Colorado homeowners opening their property tax notices this winter are finding out the hard way what happens when temporary breaks expire. The short-term valuation discounts that softened bills over the last two years are gone, and many residents are staring at increases of 20% to more than 40%. For people on fixed incomes the impact is immediate and painful. In Centennial, one homeowner’s Arapahoe County bill jumped from $3,876.98 to about $5,435.47 in a single cycle, and county assessors say they are bracing for a flood of phone calls as residents compare mailed postcards with online statements.
The spike traces back to recent state laws. Senate Bill 22-238, as detailed by the Colorado General Assembly, cut assessment rates and trimmed taxable valuations for the 2023 to 2024 tax years. During the 2024 special session, lawmakers expanded the one-time valuation reduction to $55,000 through Senate Bill 24-233, again described by the Colorado General Assembly. Both measures were designed as temporary relief. Those breaks largely disappeared for property taxes assessed in 2025, which helps explain why the bills coming due this year look so much higher than many homeowners expected.
The practical effect is jarring. Some Coloradans are seeing increases of 20% to more than 40%, which for many translates to more than $1,000 in extra taxes. One of them, 76-year-old Mike Fitz of Centennial, watched his Arapahoe County notice leap from $3,876.98 to $5,435.47, according to the Denver Gazette. Colorado’s assessment rates may be low compared with much of the country, but high home prices magnify the bill. Rocket Mortgage estimates the state’s median home value near $502,200, which is one big reason percentage jumps feel so brutal in dollar terms.
Who Will Feel It Most
Assessors say the pain will not be spread evenly. Boulder County Assessor Cindy Braddock has warned that manufactured home owners could be among the hardest hit. The $55,000 adjustment had effectively wiped out many small manufactured home tax bills, and once that deduction vanished, those properties largely snapped back to their prior nominal taxable values. “Property taxes can feel complicated. Our goal is to make this as clear and stress-free as possible,” Braddock said. State guidance notes that valuation adjustments cannot reduce an assessed value below $1,000, a floor that helps explain why some of the smallest bills appear to have doubled overnight, according to the Colorado Assessors' Reference Library.
Relief, Appeals and Deadlines
If your bill looks off, the first stop is your county assessor’s website. Pull up your parcel record and compare the assessed value and exemptions to what is printed on the notice. Counties are also steering worried homeowners to a state-backed property tax deferral program that offers low-interest loans to qualifying residents. Enrollment rules are available through the Colorado Department of the Treasury, and county treasurers handle applications at the local level.
For appeal procedures and timelines, officials say to rely on your own county assessor and treasurer resources, not random online summaries. Each county has its own playbook and calendar. Arapahoe County’s assessor pages are one example of the detailed step by step guidance that is now getting a lot more traffic from startled taxpayers.
What Comes Next
There is at least one more adjustment on the horizon. As part of the special session package, House Bill 24B-1001 adds a 10% reduction on the first $700,000 of appraised value for the property tax year 2026, which will affect bills payable in 2027. How much relief that provides will depend on local mill levies and whatever happens to property values in the meantime. State tools such as the Colorado Property Tax Map and the Division of Property Taxation’s guides can help homeowners sketch out rough scenarios, but it is local budgets that ultimately drive the mill levies that decide the final bill.
For anyone stunned by a sudden jump, county officials recommend a basic checklist. Print or screenshot your parcel page, note the assessed value and mill levies, then call your county assessor or treasurer. They can walk through the math, explain appeal options and point to any deferral programs you might qualify for. County portals and the state Treasury site remain the quickest way to see exact numbers for your property and to confirm filing deadlines before they sneak up on you.
