OAR 150-311-0690: Timing and Repayment of Disqualified, Cancelled or Inactivated Accounts Under the Property Tax Deferral Program

(1) The Department of Revenue will pay property taxes to the county on behalf of each applicant that has been approved for the property tax deferral programs under ORS 311.666 to 311.701. Once the application is approved, the department will pay the taxes each year for as long as the property and deferral program applicant remain eligible. A lien will be placed on the property. The department tax-deferred property account will include the deferred taxes, lien fees, and interest on the deferred taxes. (2) "Cancelled" means that the tax-deferred property has been removed from the deferral program at the written request of the tax-deferred property applicant, and not for reason of any of the events listed in ORS 311.684. (a) If a tax-deferred property account is cancelled prior to September 1, the department will not pay the current year taxes to the county on behalf of the deferral program applicant. (b) The department will pay the current year taxes to the county on behalf of the deferral program applicant if a tax-deferred property account is cancelled on or after September 1. (c) A cancelled tax-deferred property account may be paid in full at any time after cancellation but no later than as required by ORS 311.686. (3) "Disqualified" means the tax-deferred property is no longer subject to property tax deferral and the department will no longer pay taxes on behalf of the deferral program applicant. In addition, the department will send notice of disqualification to the deferral program applicant requiring repayment of all deferred taxes, fees and interest by August 15 of the year following the calendar year in which any one of the events set forth in ORS 311.684 occurs. (4) “Inactivated” means the department has determined that the deferral program applicant or tax-deferred property has become ineligible for deferral of future property taxes due to failure to meet eligibility requirements. If a tax-deferred property account is inactivated, the department will send the deferral program applicant a notice of inactivation and not pay current or future year taxes to the county on behalf of the deferral program applicant, but the department’s lien for deferred property taxes will remain on the property. (5) The department will seek to collect a deferral debt from a transferee, as defined in ORS 311.666, in the following circumstances. (a) The transferee is occupying or using the tax-deferred property more than 90 days following the deferral program applicant’s date of death, including use of the property as a lessor, and is a potential recipient of the property under intestate succession or by devise, (b) The transferee received the tax-deferred property from the estate of the deceased applicant, or (c) The transferee received a right to the property by gift or assignment from an insolvent deferral program applicant. (6) If a probate proceeding has been initiated, the department shall suspend collection activity under subsections (5)(a) and (b) until the homestead has been transferred out of the estate. (7) Notwithstanding section (5), bona fide purchasers or a person or entity that receives property outside of an estate, such as by operation of law, are not considered transferees unless they fall within section 5(c). (8) The department may collect from a transferee or transferees the lesser of the following: (a) The amount of the balance due per the department’s deferred property tax lien, including deferred taxes, interest and fees, or (b) The positive amount remaining after subtracting outstanding debts under liens with higher priority than the department’s deferred property tax lien from the real market value on the last certified property tax roll preceding the disqualifying event for the county in which the property is located. (9) The department will release its lien on the tax-deferred property only after all deferred taxes, interest and fees have been paid. (a) Repayment of a disqualified account is due and payable to the department on or before August 15 of the year following the calendar year in which a disqualifying circumstance occurred. (b) By itself, cancellation or inactivation of an account is not an event requiring repayment of all deferred taxes, interest and fees.