Does Oregon have a real estate transfer tax?
No, not at the state level. Oregon doesn’t charge a statewide tax on deeds, and since 2012 it can’t start. Article IX, Section 15 of the Oregon Constitution says the state and its cities, counties, districts and other local bodies may not impose a tax, fee or other assessment on the transfer of real property, whether it is a flat charge or one based on the price.
Voters added that language through Measure 79 in November 2012. It passed with 58.89% of the vote, 976,587 to 679,710. The ban exempts any tax or fee that was in effect and operative on December 31, 2009.
Oregon’s statutes had already shut the door on new local transfer taxes. ORS 306.815 bars cities, counties and districts from taxing transfers of real property, except for a tax whose ordinance was in effect and operative on March 31, 1997. Washington County’s tax predates both cutoffs, which is why it is still collected.
Washington County’s real property transfer tax
Washington County, west of Portland, charges $1 for every $1,000 of selling price under Chapter 3.04 of the Washington County Code. That is 0.1%. It applies in Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard, Forest Grove, Cornelius and the rest of the county.
Selling price is broad. The county counts the cash paid, any lien or encumbrance the buyer takes over or the property stays subject to, and any other value given for the transfer. If the tax isn’t paid or an exemption isn’t filed on time, the county presumes the selling price is at least the property’s real market value under ORS 308.205.
- Deadline: pay the tax or file an exemption within 15 days of recording.
- Late penalty: the greater of the tax owed or $50, plus interest of 1½% a month on unpaid tax.
- Extensions: up to two 15-day extensions, requested in writing from the Director of Assessment and Taxation.
- Small transfers: a sale of $13,999 or less is excluded, but you still file a sworn J.13 exemption form.
Who pays the Washington County transfer tax?
The county doesn’t pick a side. Its guidance says liability for the tax is between the purchaser and the seller, so your purchase agreement decides it. On a $2,000,000 building the whole tax is $2,000, so it is rarely the term that holds a deal together or breaks it.
Put it in writing anyway. Escrow will collect it at closing from whichever party the contract names, and the county’s 15-day clock starts at recording, not at signing. If the contract is silent, expect escrow to ask you to settle it before closing.
Exemptions in Washington County
The county publishes a separate sworn form for each exemption. Each must reach the Director of Assessment and Taxation within 15 days of recording, or the transfer is taxed whatever exemption you meant to claim.
- J.2: deeds in lieu of foreclosure and transfers by court order.
- J.7: trustee’s deeds that result from a foreclosure.
- J.11: documents recorded solely for security, such as trust deeds.
- J.14: a mere change in identity, form or place of organization of an entity, where every owner keeps the same proportionate interest.
- J.15: a dissolution of a corporation, partnership or joint venture that passes title to its owners.
- J.16: gifts, devises and inheritance.
- Also listed: vendor’s assignments of land sale contracts (J.3), fulfillment deeds (J.10) and transfers between spouses under a dissolution order (J.18).
Moving a building into an LLC in Washington County
Read J.14 closely before you deed a building to a new LLC. The county says it covers only entities such as corporations, partnerships, LLCs and trusts, not natural persons, and only when the whole organization changes form with the same owners in the same shares. A partnership converting to an LLC with identical ownership fits. A deed from you personally to your new LLC does not fit J.14 as the county describes it.
That transfer may still owe nothing, because there is no cash and the J.13 form covers no-consideration transfers. The catch is that the county counts debt the property stays subject to as part of the selling price. If your building carries a $1,200,000 loan, ask the county how it will treat the deed before you record it. At 0.1% the exposure is $1,200, not a reason to skip the LLC.
Worked example: $2M and $5M Oregon apartment sales
A 24-unit building in Hillsboro selling for $2,000,000 owes Washington County $2,000, which is 2,000 × $1. A 60-unit building in Beaverton at $5,000,000 owes $5,000. No state tax is added to either.
Move the same two buildings to Portland, Salem or Eugene and the transfer tax is $0. The seller still pays recording fees, title insurance and escrow fees, which are set by the county and the title company, not by a percentage tax.
| Location | Sale price | State tax | County tax | Total transfer tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsboro (Washington County) | $2,000,000 | $0 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Beaverton (Washington County) | $5,000,000 | $0 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Portland (Multnomah County) | $2,000,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Salem (Marion County) | $5,000,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Oregon compared with neighboring states
The contrast with Washington is the one Oregon owners feel. Washington’s state real estate excise tax runs in tiers from 1.10% to 3.00%, so a $2,000,000 apartment sale in Vancouver owes $31,637.50 in state tax before any local excise tax. On $5,000,000 it is $119,075. Washington also taxes the sale of a controlling interest in an entity that owns real estate, which Oregon does not.
California’s counties charge $0.55 per $500, or $2,200 on $2,000,000, and many cities add their own. Nevada charges $2.55 per $500 in Clark County, or $10,200, and $1.95 per $500 in smaller counties, which may add up to 5 cents more. Idaho has no transfer tax.
| State | Rate | Tax on a $2,000,000 sale |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon (Washington County) | $1 per $1,000 (0.1%) | $2,000 |
| Oregon (rest of state) | None | $0 |
| Washington | 1.10% to 3.00% state tiers, plus local | $31,637.50 state |
| California | $0.55 per $500 county, plus city | $2,200 county |
| Nevada (Clark County) | $2.55 per $500 (0.51%) | $10,200 |
| Idaho | None | $0 |
Could Oregon add a transfer tax?
Only with a vote of the people. Because the ban is in the constitution, the legislature can’t create a transfer tax on its own. Lawmakers have floated amendments, such as House Joint Resolution 203 in 2020, which would have allowed a state charge for affordable housing that exempted the first $500,000 of value. Any proposal like that would have to pass the legislature and then win at the ballot.
For a seller planning a 2026 or 2027 sale, the practical answer is that the only transfer tax in Oregon is Washington County’s 0.1%.
Where the real tax cost of an Oregon sale sits
With no transfer tax to speak of, an Oregon seller’s tax bill comes almost entirely from income tax on the gain. Federal tax applies to depreciation recapture at up to 25% and to long-term capital gain at up to 20%, with the 3.8% net investment income tax on top for many owners. Oregon then taxes the gain as ordinary income.
That is why Oregon apartment owners lean on 1031 exchanges. An exchange can defer both federal and Oregon income tax on the gain. If you are in Washington County, the $1 per $1,000 transfer tax still applies to the sale, since the county has no exemption for exchanges.
Whatever transfer tax you do pay in Washington County counts as a selling expense, so it reduces the amount realized on your federal and Oregon returns. Keep the escrow settlement statement with your depreciation schedule, because your CPA will need both to work out recapture and gain.
Selling your Oregon apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Oregon, in Washington County and across the Portland metro, the Willamette Valley and Central Oregon. We buy directly, can offer seller-carry terms, and work within 1031 exchange deadlines.
Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours. Any Washington County transfer tax is allocated in the purchase agreement like other closing costs, and we’ll show you the full net before you sign.
