Changes in Oregon to the state’s senior property tax deferral program have taken a hit to the seniors that formerly qualified, including 24% who have reverse mortgages and can no longer enroll in the program for that reason, according to the Department of Revenue.

The changes to the tax deferral program, which previously had 10,500 participants, included a new stipulation that seniors with reverse mortgages can no longer qualify. Oregon is one of just two remaining states that offered such tax deferrals.

“Perhaps the biggest change for many people is that properties with reverse mortgages would no longer qualify,” an Oregonian report wrote this week, citing data from the Department of Revenue that showed only 7,200 applications were received for the next tax year, and that of those applicants, 24% were denied because they have reverse mortgages.

Committees were scheduled to discuss program changes on Friday.

Read the Oregonian report.

Written by Elizabeth Ecker