Colorado spent two years promising homeowners property tax relief. Then the 2026 bills landed, and most of my clients opened theirs expecting a smaller number and found a bigger one. The reason sits in one piece of the law that almost nobody explains.
I'm Leah Behr, a REALTOR® with the Behr & Behr Team in Colorado Springs, and I have spent this spring walking clients through their statements line by line. This is that walkthrough. I am not a tax advisor or an attorney, so every figure below carries a named source you can check against your own parcel.
The split rate that explains your whole bill
Colorado's formula is short: actual value × assessment rate × mill levy. Actual value is the Assessor's estimate of what your home is worth. The assessment rate turns that into assessed value. A mill is one dollar of tax per thousand dollars of assessed value, so thirty mills on $30,000 of assessed value is $900. That is the entire mechanic.
Now the part that changes everything. Since Senate Bill 24-233 and House Bill 24B-1001, Colorado does not have one residential assessment rate. It has two.
- The school district portion of your levy uses 7.05%.
- The local government portion (county, city, library, water, fire, metro districts) uses a lower rate: 6.25% for tax year 2025 and 6.8% for tax year 2026 (Colorado Division of Property Taxation, "Residential Local Government Assessment Rate"; El Paso County Assessor, "Abstract of Assessment & Understanding Your Value," accessed July 2026).
For scale, our county lists commercial at 25% and vacant land at 26% for 2026. One correction, because a wrong figure is circulating: at least one secondary rate site lists 6.7% for 2026 residential, while both primary sources say 6.8%. Tax year 2027 rates are not settled, so anyone quoting you a 2027 rate is guessing.
A $500,000 District 11 bill, line by line
Numbers beat explanation. Here is a $500,000 home inside Colorado Springs city limits in Colorado Springs School District 11, for tax year 2025 billed in 2026. The mill levies are published by the El Paso County Treasurer. The multiplication is mine.
Line | The math | Amount |
|---|---|---|
School assessed value | $500,000 × 7.05% | $35,250 |
School district (D11), 37.695 mills | $35,250 × 37.695 mills | $1,328.75 |
Local government assessed value | $500,000 × 6.25% | $31,250 |
El Paso County, 6.857 mills | $31,250 × 6.857 | $214.28 |
City of Colorado Springs, 3.009 mills | $31,250 × 3.009 | $94.03 |
Pikes Peak Library District, 2.938 mills | $31,250 × 2.938 | $91.81 |
Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy, 0.85 mills | $31,250 × 0.85 | $26.56 |
Total | about $1,755 |
Mill levies: El Paso County Treasurer, "Mill Levies," tax year 2025 billed 2026, accessed July 2026. Assessment rates: Colorado Division of Property Taxation, January 2025. Calculation mine.
The proportions are the point of this article. Of that $1,755, the school district is about 75.7%. El Paso County is 12.2%, the city 5.4%, the library 5.2%, the water district 1.5%.
Three quarters of the bill is schools. Hold onto that.
Two honesty notes. The four local pieces round to $426.68 individually while the combined 13.654 mills applied in one step gives $426.69, and library and water boundaries do not track city limits exactly. Your statement is the authority on which entities bill you.
What the $70,000 subtraction actually does, and why your bill still went up
Beginning with tax year 2026, payable in 2027, Colorado subtracts 10% of a home's actual value, capped at $70,000, before the rate is applied (Colorado Legislative Council Staff fiscal note for HB24B-1001, August 26, 2024; Colorado Division of Property Taxation). Two things about that get misreported constantly.
First, it is not "a 10% exemption on the first $70,000 of value." I have seen that phrasing in handouts and it is wrong. It is 10% of actual value with the subtraction capped at $70,000, which is the same as 10% of the first $700,000. On a $500,000 home the subtraction is $50,000, not $7,000.
Second, and this is the one that makes people feel lied to: it applies only to the local government portion of your levy. It never touches school district mills.
