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Colorado property taxes for 2026 use two residential assessment rates: 6.80% for local governments, after a 10% cut to the first $700,000 of value, and 7.05% for school district levies. Your 2026 taxes are billed in January 2027, and the first half is due at the end of February 2027. Here is how the 2026 Colorado property tax rates work, a sample bill, the 2027 due dates, when to appeal (the next reappraisal is 2027), and what Proposition NN on the November 3 ballot does. Short version on Prop NN: it changes TABOR refunds, not your assessment rate. Homeowners in Denver, Aurora, Arvada and across the Front Range, this is your plain-English guide.
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6.80% Residential rate, local governments After a 10% cut to the first $700,000 of value (Colorado Division of Property Taxation, 2026) | 7.05% Residential rate, school districts Same rate for 2025 and 2026 (Division of Property Taxation) |
Feb 2027 First half of 2026 taxes due Last day of February; full payment by April 30, 2027 | May 1, 2027 New values mailed The 2027 reappraisal resets every home value |
How Colorado property taxes are calculated in 2026
The Colorado Division of Property Taxation lays the math out in four steps: actual value (what the county assessor says your home is worth), times the assessment rate, equals your assessed value, times the mill levy, equals your tax. One mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value.
Since 2025, Colorado homes carry two assessed values, not one:
- Local government portion (county, city, fire, water and special districts): 6.80% of your actual value, after the value is cut by 10% up to $70,000 (the 10% applies to the first $700,000). Assessed value never drops below $1,000. Source: Division of Property Taxation, 2026 rate page.
- School district portion: 7.05% of actual value. The HB24B-1001 fiscal note says the school district rate stays at the 2025 level for future years.
Your 2026 value is the same as your 2025 value. Colorado revalues homes every odd-numbered year. For tax years 2025 and 2026, the Division says assessors used sales from January 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. So your 2026 bill moves only if the assessment rate or your local mill levies change, or if your home was added to, split or reclassified.
Denver's Treasury Division says mill levies are set each December (it lists December 15) by the taxing authorities: the school district, city council and special districts. That is why your exact 2026 bill is not known until the levies are certified in December. If you live in a newer neighborhood with a metro district, the metro district levy sits on top. Read Denver special districts and property taxes and metro district debt and your mill levy.
Sample 2026 Colorado property tax bill
Using the Division of Property Taxation's own example levies (23.425 local mills and 52.116 school mills), a $550,000 home owes $2,809 for 2026, or $234 a month in escrow. Here is the full math for four home values:
| Actual value | Local assessed value (6.80% after the 10% cut) | School assessed value (7.05%) | Local tax | School tax | 2026 total | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $400,000 | $24,480 | $28,200 | $573 | $1,470 | $2,043 | $170 |
| $550,000 | $33,660 | $38,775 | $788 | $2,021 | $2,809 | $234 |
| $750,000 | $46,240 | $52,875 | $1,083 | $2,756 | $3,839 | $320 |
| $1,000,000 | $63,240 | $70,500 | $1,481 | $3,674 | $5,156 | $430 |
How the $550,000 line works: $550,000 minus 10% ($55,000) is $495,000. Times 6.80% is $33,660 local assessed value, times 23.425 mills is $788. Then $550,000 times 7.05% is $38,775 school assessed value, times 52.116 mills is $2,021. Above $700,000 the cut stops growing at $70,000.
Your levies are different. Find your tax area's mills on your last tax bill or on your county assessor's site, then swap them in. City by city, we break the levies down in our property tax guides for Denver, Aurora, Arvada, Highlands Ranch, Parker, Thornton and Brighton. South of Denver, see what Arapahoe County buyers pay by city.
When 2026 property taxes are due (paid in 2027)
Colorado taxes are paid one year behind. The Division of Property Taxation says bills for the prior year are mailed as soon after January 1 as possible. So your 2026 taxes are billed in January 2027.
| Payment | Due date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First half | Last day of February 2027 | February 28, 2027 is a Sunday; Denver moves weekend due dates to the next business day |
| Full payment | April 30, 2027 | Pay in full by this date and no interest is charged on the first half (Denver Treasury) |
| Second half | June 15, 2027 | Second installment |
| Bills of $25 or less | April 30, 2027 | Paid in one payment (Division of Property Taxation) |
Denver's Treasury Division charges interest of 1% per month on late payments. If your lender escrows your taxes, it pays these for you; check your escrow statement when your 2027 payment resets.
