What Is the Property Tax Rate in Portland, Oregon?

The property tax rate in Portland, Oregon runs about $26.73 per $1,000 of assessed value for the core city (levy code area 001) in the 2024–25 tax year, with a Multnomah County average near $23.56 per $1,000.¹² That headline number sounds steep, but Oregon law keeps most homes’ assessed values well below what they would sell for, so the effective rate on market value lands closer to 1% to 1.1% for homes that have been owned for a long stretch. A $250,000 assessed value at the core city rate works out to roughly $6,683 before any discount or exemption.

Why Your Rate Depends on Your Address

Portland sits inside Multnomah County, and the county contains dozens of distinct tax code areas. Each one is a unique stack of overlapping taxing districts: city, county, school district, education service district, Metro, TriMet, Port of Portland, plus any special districts and voter-approved local option levies or bonds that happen to cover your parcel.

Two neighbors on different sides of a school district boundary can pay noticeably different rates on identical homes. Your levy code area is printed on the first page of your tax statement, and the county publishes a rate table for every code area so you can see exactly which districts you’re paying into and at what rate.²

The biggest slice in a typical Portland bill goes to Portland Public Schools and the education service district. The City of Portland takes the next-largest share, then Multnomah County, with smaller amounts flowing to Metro, TriMet, the Port, and special districts. Voter-approved levies and bonds sit on top of the permanent rates and change from one election cycle to the next, which is why a total bill can jump in a year when assessed value only grows by 3%.

Assessed Value vs. Market Value

Oregon’s property tax system is shaped by two constitutional amendments that explain almost everything about why Portland bills look the way they do.

Measure 5 Caps the Rate

Measure 5, codified at Article XI, Section 11b of the Oregon Constitution, limits the total tax rate any property can be charged. General government services (city, county, special districts) are capped at $10 per $1,000 of real market value. Education is capped at $5 per $1,000 of real market value. When the combined levies push past those caps, taxes are compressed, meaning they’re reduced proportionally so no property exceeds the limit.

Measure 50 Caps the Growth

Measure 50, codified at Article XI, Section 11, limits how fast the value used for taxation can grow. Every property carries two values: real market value (what it would sell for) and maximum assessed value, which can rise by no more than 3% a year.³ Your bill is calculated on the lower figure, which Oregon simply calls the assessed value. Both values are set as of January 1 each year.⁴

Over time the gap between the two can grow dramatically. A long-held home worth $600,000 on the open market might carry an assessed value of only $300,000 because the 3% cap has restrained growth through decades of appreciation. A buyer picking up an equivalent home today starts with an assessed value much closer to market, and pays a correspondingly higher bill at the same levy rate. That’s the main reason effective tax rates on market value swing from roughly 1% for long-tenured owners to considerably more for recent buyers.

What a Renovation Does to Your Base

The 3% annual cap protects your existing structure, not new work. Major improvements get valued by the assessor and added to your maximum assessed value using what’s called the changed property ratio, which adjusts the new work so it’s assessed consistently with comparable properties rather than at full market. The addition is permanent: your base goes up by the adjusted value of what you built, and then the 3% cap resumes from the new, higher number.

Cosmetic work and maintenance don’t trigger a reassessment. A new furnace or fresh paint won’t move your assessed value. The threshold is structural: new square footage, finishing a basement or attic, adding a garage, or building an accessory dwelling unit.

When Taxes Are Due and How to Pay Less

Oregon’s tax year runs July 1 through June 30. Statements arrive in October and the first payment is due November 15. You have three payment options, and the choice affects your total:⁵

Pay in full by November 15 and take a 3% discount on the entire bill. On a $6,000 bill, that’s $180.
Pay two-thirds by November 15 for a 2% discount on that portion; the remaining third is due May 15 with no discount.
Pay in three equal installments due November 15, February 15, and May 15, with no discount.

If a mortgage servicer handles your taxes through escrow, you generally lose the 3% discount because servicers pay on the installment schedule. Homeowners who pay directly and can cover the lump sum capture one of the better guaranteed returns around.

Late payments accrue interest at 1.33% per month, which compounds to roughly 16% annually, and there’s no grace period.⁵ If taxes go unpaid long enough, the county can foreclose; deferral and exemption programs below are a far better route than letting a bill slip.

Programs That Lower the Bill

Senior and Disabled Deferral

Qualifying homeowners can postpone property tax payments entirely under the Senior and Disabled Property Tax Deferral Program (ORS 311.666–311.701). The state pays the taxes on your behalf and records a lien that’s repaid when the home is sold or transferred.⁶

For the 2026 tax year, household income must be $70,000 or less (using 2025 income), and the home’s real market value must fall under thresholds that vary by how long you’ve lived there. The 2026 minimum real market value cap is $301,000, meaning homes under that figure qualify regardless of the percentage-based limits. You must have owned and occupied the home as your primary residence for at least five years. Applications go to the county assessor by April 15, with late filings accepted through December 1 for a fee. Recertification is required every two years.⁷

Disabled Veteran Exemption

Veterans with a disability rating of 40% or more, and certain surviving spouses, can exempt a portion of assessed value under ORS 307.250. As of January 2026, the exemption is $27,092 for veterans with a 40%+ disability from any cause (or their unmarried surviving spouses), and $32,512 for veterans with a 40%+ service-connected disability or surviving spouses of veterans who died from service-connected causes.⁸ Veterans with a non-service-connected disability need a physician’s certification and must meet an income limit of 185% of the federal poverty level. At a combined levy near $26 per $1,000, the larger exemption saves roughly $845 a year. Applications are filed with the Multnomah County Assessor.⁹

Appealing an Assessment You Think Is Too High

Start informally. Call or visit the Multnomah County Assessor’s office and ask about the figures on your property record. Errors in square footage, bedroom count, or lot size turn up more often than people expect, and the assessor can sometimes fix those without a formal appeal.

If that doesn’t resolve it, file a petition with the county’s Property Value Appeals Board (formerly the Board of Property Tax Appeals). Petitions go to the county clerk after your tax statement is mailed and no later than December 31.¹⁰ Most Oregon counties charge no filing fee. The petition must be in writing, state the facts behind your claim, and note whether you want a hearing.

The evidence that moves these boards is comparable sales: three to five recent sales of similar homes in your area that sold below your assessed or real market value. Aim for homes of similar size, age, and condition within about a half-mile, sold in the past year. Photos and contractor estimates for deferred maintenance or structural problems help. Algorithmic estimates from real estate sites don’t.

If the board denies your petition, the Magistrate Division of the Oregon Tax Court is the next step, with a $50 filing fee. Appeals can continue to the Regular Division and the Oregon Supreme Court, though few residential cases travel that far.

1
Oregon Department of Revenue. FY 2024-25 Oregon Property Tax Statistics Report
2
Multnomah County. Multnomah County Table of Consolidated Tax Rates for Levy Code Areas 2024-2025
3
FindLaw. Oregon Constitution Art XI Section 11
4
Oregon Department of Revenue. Property Assessment and Taxation
5
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 311 – Collection of Property Taxes
6
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 311.670 – Eligibility of Property
7
Oregon Department of Revenue. Oregon Property Tax Deferral for Disabled and Senior Homeowners
8
Oregon Department of Revenue. Disabled Veteran or Surviving Spouse Property Tax Exemption
9
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 307.250 – Property of Veterans or Surviving Spouses
10
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 309.100 – Petitions for Reduction of Property Value; Filing