Denver is in the process of mailing out 240,000 property tax statements to homeowners countywide, joining counties around Colorado in delivering bills few are ever eager to pay.
That's especially true this year, as property values jumped dramatically in 2023.
In Denver, "the average increase in assessed values for homes was a median of 36 percent, and the median increase in property taxes for single-family residential homes is 17 percent," Joshua Rosenblum, a spokesperson for the Denver Department of Finance explained.
Bills have already begun to hit households, but the majority are coming next week.
"The printing for all of those statements takes time and they are mailed as soon as they are printed, which is why we have the somewhat staggered delivery," explained Rosenblum.
Adams County's tax statements are currently at the printer's and will be hitting mailboxes in the coming days, said Adams County Assessor Ken Musso. Arapahoe and Jefferson counties will be dropping their statements later this month.
We also reached out to Douglas county about when residents there can expect to see their bills. We'll update when we hear back.
What will these bills reflect?
Coloradans will be paying taxes for the previous year based on the county assessors' estimation of home worth. When property values were assessed earlier this year, many were shocked. In Denver, twice as many Denverites protested their property value assessments than they did in previous years. Other counties saw similar numbers.
"When we do the initial values, we do them in mass appraisal, and we're using math modeling to do everything," Adams County Asessor Ken Musson explained. "So it's inherently flawed a little bit. We're gonna have some values that are a little bit high and some values a little bit low. And that's why we do have the appeal process."
In most years, counties mail property tax statements out as soon after January 1 as counties can. This year, state lawmakers went into special session and changed several laws that slowed the process down.
Now, in the remaining weeks of February, Denverites will begin to have to pay up.
"Tax amounts greater than $25 may be paid in one payment by April 30 or in two equal payments. The first half payment is due by the last day of February. The second half payment is due by June 15. If the tax amount is $25 or less, payment in full is due on April 30," according to the state of Colorado.
All of this is standard policy and was not affected by the state's legal changes.
For more information on property taxes, go to the Department of Local Affairs website.
This story has been updated to include when Jefferson and Arapahoe counties' bills are coming due.
