Senior Property Tax Deferral Program  

The Senior Property Tax Deferral helps senior citizens, many of whom live on a fixed income, continue to afford to live in their own home. The program loans senior citizens 65-years of age or older funds to pay their property taxes.

The State Treasury makes tax payments directly to the county on behalf of the participant for the entire amount due that year. The loan is logged as a lien against the participant's property that does not have to be remitted until the property sells or the mortgage changes hands. In Fiscal Year 2007-08, the total amount of payments to counties for this program was $5,182,652.  Click here for a list of payments by county.  

To participate, seniors must apply to their individual county treasurer every year. The deadline is April 1st of each year. County treasurers are paid property taxes, from the Elderly Property Tax Deferral program, by April 30th and county reports are mailed at the end of December. 

Requirements for eligibility:

Procedures:

Visit our Links page to locate your county treasurer. 
 

Senior and Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption 

A property tax exemption is available to senior citizens, surviving spouses of senior citizens, and disabled veterans.  For those who qualify, 50 percent of the first $200,000 in actual value of their primary residence is exempted.  The state pays the exempted portion of the property tax. 

The Senior Property Tax Exemption is administered by the Department of Local Affairs; but the Treasurer's office is responsible for the distribution of state funds to counties representing the amount issued in exemptions. 

In 2006, counties processed approximately 15,000 new applications, and the exemption was granted to most of them. Currently 145,600 properties are approved for the exemption.   

In 2007, the State Treasurer reimbursed local governments $ 74,231,508.72 for exemptions granted in 2006.  Click here to see the total amount exempted for Fiscal Year 2007 by county.  

Senior Exemption

The exemption is available to applicants who: a) are at least 65 years of age as of January 1 of the year of application, b) owned their home for at least 10 years as of January 1, and c) occupied it as their primary residence for at least 10 years as of January 1.  Limited exceptions to the ownership and occupancy requirements are detailed in the qualifications section of the application.  The senior exemption is also available to surviving spouses of seniors who met the requirements on any January 1 after 2001.  The application deadline is July 15.  The application form is available from and should be submitted to the county assessor. 

Disabled Veteran Exemption

The exemption is available to applicants who: a) sustained a service-connected disability while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, b) were honorably discharged, and c) were rated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as one hundred percent 'permanent and total' disabled.  VA unemployability awards do not meet the requirement for determining an applicant's eligibility.  The applicant must have owned and occupied the home as his or her primary residence since January 1 of the year of application; however, limited exceptions to the ownership and occupancy requirements are detailed in the eligibility requirements section of the application.  The application deadline is July 1.  Application forms are available from the Division of Veterans Affairs and from the Colorado Division of Property Taxation.