discount, is usually the better move.

Who Gets a Break

Oregon does not offer a general homestead exemption. There is no automatic reduction simply because a house is your primary residence.² Relief instead flows through narrower programs you have to apply for.

Disabled Veterans and Surviving Spouses

Veterans with a service-connected disability of 40% or more, and certain surviving spouses, can exempt a portion of their homestead’s assessed value. For 2026, the standard exemption is $27,092 and the enhanced exemption for more severely disabled veterans or qualifying survivors is $32,512, with both amounts increasing 3% each year.⁷ You apply through the county assessor, and the disability rating must be certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or a branch of the armed forces.⁸

Senior and Disabled Deferral

If you are at least 62, or receive or are eligible for federal Social Security disability benefits, you can apply to defer your property taxes entirely. The state pays the county each November, and the amount becomes a lien on your home. You repay the deferred taxes plus 6% annual interest when you sell, move out, or otherwise leave the program.⁹

For 2026, total household income (taxable and non-taxable combined) must be under $70,000, and the real market value of the home must sit under $301,000.⁹ Applications go to the county assessor by April 15, with late filings accepted through December 1 for an additional fee.

Farm and Forest Land

Land actively used for farming or growing timber can be assessed on its agricultural or forestry use rather than its development potential, which usually produces a much lower taxable value. Farm land in an Exclusive Farm-Use zone must be used primarily for profit-generating agriculture.¹⁰ Forestland qualifies under either the Designated Forestland program (two or more contiguous acres with trees being grown for harvest) or the Small Tract Forestland program (10 to 4,999 acres statewide).¹¹ If you pull land out of one of these programs, the MAV is recalculated and the tax can jump sharply.

If You Think Your Value Is Too High

Appeals go to your county’s Board of Property Tax Appeals, sometimes called the Property Value Appeals Board. File by December 31 of the assessment year and pay the $50 per-petition fee. Hearings start on or after the first Monday in February.

What you need to win is evidence that the real market value is lower than the assessor’s figure: comparable sales near the January 1 assessment date, an independent licensed appraisal, or documentation of damage or deferred maintenance. Pointing to a neighbor’s lower assessment generally does not count, because lot size, improvements, and MAV history can all explain the gap.¹² If the board rules against you, the next step is the Oregon Tax Court.

Business Personal Property

If you own a business, the tax reaches beyond your real estate. Tangible personal property used in a business — machinery, equipment, furniture, and similar items — is taxable, and every business with such property must file a Confidential Personal Property Return with the county assessor by March 15 each year.¹ Household furniture and licensed vehicles held for personal use are exempt, but anything you use even partly for business counts.

Late filing penalties run as a percentage of the tax owed on the unreported property, not a flat fee:

After March 15 but by June 1: 5%
After June 1 but by August 1: 25%
After August 1 or never filed: 50%¹

1
Oregon Department of Revenue. Property Assessment and Taxation
2
Oregon Department of Revenue. Property Tax Exemptions
3
OregonLaws. ORS 308.146 – Determination of Maximum Assessed Value
4
Oregon Department of Revenue. Maximum Assessed Value Manual
5
FindLaw. Oregon Constitution Art XI Section 11b
6
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Section 311-505 – Due Dates; Interest on Late Payments; Discounts
7
Oregon Department of Revenue. Disabled Veteran or Surviving Spouse Property Tax Exemption
8
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Section 307-250 – Property of Veterans or Surviving Spouses
9
Oregon Department of Revenue. Oregon Property Tax Deferral for Disabled and Senior Homeowners Program
10
Oregon Department of Revenue. Assessment of Farmland in an Exclusive Farm-Use Zone
11
Oregon Department of Revenue. Forestland Program
12
Oregon Department of Revenue. How to Appeal Your Property Value