Closing Costs in Oregon 2026: Buyer & Seller Guide

· ✓ Last verified Sep 30, 2026 · March 21, 2026 · by AskDoss Editorial Team ·Home Buying · 5 min read

Oregon’s constitution has barred new real estate transfer taxes since 2012. The official 2012 explanation of the ban named one older tax that survives: Washington County’s, which is $1 per $1,000 of the selling price and dates from 1985. Recording fees come from state law: $5 a page plus $71 per instrument, and a county may add its own corner fee.

Measure 79 and the Washington County tax it left in place

Voters added the ban to Article IX of the Oregon Constitution on November 6, 2012 (Measure 79). It says the state and every “city, county, district or other political subdivision or municipal corporation of this state shall not impose, by ordinance or other law, a tax, fee or other assessment upon the transfer of any interest in real property.” The same section spares “any tax, fee or other assessment in effect and operative on December 31, 2009.”

The official explanation in the 2012 Voters’ Pamphlet said “several statewide and local fees” would remain in effect, “as well as a real estate transfer tax in Washington County.” A statute had already barred local transfer taxes before 2012. That statute, ORS 306.815, still says a city, county or district “shall not impose” such a tax, but its own text makes that bar depend on the size of the state recording fees in ORS 205.323, so the constitutional ban is now the rule that settles the question.

Washington County: $1 per $1,000, and both parties are liable

Washington County Code 3.04.070 sets the rate at “one dollar per one thousand dollars or fraction thereof of the selling price.” It was adopted by Ordinance 289 in 1985. On a $500,000 sale the tax is $500. On $500,500 it is $501, because a partial thousand counts as a whole one.

  • What is taxed: the selling price, which under Code 3.04.030(I) includes “the amount of any lien, mortgage, contract, indebtedness or any encumbrance” that the buyer “agrees to pay or assume.”
  • Who owes it: “Liability for this tax shall attach upon every purchaser and seller.” The county’s own page puts it this way: “Liability for the tax is between the purchaser and seller.” The code does not say which of them pays. Check your sale agreement to see whether it assigns the tax.
  • When: within 15 days after the deed is handed in for recording. The director may grant up to two 15-day extensions on written request (Code 3.04.080). A late payment costs a penalty equal to the tax or $50, “whichever is greater,” plus interest of 1.5% a month (Code 3.04.160).
  • What is exempt: Code 3.04.030(J) lists 18 kinds of document. The ones home buyers are most likely to meet are documents “recorded solely for security purposes” (your trust deed), transfers with a selling price of $13,999 or less, gifts and inheritances, divorce transfers made by court order, and fulfillment deeds. If a document does not show on its face that it is exempt, file an affidavit with the county within 15 days (Code 3.04.040).

County clerks charge $5 a page plus $71 per instrument

ORS 205.320(1)(d)(A) sets the page fee statewide at “$5 for each page, but the minimum fee shall not be less than $5.” ORS 205.323 adds three fees to each recorded instrument: $1 for the Oregon Land Information System Fund, $10 that mostly funds county assessment and taxation, and $60 that passes through a county fund to state housing programs run by Oregon Housing and Community Services (ORS 294.187). They total $71. Some documents are exempt from the three fees, including satisfactions of judgment.

On top of that, ORS 203.148 lets each county set a Public Land Corner Preservation fee by resolution or order, so the total varies by county. Washington County raised its corner fee from $5 to $10 on August 1, 2025. The county now charges $86 to record a one-page, one-title document and $91 for two pages.

ORS 205.323 charges these fees on each instrument described in ORS 205.130, which covers “deeds and mortgages of real property.” A trust deed counts as a mortgage (ORS 86.715), so the deed and your loan’s trust deed each pay separately.

Title premiums follow the insurer’s filing with DCBS

Every insurer must file its rates with the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services (ORS 737.205(1)). Filings are “open to public inspection immediately upon submission” (ORS 737.205(3)). A title rate filing takes effect no earlier than “the 30th day after the date the filing is received by the director” (ORS 737.320(2)). The director can extend that wait by up to 30 more days, or can let a reviewed filing take effect sooner if the insurer applies in writing. ORS 737.330(1) says no insurer may issue a policy “except in accordance with the filings which are in effect.” When you get a quote, ask which filed rate it comes from.

Who can handle the closing money

Under ORS 696.511(1), no one may act as an escrow agent in Oregon without “an active license as an escrow agent,” which the Real Estate Commissioner issues. ORS 696.523 applies those rules to the escrow work of title insurance companies. ORS 696.520 lists who is exempt. The list includes an attorney “rendering services in the performance of duties as attorney at law,” banks and other lenders within limits set in the same section, and a licensed real estate broker who closes a deal the broker handled “if the principals are not charged a separate fee for escrow services.”

Flex Lending and the OHCS down payment program

Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) runs Flex Lending through approved lenders. It has two first-mortgage products. With FirstHome, first-time buyers “receive 4% or 5% of the loan amount as down payment assistance.” NextStep is open to any buyer and pairs a fixed-rate first mortgage “with a second mortgage for down payment assistance that can be either repayable or forgivable.” OHCS says the assistance can cover “up to 100% of the borrower’s cash requirement to close.”

OHCS also funds local organizations under its Down Payment Assistance program. Buyers must be first-time or first-generation buyers at or below 100% of area median income. They must also complete homebuyer education and meet a certified housing counselor. The most one buyer can receive is “$60,000 or 20% of the purchase price, whichever is less,” depending on the organization’s program. OHCS says that “in some instances” the money comes as “a grant or forgivable second lien.” Read the organization’s terms to learn which you would get. (OHCS pages read September 24, 2026.)

To see how much cash you would bring after any OHCS help, run our down payment and affordability numbers first, then get a pre-approval from a Flex Lending lender.

Frequently asked questions

Does Portland or Multnomah County charge a transfer tax?

The 2012 Voters’ Pamphlet named only one real estate transfer tax that the ban left in place, and it was Washington County’s. Article IX of the constitution bars any new one.

I’m buying in Washington County with a $400,000 loan. Is the loan taxed too?

Not under the county transfer tax: Washington County Code 3.04.030(J)(11) excludes documents “recorded solely for security purposes.” Your trust deed still pays the clerk’s recording fees under ORS 205.320 and 205.323.

Can the Legislature pass a statewide transfer tax?

Not as the constitution now reads. Measure 79 put “the state” in the prohibition, alongside cities, counties and districts.

Who pays the Washington County tax, the buyer or the seller?

Code 3.04.070 makes both liable and does not split the tax between them. Look for the transfer-tax clause in your sale agreement before closing.

Why did recording in Washington County cost $5 more after August 2025?

The county raised its Public Land Corner Preservation fee under ORS 203.148 from $5 to $10 per document, effective August 1, 2025.

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