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Colorado law requires all Assessors to reappraise all real property, including land and improvements, every two years, in odd-numbered years. A reappraisal is the review and adjustment of property value to a different level of value. Property value may change between reappraisals if there are changes to the property, such as new construction, change in use, subdivision development, and other reasons. The current reassessment was done in 2023 and applies to 2024, and the next one is due in 2025.
According to State Statute, the Assessor is required to gather and confirm sales within the eighteen-month period ending on June 30 of the year prior to a reappraisal year, time adjusting each sale to the June 30 ending date. This data-gathering period is referred to as the Sales Study Period. While statute prescribes an 18-month study period, assessors are allowed to extend the study period back in time in six-month increments. Click Here for More Information.
According to state statutes, residential properties must be valued solely by the market approach, using comparable verified sales from the Study Period for the 2023 reappraisal. These same statutes require the adjustment of sale prices within this study period to the end of the data period June 30, 2022. We analyzed over 25,434 sales of residential homes, which took place between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2022 to establish the residential time trend adjustments. Actual Values are reflective of the Appraisal Date and do not consider sales that have occurred since.
One sale by itself does not determine market value. All neighborhood sales must be considered when establishing a level of value for consistency and equalization purposes. Your sales transaction is verified and then may be considered along with sales of similar properties.
Your 2024 assessment is based on the status of your property as of January 1, 2024 and valued according to what it would have been worth on June 30, 2022. The taxes on the 2024 assessment will be due in 2025. All property in Colorado is assessed as it exists on Jan. 1 of the current year. If a structure is not fully built on that date, a partial value reflecting the percentage of completion is used.
Real Estate may be assessed for more than the sales price because the assessment reflects “fair market value.” Fair market value is not necessarily the price paid for a piece of real estate, but rather, what it is worth on the real estate market. Values also change, and the property value may have gone up since the purchase. This is especially true if a piece of real estate was purchased several years ago, or if a person happened to get a good buy because of a distress sale condition. The actual value should represent fair market value, which may or may not be the same as sales price, as of the Appraisal Date.
If your property value has increased, that does not automatically mean that your property tax will go up by the same percentage. THE ASSESSOR DOES NOT SET PROPERTY TAXES OR MILL LEVIES. Property taxes are determined by multiplying your home’s assessed value by the mill levy. Mill levies are set in December of each year by the various taxing authorities.
Property owners can protest the Assessor’s valuation of their property between May 1 and June 8 of each year. You may file an online appeal, mail or fax back your appeal form, or appear in person. We do request an appointment to be made for an in-person meeting. See the Step-By-Step Protest Procedures in the Protest/Appeals section of this web site.
Property taxes are calculated using the following formula:
Current Actual Value (provided on Notice of Value) x Assessment Rate = Assessed Value
Assessed Value x Tax Rate (Mill Levy) = Estimated Property Tax
The Assessment Rate is 6.7% for Residential and 27.9% for most other property for Tax Year 2023.
The Colorado General Assembly is responsible for determining the Assessment Rate for all property classes. Real property tax is the responsibility of the owner of record January 1st of each year. Private contracts between buyer and seller will often specify who pays the taxes or how the taxes are prorated based on the date of title conveyance. The proration is generally completed at the closing with the title company.
It is the responsibility of the property owner to notify the Assessor’s Office of any change in mailing address. To protect the taxpayer from an erroneous address change, the address used by the Assessor’s Office will not be changed without the property owner’s written consent. For your convenience, you may download an Address Change Form from this site, complete it and mail it. Every year, thousands of property owners don’t receive the notices we send because they have not kept us advised of their changed addresses. Don’t let this happen to you!
Beginning in 2002, for those who qualify, 50 percent of the first $200,000 in actual value of their primary residence is exempt from property tax. The exempted taxes are paid by the State of Colorado, however the legislature has the ability to discontinue the exemption during times of budget shortfalls. Since its inception C.R.S. 39-3-203 has been revised back and forth to both eliminate and reinstate the senior property tax exemption benefit. Further information on the requirements and application process may be found on this web site under Senior Information.
Taxpayers who are at least 65 years old on Jan. 1, who have been the owner of record on their property for at least ten years prior to Jan. 1 and who have occupied the property as their primary residence for at least ten consecutive years prior to Jan. 1 may qualify for the Senior Exemption. Application must be filed by July 15 of the year for which the exemption is sought.