Oregon Property Owners Owe Tax for Years They Didn’t Own Land

Two Oregon property owners are on the hook for unpaid property taxes that accrued on their land before they acquired it because the potential tax liability was reflected in the public record, the state’s tax court held.

Michael and Kendall Williams’ two-acre property was disqualified from a special, lower, forestland tax assessment for the 2025-26 tax year, so the Columbia County Assessor correctly imposed about $5,000 in additional taxes for the five years prior to the disqualification, Presiding Magistrate Allison R. Boomer of the Oregon Tax Court said Wednesday.

That period includes years before the Williams purchased the property in ...