- Assessor site
- https://dpt.colorado.gov/staff-and-contact-information ↗
- Search by
- office contact via the Colorado Division of Property Taxation directory / Colorado Assessors' Association; parcel search via county assessor portal
- Reassessment cycle
- 64 COUNTY ASSESSORS (62 elected; Denver + Broomfield appointed) value all property (classified by actual use as of JANUARY 1); the Colorado DIVISION OF PROPERTY TAXATION (in DOLA) administers statewide + the State Board of Equalization sets final rate determinations. Denver + Broomfield are consolidated city-and-county. TWO-YEAR reappraisal in ODD years (2025 covers tax years 2025-2026; next 2027), all real property valued as of the JUNE 30 APPRAISAL DATE of the prior even year (2025-26 = June 30, 2024 level of value; residential uses the market approach from a sales window ending at that date).
- Reassessment trigger
- Between reappraisals values change only for physical changes (new construction, demolition, reclassification). ACTUAL VALUE × ASSESSMENT RATE = assessed value, × mill levy. Rates are STATUTORY post-Gallagher (Amendment B repealed the floating residential rate in 2020); can be cut by the legislature, not raised without a vote.
- Personal & intangible property
- Business personal property is taxable + self-reported (nonresidential — 26% in 2026, 27% in 2025), with a small-value exemption threshold. Agricultural + renewable-energy are lower-rate nonresidential subclasses; ag land is valued on earning capacity, not market.
- CRE forecasting note
- Two levers: CLASSIFICATION (nonresidential ~25-26% (2026) vs residential ~6.8-7.05% — use as of Jan 1 is decisive, reclassification the highest-value fight) and the APPRAISAL DATE (2025-26 values reflect June 30, 2024, so a later market move isn't in the number and can't be argued). Commercial uses cost + income approaches. TABOR forces district mill-levy rollbacks when values rise, so a big value jump may not raise taxes proportionally. Protest MAY 1-JUNE 8, County Board of Equalization by JULY 15. Confirm the current post-Gallagher rates.
- Residential note
- Colorado taxes only a small slice of your home's value: the actual value on your Notice of Valuation is multiplied by a residential assessment rate near 6.8-7.05% (Colorado now uses one rate for school levies and another for local-government levies), then by your local mill levy. Values are reset every two years in odd years, as of a June 30 appraisal date about 18 months earlier — so your 2025-26 assessment reflects mid-2024, not today's market. If it looks too high versus comparable sales from that window, protest to the assessor between May 1 and June 8. If you're 65+ and have owned and lived in the home 10+ years, apply for the Senior Homestead Exemption (50% of the first $200,000 of value); disabled veterans have their own exemption.
REFORM IN FLIGHT — Colorado property tax has been rewritten repeatedly since 2020: voters repealed the GALLAGHER AMENDMENT (Amendment B, 2020), defeated Proposition HH (2023), and the legislature has cut and re-cut the residential assessment rate across special sessions (SB24-233, HB24B-1001). Beginning 2025 residential property carries TWO different rates — one for school levies (~7.05% for 2026) and one for local-government levies (~6.8%) — plus a 10% local-government-levy reduction of the first $700,000 of value (max $70,000). The exact rate on your notice depends on the year and levy, so confirm the current figures rather than relying on a single 'residential rate.'
SPLIT RATE — Residential and nonresidential property are assessed at very different rates. Residential sits near 6.8-7.05% of actual value (and now splits between school and local-government levies), while most NONRESIDENTIAL property is assessed around 25-26% for 2026 — roughly four times higher. Classification is by ACTUAL USE as of January 1, so a change in use or a successful reclassification can swing the assessed value dramatically; agricultural and renewable-energy property are lower-rate subclasses, and agricultural land is valued on earning capacity, not market.
RATIO CAUTION — Your ACTUAL VALUE is only the starting point — Colorado taxes the ASSESSED VALUE, a small fraction of it (about 6.8% for a home), then multiplies by the mill levy. A large jump in actual value at reappraisal doesn't translate one-for-one into taxes, and because values are set as of a JUNE 30 appraisal date up to 18 months before the tax year, your assessment reflects a past market, not today's. Read the assessment rate and appraisal date on your Notice of Valuation, not just the headline value.
APPEAL DEADLINE — Colorado's protest window is short and firm: the Notice of Valuation is mailed by MAY 1 and you must protest to the assessor between MAY 1 and JUNE 8, then appeal to the County Board of Equalization by JULY 15, and to the Board of Assessment Appeals, district court, or arbitration within 30 days of that decision — no extensions. Sales or market changes AFTER the June 30 appraisal date cannot be used in a protest; your evidence must be comparable sales from the statutory data window.
REVENUE DRIVEN RATES — TABOR (the 1992 Taxpayer's Bill of Rights) caps how much total revenue each taxing entity — county, city, school, fire, water, and dozens of special districts — can collect, limiting growth to inflation plus local growth without voter approval. So when values rise at reappraisal, many districts must lower their mill levy (or issue temporary credits) to stay under the cap; your bill is the product of many overlapping district levies, each independently constrained, which is why a big value increase may not raise your taxes proportionally.
Note: Las Animas is the seat here — the CITY of Las Animas. LAS ANIMAS County (seat Trinidad) is a different county in southern Colorado. The Bent County assessor's office in Las Animas discovers, classifies, and values property here; Colorado taxes the ACTUAL VALUE times a statutory assessment rate (about 6.8-7.05% residential, ~25-26% nonresidential for 2026) times the local mill levy, reappraised every two years in odd years as of a June 30 appraisal date. Reach the office through the Colorado Division of Property Taxation directory at the link; DOLA oversees all 64 assessors. To contest: protest to the assessor between May 1 and June 8, then appeal to the County Board of Equalization by July 15. Seniors 65+ (10-year owners) can claim the homestead exemption on the first $200,000 of value.
Primary sources: Colorado DOLA Division of Property Taxation + Title 39 C.R.S.; General Assembly SCR20-001/Amendment B (Gallagher repeal), SB21-293/SB24-233 (split residential school/local rates from 2025), HB23-1054 (cycle); Summit/Delta/Park county assessors (2-yr odd-year cycle, June 30 appraisal date, classification by use Jan 1, NOV by May 1, protest May 1-June 8, County Board of Equalization by July 15, Board of Assessment Appeals/district court within 30 days, TABOR, 2026 residential 7.05% school/6.8% local, nonresidential 26-29%); Senior Homestead 50% of first $200k; Colorado Assessors' Association (as of 2026-07-05). Confirm current rules and figures with the assessing authority before any use.