School mills are roughly three quarters of a bill here, so the relief reaches roughly one quarter of it. Watch what that does to the same house. Levies are certified every December and will not stay identical, so the second column isolates the rate and subtraction changes alone.
Line | Tax year 2025, billed 2026 | Tax year 2026, billed 2027 |
|---|---|---|
Value subtraction | none | $50,000, local portion only |
School assessed value at 7.05% | $35,250 | $35,250 |
School district tax, 37.695 mills | $1,328.75 | $1,328.75 |
Local assessed value | $31,250 (6.25% of $500,000) | $30,600 (6.8% of $450,000) |
Local government tax, 13.654 mills | $426.69 | $417.81 |
Total | about $1,755 | about $1,747 |
My calculation from the verified rates and levies above, mills held constant.
The subtraction saved this homeowner $8.88.
Not eight hundred dollars. Eight dollars and eighty-eight cents. That is what a value subtraction does when it is aimed at a quarter of a bill.
The year with no subtraction at all
The 2026 bills stung for a second reason. Colorado has been shrinking and restoring this subtraction for years: $15,000 in 2022, up to $55,000 by 2024, then $0 in 2025, and 10% up to $70,000 starting in 2026 (Colorado Politics, February 12, 2026).
Read that again. The bill you paid this year, tax year 2025, had no subtraction whatsoever, with the school portion assessed at 7.05%. Values did not have to rise for bills to rise. Some Pikes Peak area homeowners reported increases as steep as 40% year over year, though those accounts came through social media rather than a county dataset, so 40% is not a countywide figure (Colorado Politics, February 12, 2026).
Hold one tension alongside that. Colorado still ranks 41st in the nation on property tax rates, using Tax Foundation 2023 data (Colorado Politics, February 12, 2026). Rates here are genuinely low nationally, and bills still jumped hard in one year. Both are true.
The levies, and why nobody publishes your total
Your school district moves your bill more than any other line, and the spread across the county is wide.
Taxing entity | Mills, tax year 2025 (billed 2026) |
|---|---|
El Paso County | 6.857 |
City of Colorado Springs | 3.009 |
Pikes Peak Library District | 2.938 |
Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District | 0.85 |
Fountain/Fort Carson D8 | 29.765 |
Colorado Springs D11 | 37.695 |
Harrison D2 | 39.989 |
Academy D20 | 45.459 |
Falcon D49 | 45.649 |
Cheyenne Mountain D12 | 55.0 |
Widefield D3 | 57.682 |
Fire protection districts, outside city limits | 4.5 to 16.621 |
Metropolitan districts | 0 to 82.909 |
El Paso County Treasurer, "Mill Levies," accessed July 2026.
A caveat on totals. The county publishes levies by individual entity and does not publish a combined figure for your property. The sums below are my arithmetic, not a county-published number, covering the four non-school entities above plus one school district, inside city limits:
- Colorado Springs D11: about 51.3 mills
- Harrison D2: about 53.6
- Academy D20: about 59.1
- Falcon D49: about 59.3
- Cheyenne Mountain D12: about 68.7 mills
Roughly 51 to 69 mills inside the city, then, before any fire or metropolitan district. On two identical homes that gap is real money every year. I work across D20, D11, D12 and D49, which is why I put the levy in front of buyers next to the price. If you are still choosing an area, the neighborhood guide pairs well with this table.
Metropolitan districts can nearly double a bill
This is the biggest surprise for buyers in new subdivisions, and I mean that literally.
El Paso County contains more than 200 metropolitan districts, and their levies run from 0 to 82.909 mills (El Paso County Treasurer, accessed July 2026). Set that against the roughly 51 mills a District 11 owner inside the city pays for county, city, library, water and schools combined. A district near the top of that range can nearly double a tax bill by itself.
Metro districts are quasi-governmental entities that finance streets, drainage, parks and utilities in a new development, then repay the debt through a levy on the homes inside the district. The amenities are usually visible. The line item is easy to miss while you are buying.
