What is the property tax rate in Oregon?
The property tax rate in Oregon averages 0.81% of market value for owner-occupied homes (Tax Foundation 2026, using the 2024 American Community Survey). That puts Oregon in the middle of the states, well below Illinois or New Jersey and above Arizona or Colorado.
Oregon tax bills are figured a different way from that headline number. Each property has a real market value (RMV) and a lower assessed value (AV), and the tax rate applies to assessed value. The Oregon Department of Revenue reports an average rate of $17.52 per $1,000 of assessed value for fiscal year 2025-26, excluding urban renewal. Because assessed value averaged only about 54% of market value statewide, the tax as a share of market value is much lower than $17.52 per $1,000 suggests.
How Oregon sets assessed value
Your assessed value is the lower of your property’s maximum assessed value (MAV) or its real market value, a rule set by Measure 50 in 1997. MAV was reset below market in 1997 and since then can grow by no more than 3% a year for existing property.
Market values in most of Oregon have risen faster than 3% a year since 1997, so for most older buildings MAV is well under RMV and the 3% limit sets the bill. The statewide average ratio of assessed value to market value was 0.536 in FY 2025-26, and the ratio varies a great deal by county and property class.
New construction and major improvements are added on top of MAV. The assessor takes the new value at RMV and multiplies it by the county’s changed property ratio (CPR) for that property class, so a new wing or a full gut renovation raises your AV by less than its market value, but by more than 3%.
Measure 5 limits and compression
Measure 5, passed in 1990, caps operating taxes at $5 per $1,000 of real market value for schools and $10 per $1,000 of RMV for general government. Taxes for voter-approved bonds sit outside those limits.
When the levies on a property would exceed the Measure 5 limits, the excess is cut through a process called compression. Compression reduced statewide taxes by about $215 million in FY 2025-26, roughly 2% of the total. It hits hardest where assessed value is close to market value, because the limits are measured against RMV.
Does a sale trigger reassessment in Oregon?
No. Selling a building in Oregon does not reset its maximum assessed value, so the buyer takes over the same MAV and the same 3% growth limit you had. Only new construction, major improvements and a few other exceptions add value to MAV.
This is one of the main differences between Oregon and states that reassess on sale or revalue each year at market. A buyer’s property tax projection in Oregon starts from the current bill, which makes taxes one of the easier lines to underwrite. The sale price can still matter indirectly, since it tells the assessor something about RMV, and RMV is what Measure 5 compression is measured against.
Oregon property tax rates by county
County rates in Oregon range from about $8 to $24 per $1,000 of assessed value. The figures below are average total rates per $1,000 of AV for FY 2025-26 from the Department of Revenue’s property tax statistics report (Exhibit 6b). Rates within a county differ by city and school district, so check your own tax code area.
Remember these are rates on assessed value, not market value. A Multnomah County rate of $23.63 per $1,000 of AV is about 1.27% of market value only for a property whose AV is 54% of RMV, and less for one with a lower ratio.
| County | Average rate (per $1,000 AV) | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Multnomah | $23.63 | Highest |
| Washington | $18.04 | Highest |
| Clackamas | $17.87 | Highest |
| Benton | $17.81 | Highest |
| Marion | $17.38 | Highest |
| Wallowa | $11.52 | Lowest |
| Gilliam | $11.44 | Lowest |
| Douglas | $11.06 | Lowest |
| Josephine | $10.13 | Lowest |
| Curry | $8.46 | Lowest |
How to appeal your property value in Oregon
You can appeal from the date tax statements are mailed in late October through December 31, by filing a petition with your county’s board. The Department of Revenue’s appeal form (150-303-668) calls it the property value appeals board; many counties still use the older name, Board of Property Tax Appeals (BOPTA).
If you disagree with the board’s order, you have 30 days after the order is mailed or delivered to you to appeal to the Oregon Tax Court Magistrate Division. An appeal argues about real market value. For older buildings where AV is far below RMV, a lower RMV often does not change the bill, because the tax is set by MAV. Appeals pay off most for properties where AV is at or near market value, or where compression applies.