How to appeal your Colorado property tax value
Colorado revalues every home in odd-numbered years, so 2027 is the next reappraisal. Notices of valuation are mailed by May 1, and the protest deadline is June 8 (later if it lands on a weekend), per the Division of Property Taxation. The steps:
- 1. Protest to the county assessor by June 8, in writing, online or in person. Bring sales of homes like yours from the study period.
- 2. Read the Notice of Determination. Standard counties mail it by the last working day in June. Counties with more than 300,000 people must use the alternate schedule, with determinations by August 15. Ask your assessor which schedule your county uses.
- 3. Appeal to the county board of equalization if you disagree with the assessor.
- 4. Go to the Board of Assessment Appeals, district court or binding arbitration within 30 days of the county board's decision.
The assessor values your home on the sales in the study period, not on today's market. A recent appraisal, a list of repairs the home needs, or sales of smaller homes on your street all count as evidence. Want comps for your protest? Our free home value report pulls the recent sales near you.
What Proposition NN does (and does not do) to your property taxes
Proposition NN is on the November 3, 2026 ballot. It is about TABOR refunds, not property tax rates. Per the 2026 Blue Book from the Colorado Legislative Council:
- A yes vote lets the state keep some or all of the revenue TABOR would refund, up to the amount the state spends on public education.
- The kept money goes first to repay local governments for the senior, veteran and Gold Star property tax exemptions (already required today), then to K-12 education and programs for children for ten years.
- The Blue Book says it reduces TABOR refunds by $329.9 million in the 2026-27 budget year and $521.0 million in 2027-28, which eliminates TABOR refunds for those two years.
- A no vote keeps current TABOR refunds.
Prop NN does not set the 6.80% or 7.05% assessment rates, and it does not set your local mill levies. Those come from state law and your local taxing districts. The money it touches is your state TABOR refund, which shows up on your state income tax return, not on your property tax bill.
Property tax relief Colorado homeowners can claim
- Senior property tax exemption. Homeowners 65 or older on January 1 who have owned and lived in the home for 10 straight years can exempt 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value. Apply to your county assessor between January 1 and July 15 (late filings through August 15 lose appeal rights). Source: Division of Property Taxation. More in property taxes in Colorado 55+ communities.
- Denver Property Tax Relief Program. Denver homeowners can get back up to $1,800 of property tax paid. Applications for 2025 taxes run May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027. Household income must be at or below 80% of Denver area median income ($72,950 for one person, $83,400 for two in 2025), plus one of the city's other tests. Funds are paid in the order applications arrive until the money runs out, so apply early.
- Veteran with a disability exemption and the state property tax, rent and heat rebate are also listed by the Division of Property Taxation. Ask your county assessor.
How this affects you
Buyers. Your lender counts property tax in your monthly payment. On a $550,000 home at the example levies above, that is $234 a month on top of principal and interest. Ask for the seller's last tax bill before you offer, and run the full payment on our Colorado mortgage calculator with this week's Colorado mortgage rates. Closing also prorates the year's taxes; see closing costs in Colorado.
Sellers. Colorado taxes are paid in arrears, so at closing you credit the buyer for 2026 taxes you have not yet paid. Buyers compare tax bills across neighborhoods, so a high metro district levy belongs in your pricing. Start with a free home value report.
Homeowners. No new value notice comes for 2026. Your next chance to protest is May 1 to June 8, 2027. Gather comps now, while sales are fresh. Turning 65, or hitting 10 years in the home? Mark January 1 to July 15 on your calendar for the senior exemption.
The Colorado market. The 2027 reappraisal will use a new sales window, after a stretch where Denver detached prices held flat (see is the Denver housing market crashing) and condo prices fell. Watch your May 2027 notice closely; live MLS numbers are on our Denver real estate statistics page.
What to watch out for
- Mixing up Prop NN and property tax. Prop NN moves your TABOR refund, not your assessment rate or mill levy.
- Missing June 8, 2027. Miss the assessor protest deadline and you lose the cheapest, fastest way to lower your value for 2027 and 2028.
- Escrow shock. Buyers who close mid-year get a first escrow analysis that can jump when the first full tax bill posts. Ask your lender for the tax line in writing.
- Metro district levies. In newer subdivisions the metro district can add more mills than the city. Read the district's disclosure before you buy.
- Tax-appeal mailers. Some private companies charge a fee to file a protest you can file with your county assessor yourself at no cost.
Colorado homes for sale near the $550,000 example
Below are Denver homes from $400,000 to $600,000, pulled live from the MLS every time you open this page. Compare tax bills across the metro on Aurora, Lakewood, Littleton, Castle Rock and Colorado Springs homes for sale.
