Abatement for past years, plus exemptions and relief programs

Bottom line first. Two tools can lower your bill after the normal protest season. Abatement asks the county to cancel or refund taxes that were charged by mistake in a past year. An exemption removes part of your home's value from taxation going forward, but only if you apply. Both have hard windows. This is general information, not legal or tax advice, and eligibility rules can change, so check your notice and your county assessor for the current year.

Part one: abatement

An abatement is the county's cancellation of taxes (or a refund if you already paid) that were levied by mistake. The law says that if taxes were levied "erroneously or illegally, whether due to erroneous valuation for assessment, irregularity in levying, clerical error, or overvaluation," the board of county commissioners proceeds to abate them, and refunds them if they were collected (C.R.S. 39-10-114(1)(a)(I)(A)). A clerical error is a simple mistake in the paperwork, such as a wrong square footage typed in or a wrong parcel attached to your bill.

The deadline. As the statute text we checked reads, a petition for abatement or refund must be filed "within two years after January 1 of the year following the year in which the taxes were levied" (C.R.S. 39-10-114(1)(a)(I)(A)). There are special exceptions in that same section for personal property audits and certain community associations, which this lesson does not cover. Because deadlines have changed in recent years, confirm the exact cutoff with the county before you count on it.

The big catch. An abatement or refund for overvaluation is not allowed "if an objection or protest to such valuation has been made and a notice of determination has been mailed to the taxpayer" (C.R.S. 39-10-114(1)(a)(I)(D)). In plain words: if you already protested that year's value and the assessor mailed you the answer, you cannot come back later and use abatement to argue the same overvaluation. That is why the regular protest matters. Abatement is the safety net for mistakes you missed, not a second protest.

Changing the ratio is not a ground. A change in the ratio of valuation for assessment (the percentage applied to value) is not grounds for abatement (C.R.S. 39-10-114(1)(a)(I)(C)).

Interest. If you get a refund, the county adds refund interest at the same rate as delinquent interest in the law. For petitions filed on or after January 1, 2018, that interest runs from the date a complete petition is filed. Beginning January 1, 2020, it runs from the date a complete petition is filed or the date the treasurer received your payment, whichever is later (C.R.S. 39-10-114(1)(b)). The word complete matters, so attach everything the form asks for.

Where it goes. The text sends the report to the board of county commissioners, and a refund is payable at a time the commissioners decide after consulting the affected taxing entities, no later than when property taxes for the year of the final determination are paid (C.R.S. 39-10-114(1)(a)(I)(B)). If the commissioners deny your petition, a denial of abatement can be appealed. Another section of the law refers to "a denial of an abatement of taxes pursuant to section 39-10-114" in the appeal process (C.R.S. 39-8-107(5)(a)(I)). Check the denial letter for your steps.

Part two: exemptions

An exemption means part of the value is not taxed. Colorado's constitution allows property tax exemptions for a qualifying senior and a qualifying veteran with a disability, and the statute implements them (C.R.S. 39-3-201(1)(a)). You must be an owner-occupier, meaning an owner of record who lives in the home as a primary residence, with some listed cases for spouses, surviving spouses and certain trust arrangements (C.R.S. 39-3-202(2)). An owner of record is a person whose name is on a valid recorded deed (C.R.S. 39-3-202(3)).

The senior exemption, as the text reads

• Size. Fifty percent of the first $200,000 of actual value of the home is exempt for the property tax years listed in the statute. Actual value means the assessor's value of the property, before the tax percentage is applied. For the years 2003 through 2005 and 2009 through 2011 the text uses "zero dollars," so the benefit has varied by year (C.R.S. 39-3-203(1)).
• Who. The owner-occupier is sixty-five or older as of the assessment date and has owned and lived in the home as a primary residence for the ten years before that date; a surviving spouse of a previously qualifying owner-occupier also counts (C.R.S. 39-3-203(1)(a)). There are narrow ten-year rules for people whose earlier home was lost to condemnation or a natural disaster (C.R.S. 39-3-203(6)).
• One per home. Only one exemption per property tax year is allowed for a single dwelling unit (C.R.S. 39-3-203(4)), and married people with more than one property may claim no more than one exemption (C.R.S. 39-3-203(5)).
• Apply. You must file a completed application with the assessor no later than July 15 of the first property tax year you claim it; a mailed form counts as filed on its postmark date (C.R.S. 39-3-205(1)(a)). Late seniors' applications can be filed no later than August 15 of that year, and a late-filing decision is final (C.R.S. 39-3-206(2)(a.5)).
• No back pay. "Under no circumstances shall an exemption be allowed for property taxes assessed during any property tax year prior to the year in which an owner-occupier first files an exemption application" (C.R.S. 39-3-203(1)(b)). So an exemption is not a past-years tool like abatement.
• Qualified-senior primary residence, 2025 and 2026. SB24-111 (2024), Colorado General Assembly, created a subclass for a qualified senior's primary residence for 2025 and 2026. For that subclass the valuation is reduced by the lesser of 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value or an alternate amount set in the bill. Ask your assessor whether you qualify.
• Tell the assessor of changes. The application carries a duty to tell the assessor within sixty days of a change in ownership or occupancy that would end eligibility (C.R.S. 39-3-205(2)(b)). Skipping this can mean paying back the tax plus interest (C.R.S. 39-3-205(3)(b)). False information on an application also carries penalties (C.R.S. 39-3-205(3)(a)).
• If denied. The assessor mails reasons no later than August 1, and you may request a hearing before the county board of equalization no later than August 15 (C.R.S. 39-3-206(1)(b), (2)(a)).

The veteran exemption, in brief

A similar exemption, also fifty percent of the first $200,000 of actual value, exists for a qualifying veteran with a disability, with its own definition and an application deadline of July 1 in the first year claimed (C.R.S. 39-3-203(1.5), 39-3-205(1)(b)). Since January 1, 2024, that application goes to your county assessor, not the state division of veterans affairs (SB23-036 (2023), Colorado General Assembly). Per the text, the definition ties to a 100 percent permanent disability rating from the federal veterans department and honorable separation (C.R.S. 39-3-202(3.5)). The application must include proof of that status (C.R.S. 39-3-205(2)(c)). Read the full definition and current application steps at your assessor's office; we do not claim anything beyond the text here.

Assessors mail notice of these exemptions each year; the statute sets May 1 as the mailing date for veteran notices (C.R.S. 39-3-204). Other relief programs may exist beyond this part of the law, and they are not covered here. Ask the assessor or treasurer what is currently offered.

Example with real numbers

The rate here is made up for the arithmetic and is not the current rate. Jordan qualifies for the senior exemption on a home with an assessor's actual value of $450,000.

1. Take the first $200,000 of actual value: that part is $200,000.
2. Fifty percent of it is exempt: $200,000 x 0.50 = $100,000.
3. Value left to tax: $450,000 minus $100,000 = $350,000.
4. With a made-up tax rate of 0.5% of actual value (ignoring the assessment-rate step), the tax is $350,000 x 0.005 = $1,750, versus $450,000 x 0.005 = $2,250 with no exemption.
5. Saving: $2,250 minus $1,750 = $500 a year.

Now the abatement clock, with made-up years. Suppose a clerical error overcharged taxes levied in 2021. January 1 of the next year is January 1, 2022. Two years after that is January 1, 2024. A petition filed after that date is late under the text above (C.R.S. 39-10-114(1)(a)(I)(A)). Jordan should ask the county which year it counts as the year of levy before relying on this math.