How to find out before you write an offer:
- Pull the parcel on the El Paso County Assessor's site and read the taxing authorities listed for it.
- Work from the tax statement, not a monthly payment estimate. The statement names every district.
- Ask it out loud: "Is this property in a metropolitan district, and what is the current levy?" A quote built off last year's taxes can miss debt service that is still ramping up.
- Call the Assessor at (719) 520-6600 if the answer is ambiguous at all.
Ambiguity here compounds for thirty years. My breakdown of what salary you actually need here assumes an ordinary levy, so adjust it upward for new construction.
Where your 2026 value actually came from
El Paso County reappraises real property in odd-numbered years, so 2025 was a reappraisal year and 2026 is an intervening year (El Paso County Assessor, "Residential Real Estate," accessed July 2026). Your 2025 value carries into tax year 2026. The next reappraisal is 2027.
The assessment date is January 1, and the statutory window the Assessor draws sales from for both the 2025 and 2026 valuations runs January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024, per C.R.S. 39-1-104(12.3)(a).
Sit with that. Your 2026 valuation reflects a market that ended in the middle of 2024, not the one you are shopping in now. When clients tell me their assessed value looks disconnected from current sale prices, they are usually right, and the cause is the statute rather than an error.
In the 2025 reappraisal, values declined for many El Paso County owners. Assessor Mark Flutcher told KRDO on May 5, 2025: "We're seeing a correction in the market after the unique conditions created during the COVID pandemic." I will not hand you a countywide median change, because none is published and inventing one would be worse than leaving it out. Values fell for many owners while bills rose. That is why 2026 felt like a betrayal.
Appeals, deadlines, and what changed this spring
The Assessor mails a Notice of Valuation on or about May 1. For tax year 2026 the real property protest deadline was June 8, 2026, and personal property was June 30, 2026 (El Paso County public notice, April 27, 2026). Both have passed. If you missed the window, abatement is the other route, and that is a conversation for the Assessor's office or your own tax professional.
Next year the rules change. Senate Bill 26-046, signed March 26, 2026 and effective August 12, 2026, moves the real property protest deadline from June 8 to June 1, which should make it June 1, 2027 for tax year 2027 (Colorado General Assembly, SB26-046). Confirm that with the Assessor rather than trusting my reading of a statute that has not run a full cycle. The same bill raised the threshold for county boards to recommend abatements from $10,000 to $20,000 and standardized appeal forms statewide.
After a protest, a Notice of Determination goes out on or before August 15. From there the path runs to the County Board of Equalization, then to the Board of Assessment Appeals, District Court, or binding arbitration. I am deliberately not printing a Board of Equalization petition deadline, because counties can adopt an alternate procedure with a different date and I could not confirm which applies here this cycle. The date printed on your determination letter governs.
Appeals are not theater. Colorado Politics reported one Colorado Springs homeowner whose valuation dropped from $880,000 to $525,000 on appeal (February 12, 2026). One case, nothing close to typical, and not something to budget around. It does show the process has teeth when the comparable sales back you up.
Two exemptions, and one that ends after 2026
Colorado has two significant residential exemptions and both work identically: 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value is exempt, removing up to $100,000 of actual value from the calculation (Colorado Division of Property Taxation; El Paso County Assessor, accessed July 2026).
The Senior Property Tax Homestead Exemption requires age 65 or older as of January 1, ownership of record for at least 10 consecutive years, and occupancy as a primary residence for at least 10 consecutive years. For tax year 2026 that means born on or before January 1, 1961, owning and occupying since January 1, 2016 or earlier. The deadline is July 15, with late applications through August 15, though filing late forfeits the right to appeal a denial.
The Veteran with a Disability Exemption carries the same 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value and has no age requirement. It requires a VA service-connected disability rated 100% permanent, or individual unemployability status. Its deadline is July 1, not July 15. Two exemptions, two deadlines, two weeks apart. I have watched that alone cost someone a full year of savings.
