About the Initiative - Key Facts

 The measure applies to the primary residence of an Oregon senior property owner(s) upon one of the resident homeowners achieving age 65 by April of the tax year in which the next property taxes are due.

 A spouse/partner joint homeowner does not have to be 65 as long as one of the two homeowners has reached age 65. 

 The measure does not give the property tax freeze for second residences or vacation homes.· If the senior property owner is living in a multi-family residence, they are only eligible to freeze the portion of the property tax for which they occupy as their primary residence. They could not seek an exemption on the portion of a multi-family unit used for rental income. 

 The measure allows a home in a trust to be enrolled in the program so long as the beneficiary of the trust is the senior who would otherwise be eligible for the property tax freeze and the home is the senior’s primary residence. 

 The measure requires county property tax assessors to develop a program whereby the senior homeowner who has reached age 65 can enroll in the program. It is the responsibility of the homeowner who would like to enroll their primary residence property to do so at any time after they’ve reached age 65. 

 The assessed value of the property will reset upon the sale or transfer to where the assessed value the property would have been if the property taxes had not been frozen, regardless of the age of the new owner. As an example, if the property’s assessed value was frozen at $100,000, and the value three years later would have otherwise been $109,000, the property’s assessed value would reset to a $109,000 assessed value whether the new owner was 35 or 65. The new owner, if they are 65 or older, could enroll and freeze the assessed value at the reset $109,000. 

Property tax levies passed during the period where a home has a frozen assessed value can still be assessed against the home’s frozen assessed value, and will also reset upon sale or transfer to a new property owner.