Coloradans, expect to pay higher property taxes next year

Most Colorado homeowners will have to pay higher property taxes in 2026, regardless of whether they saw any changes in their property value, according to a 2024 report from the Common Sense Institute of Colorado.

Several special legislative sessions and ballot measures have been created since 2021 to address spiking tax values after the pandemic, especially since the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment in 2020.

While homeowners in 2024 benefited from pandemic-era discounts on the taxable value of primary residences, Colorado’s 2025 rates translate to reduced discounts and higher taxes, according to the report.

By the time the bill arrives in 2026, Colorado homes could see property taxes rise by hundreds of dollars, even if the property’s value remains flat, thanks to the phase-in of higher permanent assessment rates — a critical part of the state’s property tax formula.

The phase-in of higher assessment rates is due to a 2023 special session bipartisan deal on property taxes negotiated by Gov. Jared Polis, Democratic lawmakers and some Republican legislators to avoid property tax spikes. The deal achieved property tax relief in 2024 by temporarily reducing the statewide residential assessment rate and subtracting $55,000 from the taxable value of primary residences.

The temporary rate and $55,000 subtraction expire in 2025, being replaced by a new split-rate structure. This means school district taxes and other local levies will have separate tax rates.

For the 2025 property tax year, residential property is assessed at 7.05% for schools and 6.25% for local governments, according to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs’ website.

For example, a home in a mountain resort town with an assessed value of $1 million and a local government tax rate of 3.76% could be taxed around $3,465 for the 2025 tax year, depending on its tax district. Overlapping taxing districts, however, mean individual homeowners can pay different tax bills from one neighborhood to the next.

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Although assessment rates are expected to climb in the 2026 tax year, a new subtraction could point to slightly smaller costs for homeowners.

Under House Bill 24‑1001 — which builds on Senate Bill 24-233 — the residential assessment rate for the 2026 tax year is expected to be 6.8% for the local government portion. However, homeowners will first subtract approximately 10% of their home’s value up to $70,000, meaning many homeowners will owe less than a flat 6.8% rate for the local government portion. 

With the subtraction, the effective assessment rate for most homes is anticipated to be closer to 6.4% for homes near the average state value, according to previous reporting by Colorado Newsline.

For example, the same $1 million mountain home could be taxed at a slightly lower $3,413 for the 2026 tax year (assuming the county’s government and school district tax rates remain the same) even with higher assessed rates.

Although the rates for 2025 and 2026 are still higher than the 2024 temporary rate, they’re lower than what homeowners have had to pay in the past. Under the Gallagher Amendment, the residential rate went from 30% to 21% in 1983, then down to 7.15% by 2003, where it stayed through 2020. The increase is also less than what Coloradans would have seen without the legislative action taken in the past two years.

Colorado has one of the lowest residential property taxes in the country, with an average effective rate of just 0.49% compared to the national average of 0.90%, according to financial technology company SmartAsset.

Definitive property assessment rates won’t be announced until the end of 2025 when the State Board of Equalization makes the final determination. Mill levies for 2025 will also be certified at the end of the year.

Senior citizens, persons with disabilities and members of the National Guard and Reserves who are called into active military service can be eligible for tax relief programs.