The Oregon Legislature set up programs that allow qualifying property owners to delay paying property taxes on their residence, including manufactured homes, houseboats, multifamily, and income-producing properties.

If you qualify for one of the deferral programs, the state will pay your property taxes to the county. A lien will be placed on your property. You will be charged lien recording fees, which are deferred. Interest on the deferred taxes, at 6% per year, is also deferred. The taxes must be paid, with interest, when the owner dies or sells the property, moves or changes ownership.

There are two deferral programs, one of which you may qualify for.

• The disabled citizens' deferral is for Oregon homeowners, under age 62, who are collecting federal Social Security benefits.
• The senior citizens' deferral is for Oregon homeowners, over the age of 62.

Application rules are:

• Either husband or wife may apply, or both may apply jointly.
• Two or more people (other than a married couple) may apply for deferral as joint owners.
• You may apply for a deferral if you have a veteran's exemption and still have property taxes to pay.
• You may be living away from the property due to medical reasons. In this case you must send a medical statement to the Oregon Department of Revenue (DOR). It must be on letterhead from your health care provider.

Property taxes are based on a tax rate per $1000 of assessed value. The rate is comprised of several different taxing districts that vary depending on the location of your property. Each district has an individual tax rate and the consolidated tax rate combines the rates for the various taxing districts in that area.

The penalty is a percentage of the property tax in Benton County and is determined by the lateness of the filing:

• Returns filed after March 15 and on or before June 1 the penalty is 5% of the taxes owed
• Returns filed after June 1 and on or before August 1 the penalty is 25% of the taxes owed
• Returns filed after August 1 the penalty is 50% of the taxes owed
• Returns not filed will receive a penalty of 50% of the taxes owed