Senior and Disabled Deferral

​Disabled and senior citizens can "borrow" money from the State of Oregon to pay property taxes. Read more to see if you qualify for ​this program and get instructions on how to apply.

Property Tax Deferral – Two Types

1. Senior Citizens – Applicants must be age 62 on or before April 15 of application year.
2. Disabled Citizens – Applicants must be determined eligible to receive or be receiving Federal Social Security disability benefits on or before April 15 of the application year. 

Residences may include Manufactured structures, houseboats, multi-family units and income producing properties.

Reverse mortgage changes starting in 2020

House Bill 2587 (2019) passed in the 2019 legislative session to allow homes with certain reverse mortgages to qualify for the Senior and Disabled Deferral Program starting January 1, 2020.

If you entered into a reverse mortgage on or after July 1, 2011 and before January 1, 2017 and have equity in your home of at least 40 percent as of the date of your deferral application, you may qualify for deferral. This does not enable retroactive deferral payments for prior tax years but enables deferral to pay the taxes to the county going forward for homes that qualify.

2021 deferral applications will be available the first week of January. See the Reverse Mortgage Information Schedule​. 

Program information

Oregon is the only U.S. state imposing a property tax and providing property tax relief to low-income senior homeowners exclusively through a property tax deferral program.

Mortgage companies and other lenders can't prevent applicants from participating in deferral programs [ORS 311.670(3) and ORS 311.700].

Interest

Deferral accounts accrue interest at the rate of 6 percent yearly. Interest continues to accrue each year on the balance of deferred tax amounts paid by the Department of Revenue [ORS 311.674(3)].

Personal property manufactured homes

The State of Oregon will be listed as a security interest holder for manufactured structures in the deferral program. You can't change the ownership document or be issued a trip permit, until the deferral account is paid in full. To make ownership changes, contact your county assessment and taxation office. There is a fee to change the ownership.

Liens

The State of Oregon will record a lien for each property in the deferral program with the county clerk's office on July 1 of the first year of deferral. Learn more about liens​.

The State of Oregon will release the lien on an inactive, cancelled, or disqualified account when payment in full is received. Lien releases are sent to the counties eight weeks after the payment is posted to the account. If payment in full is made between September 1 and November 15, it must include the current year's property taxes.

If you need more information you can contact:

Janice Hayre

Senior & Disabled Program Specialist
jhayre@co.coos.or.us
541-396-7900