A wording note, since precision matters on a tax form: the county page describes the veteran benefit as "$100,000 in assessed value." It is actual value. Very different numbers.
And the item I most want in front of people. The qualified-senior primary residence classification, the portability program from SB24-111 for seniors who held the exemption at a previous home in 2020 or later and then moved, is available for tax years 2025 and 2026 only. Senate Bill 26-116, signed June 3, 2026 and effective August 12, 2026, ends that classification for property tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027 (Colorado General Assembly, SB26-116). If someone in your family moved recently and is counting on that relief continuing, it does not continue. Plan for 2027 now.
I cannot tell you whether either exemption reduces the school portion, the local portion, or both, because I could not verify it. Put that question to the Assessor's office rather than to a REALTOR®.
Common questions
Why did my Colorado Springs property tax bill go up when my home value went down?
Because rates and subtractions moved even though values did not. Tax year 2025 carried no value subtraction at all, down from up to $55,000 in 2024, and the school portion is assessed at 7.05% (Colorado Politics, February 12, 2026; Colorado Division of Property Taxation). A lower value times a higher effective rate still produces a larger bill.
How much will the new $70,000 property tax subtraction save me?
Less than you expect, because it reduces only the local government portion and never school district mills. On the $500,000 District 11 example above, mills held constant, it comes to $8.88. Your figure depends on your value and your entities.
How do I find my mill levy in El Paso County?
The Treasurer publishes levies by individual entity on its Mill Levies page, and your tax statement names every entity billing your parcel. The county does not publish a combined total per property, so adding them up falls to you. Call the Assessor at (719) 520-6600 to confirm which entities apply to your address.
When are property taxes due in El Paso County?
Full payment is due April 30, or split it: first half by the last day of February, second half by June 15. Bills of $25.00 or less must be paid in full by April 30. Late payments accrue interest at 1% per month, there is no grace period, and partial payments are not accepted (El Paso County Treasurer, accessed July 2026).
Is there a property tax measure on the Colorado ballot in November 2026?
No. Nothing on property tax is on the November 2026 statewide ballot (Ballotpedia, accessed July 2026). A proposed veteran exemption initiative circulated but never qualified, and no residential assessment rate change was enacted in the 2026 session. HB26-1209, which would have tightened local revenue growth limits to 4%, was postponed indefinitely on March 10, 2026.
How to read your own statement this week
Pull the actual tax statement, not your mortgage escrow summary. Then work down it in this order.
- Find your actual value. It came from sales through June 30, 2024.
- Find both assessed values. School at 7.05%, local government at its own lower rate. If you see only one, ask the Assessor to walk you through the split.
- List every entity billing you. County, city, school district, library, water, then look hard for a fire district or a metropolitan district.
- Add your own mills and compare the total against the rough 51 to 69 mill range inside the city.
- Check the school line as a share of the total. Around three quarters is normal here.
- Check your exemption eligibility and note which deadline applies, July 1 or July 15.
Anything that will not reconcile is a phone call: the Assessor at (719) 520-6600 for value and classification, the Treasurer for billing and payment. Both offices handle confused homeowners all day.
None of this is tax advice, and I am not a tax advisor. It is the arithmetic behind a document most people file without reading. If you are weighing a purchase, the timing question looks different once the levy is in the spreadsheet, and newer arrivals may want the honest guide to moving here for the rest of the cost picture.
Leah Behr is a licensed REALTOR® with the Behr & Behr Team in Colorado Springs. She has lived here since 2009 and works across Academy D20, Colorado Springs D11, Cheyenne Mountain D12 and Falcon D49, where the mill levy spread is wide enough to change what a house costs to own. Get in touch with our team if you want your own parcel's numbers run before you decide.
Behr & Behr Team is committed to Equal Housing Opportunity. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Nothing here is tax, legal or financial advice; confirm your own valuation, levies, exemptions and deadlines with the El Paso County Assessor at (719) 520-6600 and the El Paso County Treasurer.
