The Oregon Legislature took a significant step toward addressing the state’s
affordable housing crisis by passing House Bill 4007 today, establishing a First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account
program statewide.

Once signed into law by Governor Kate Brown, the program will allow Oregonians to take a state tax deduction
for saving money towards a down payment and other related costs associated with the purchase of their first
home.

Polling indicated that 86 percent of Oregonians viewed saving enough for a down payment and closing costs as
a significant obstacle to buying a home, prompting the Oregon Association of REALTORS® (OAR), among other
prominent housing and related industry groups, to support the legislation.

“Oregon needs to find innovative ways to help the first-time buyers afford a home,” says Vikki Breese-Iverson, a
Prineville REALTOR® and past chairman of OAR’s Government Affairs Committee. “Giving people a break on the
front-end of the home buying process will encourage and enable more people to step into home ownership.”

The program takes effect on the 91st day following 2018 session adjournment sine die and applies to tax years
beginning on or after January 1, 2019, and before January 1, 2025

Qualified savings would be held in a special account opened at any Oregon bank or credit union. Deposits into
the account would be tax deductible up to $5,000 a year for individual filers and $10,000 a year for joint filers,
with a maximum contribution of $50,000 over 10 years; interest earned on the account also would be tax free.

Funds in the account would have to be used for a down payment or other closing costs associated with the
purchase of an existing home or construction of a new home, of any type, and could only be used by people who
have never owned a home or who have not owned a home in the last three years.

“We’d like to thank all of the legislators who voted in favor of this bill, and especially acknowledge the efforts of
Representative Alissa Keny-Guyer (D-Portland) and Senator Rod Monroe (D-Portland) for their advocacy,” says
Shawn Cleave, OAR Government Affairs Director. “It was a true example of bipartisanship on behalf of all
Oregonians.”
For more information, please visit the following resources:
• Oregon First Home Coalition 
• HB 4007 Enrollment by the Oregon State Legislature
• Economic & Fiscal Impacts Report of First-Time Home Buyers Savings Accounts in Oregon