Transfer tax
Oregon has no statewide real estate transfer tax on deeds. Recording fees are set locally by the county clerk.
Donate a house, timber tract or coastal lot in Oregon, in any of the 36 counties
Oregon property specialists: (888) 228-7320
Donate Real Estate in Oregon
Oregon has no sales tax and, in all but one county, no real estate transfer tax. What it does have is the strictest land use system in the country: statewide planning goals, urban growth boundaries and exclusive farm use zoning that decide what can be built long before a local planner is involved. That is the first thing we check here.
Fully IRS Compliant
We Handle the Paperwork
Form 8283 Done Right
501(c)(3) Recognized Charity
Oregon rules for a property donation
Federal tax rules are the same in every state. These three are set by Oregon and by the county where the property sits.
Land use zoning decides what the land can be
Property outside an urban growth boundary is often zoned exclusive farm use or forest, which limits dwellings and divisions regardless of parcel size. A twenty-acre parcel is not automatically a building site. This affects value rather than acceptance, and knowing it early prevents a wasted appraisal.
Recording
Deeds are recorded with the county clerk for the county where the property sits. You sign before a notary wherever you live, and we handle the filing.
What Oregon owners call us about
Four situations the state produces more of than most.
Timber ground under forest deferral
Small woodland parcels enrolled for special assessment, with an additional tax when the classification changes. It is a number in the review.
A rural parcel that will not take a dwelling
Land zoned for farm or forest use where a house is not an allowed use, bought by someone who assumed otherwise.
A house in a wildfire-affected area
Rebuild costs and insurance availability after the fire seasons of recent years. The lot generally still has value.
A Portland house with a large gain
Property bought decades ago and inherited now, where a sale means realizing substantial appreciation.
Oregon property we accept
Each links to the full guide for that type, including how a donation compares with selling.
Houses in OregonCraftsman bungalows, ranch houses, coastal cottages and farmhouses.
Oregon landForest parcels, high desert acreage, coastal and river lots.
Farm groundWillamette valley grass seed and orchard, eastern Oregon range and irrigated ground.
Commercial propertyMain street buildings, storefronts and small offices.
Industrial buildingsWarehouse, mill and processing space.
Land contractsProperty sold on terms years ago. We take over the payments and deliver the deed at payoff.
What a donation looks like by region
Six Oregons, divided by the Cascades and by the growth boundary.
Portland metro
Inherited houses with low basis, infill lots inside the growth boundary, and small commercial on changing corridors.
The Willamette valley
Grass seed, hazelnut and vineyard ground under exclusive farm use zoning, plus small-city housing.
The coast
Cottages and lots subject to coastal zoning and, in places, chronic erosion and slide risk.
Southern Oregon
Wildfire-affected property, timbered acreage and rural parcels with water rights attached.
Central Oregon
High desert subdivision lots, some sold long before services reached them, and ranch ground.
Eastern Oregon
Range and irrigated ground, small towns with more buildings than buyers, and large blocks of dry acreage.
Oregon real estate donation questions, answered
Is a donated deed subject to Oregon transfer tax?+
Oregon has no statewide real estate transfer tax on deeds. Recording fees are set locally by the county clerk.
I live outside Oregon. Do I have to travel there to sign?+
No. We prepare the deed in the form Oregon requires for the county where the property sits, you sign before a notary where you live, and we record it with the county clerk.
My twenty acres is zoned exclusive farm use. Can I still donate it?+
Yes. Zoning limits what can be built, not whether title can move. It does affect value, and an appraiser working in Oregon will price the zoning rather than the acreage. Send the county and the parcel and we will look at the designation first.
Does Oregon give a state tax deduction for a property donation?+
Oregon has a state income tax, and how it treats a charitable contribution is set by Oregon law rather than by us. Your federal deduction follows the usual IRS rules. Take the state question to your own advisor.
Oregon has no transfer tax. Does that make this simpler?+
Marginally. The saving is real but small next to the questions that actually decide these transfers here, which are zoning, water and access. Washington County is the exception on transfer tax, and we confirm the county rule before recording.
We do not provide tax or legal advice. State and local transfer tax rules change; we confirm current requirements when we prepare each deed. Consult your own advisor.
Tell us about your Oregon property and we will review it
The county and a parcel number are enough to start.