- Late October: tax statements mailed; the appeal window opens.
- December 31: last day to file with the county board.
- 30 days after the board’s order is mailed or delivered: deadline to appeal to the Tax Court Magistrate Division.
Property tax exemptions for Oregon apartments
Oregon’s apartment exemptions are mostly local options, which means a city or county has to adopt them before an owner can apply. The best known is the nonprofit low-income rental housing exemption. House Bill 2077 (2025) extends its sunset from June 30, 2027 to June 30, 2033.
Other programs exist for low-income rental housing, multiple-unit housing and vertical housing developments, but which ones are available and on what terms depends on the jurisdiction. Ask the county assessor which programs your city has adopted, and whether a current exemption on your building ends or carries over when it sells, before you put a value on the building.
Effective rate or levy rate: which one to use
Use the levy rate per $1,000 of assessed value for your own building, and the 0.81% effective rate only to compare Oregon with other states. The Tax Foundation figure divides median taxes paid by median home value for owner-occupied homes, so it says nothing about a specific apartment building’s ratio of AV to market value.
A building bought in the 1990s and never expanded may have an AV well under half its market value, and its tax as a share of value can be far below 0.94%. A building finished in the last few years enters the rolls at RMV times the changed property ratio, which is often higher. Two buildings with the same rent roll on the same street can carry very different bills, and a buyer looks at the actual statement, not the county average.
What to check on your tax statement before you sell
Your annual statement already shows most of what a buyer will ask for.
- Real market value and assessed value, and the ratio between them.
- Whether any part of the bill was reduced by Measure 5 compression.
- Bond levies, which sit outside the Measure 5 limits and can change when voters approve new ones.
- Any exception value added for recent construction or improvements.
- Any exemption on the account and its end date.
Worked example: property tax on a $2M Oregon apartment building
Take a 20-unit building with a real market value of $2,000,000. If its assessed value matches the statewide average ratio of 0.536, AV is $1,072,000. At the statewide average rate of $17.52 per $1,000 of AV, the yearly tax is about $18,781, or 0.94% of market value. The same building in Multnomah County at $23.63 would owe about $25,331, and in Curry County at $8.46 about $9,069.
Now the sale. Because Oregon does not reassess on sale, the buyer’s first-year bill is the same $18,781, and the next year AV can rise at most 3%, to $1,104,160, for a bill of about $19,345 at the same rate. The buyer’s NOI takes no hit from the sale itself.
Compare a system that reset assessed value to the sale price. At $17.52 on the full $2,000,000, before any Measure 5 compression, the bill would be $35,040, which is $16,259 more a year. At an illustrative 6% cap rate, that would knock about $271,000 off what a buyer could pay. Oregon’s rules keep that amount in the price.
| Scenario | Assessed value | Yearly tax |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide average rate, $17.52 | $1,072,000 | $18,781 |
| Multnomah County, $23.63 | $1,072,000 | $25,331 |
| Curry County, $8.46 | $1,072,000 | $9,069 |
| Year after sale, 3% MAV growth | $1,104,160 | $19,345 |
| If reset to $2M sale price (hypothetical) | $2,000,000 | $35,040 |
How property tax affects your sale price
Buyers value apartment buildings on net operating income, so every dollar of property tax comes straight off value at the market cap rate. In Oregon, a building with a long ownership history and a low AV-to-RMV ratio can carry a noticeably lower tax bill than a newer neighbor, and that advantage transfers to the buyer.
Two things can work against you. A large renovation just before a sale adds exception value to MAV and raises the bill the buyer inherits. A local exemption that ends at sale can raise taxes overnight. Gather the last three tax statements and any exemption paperwork before you go to market.
Selling an apartment building in Oregon
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Oregon, including properties in high-rate counties such as Multnomah and Washington. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. We underwrite from your actual tax statements, so a low assessed value shows up in what we can pay.
For the tax on the sale itself, see our page on Oregon capital gains tax on real estate. For the rent cap and tenant rules a buyer will inherit, see Oregon landlord-tenant law for apartment owners.
