1. Check how a lower value would affect your bill
Your statement lists a real market value (the county’s estimate of your property’s value on January 1, 2026) and an assessed value. A lower market value can lower your tax in two ways, and neither is guaranteed. If the value the board sets falls below your property’s maximum assessed value, your assessed value drops to that lower value. Separately, even when assessed value does not change, a lower market value lowers the Measure 5 limits on the general government and school portions of the tax, which can reduce the tax on a property that is in compression or would become compressed at the lower value. A property that is not in compression on the current bill can become compressed after a supported reduction, so the limits have to be recomputed at the proposed value, not read from the current bill. Bond taxes are outside the Measure 5 limits, so compression does not reduce them; a change in assessed value can still affect them. If neither path applies, a lower value may not change your bill. The full article walks through both paths with an illustration.
This guide focuses on appeals of real market value, the value my service handles. Oregon also allows appeals of some other values, with exceptions listed in the Department of Revenue’s appeal guide. Complaints about tax rates or levies are outside the board’s value decision.
2. Gather evidence of value on January 1, 2026
The board wants evidence of what your property was worth on January 1, 2026. Recent sales of comparable homes near that date are the usual evidence, along with anything specific to your property that the county may have missed, such as needed repairs. Evidence can go in with the petition or be presented at the hearing.
3. File with Multnomah County by December 31, 2026
- File by mail or in person. Multnomah County does not accept appeals by email or fax.
- File a separate signed petition for each tax account, with a copy of the tax statement.
- A mailed petition needs a U.S. Postal Service postmark (not a private postage meter date) on or before December 31, 2026, or delivery to the county by that day.
Filing fee: Multnomah County charges $30 per tax account, payable to Multnomah County. You pay it whether or not the appeal succeeds.
If you own more than one property, each tax account is its own appeal, with its own petition and its own $30 fee.
4. If someone represents you
You can file your own appeal. Oregon law (ORS 309.100) also allows a licensed real estate broker to represent an owner before the appeals board with the owner’s written authorization. If someone represents you, the county’s current authorization form calls for the original signed form, not a photocopy. Whether the county accepts a printed electronic signature is still being confirmed, so plan on a hand-signed original. The form on the county’s site is labeled 2025-2026; check for the current version before using it.
5. The hearing and the decision
The Multnomah County Property Value Appeals Board holds hearings, expected from February through April 15, 2027; the county’s notice sets your date. You or your representative present the case, and the board sends its decision in writing. If it lowers your value, the change applies to the 2026-27 tax year. No result is guaranteed. A further appeal to the Oregon Tax Court is a separate step with its own deadline and filing fee.
Want me to handle it?
I prepare and file the appeal and represent you at the hearing. You pay my fee only if your taxes go down. My fee is 22.5% of your 2026-27 tax savings, only if the appeal lowers your taxes, when the last required client signature on the agreement is completed by December 20, 2026 (Pacific time). When the last required client signature is completed on or after December 21, 2026 (Pacific time), the appeal is a holiday rush and my fee is 50% of your 2026-27 tax savings, again only if the appeal lowers your taxes. Your rate is set by the date of that signature and does not change after that. If the appeal does not lower your taxes, you owe me nothing. Any county filing fee is separate and is owed whatever the outcome.
December 31 is the county’s filing deadline, not my intake deadline. Before I can file, the agreement and authorization have to be signed, the packet prepared and reviewed, any county fee paid and the filing mailed or delivered, so please contact me well before the end of December. A request that arrives in the last days of the month may not leave enough time to file.
See my Multnomah County property tax appeal page.
More: property tax appeal FAQ · guides for Washington County and Clackamas County
This page explains the general process; it is not legal or tax advice, and county rules can change. The appeals board decides every appeal, and no result is guaranteed. County rules checked October 2026. Nathan Austin Property Tax Appeal is Nathan Austin’s own business. Nathan Austin, Oregon licensed real estate broker #201244900.