Aftershock: Appealing Your Property Taxes

Mary Roberts
May 12, 2023
2 min read

I told you so!

In my last newsletter, I wrote a headline that said your new property taxes will shock you. If you enjoying checking out what your neighbors are thinking by scrolling through the app Next Door, you’ll see people are blaming everyone from Governor Polis to City Councils, (property taxes are a county and state thing), to President Biden to socialism (uh?), to the Gallagher Amendment.

The Truth?

The truth is you can blame the pandemic, the low inventory of homes, low interest rates, and high demand. We still aren’t near what we need to be in terms of new home homes since the crash of 2008 led to a halt on new construction.

But a 40% (and higher) appreciation in 2 years was not predicted by anyone though by the end of 2022, anyone paying attention could see the writing on the wall for property taxes.

Things you should know and do:

· The county assessment is based on the 2 years from June 30, 2020--June 30, 2022. So if you are appealing, make sure your comps (comparable properties sold) are in that time frame. DEADLINE IS JUNE 8.

· In 2022, the state tax assessment rate was decreased, and a $15,000 exemption approved for residential properties by the Colorado State Legislature in anticipation of the higher property taxes. Proposition HH is a measure just passed last week and is on the November ballot. It would increase the exemption to $50,000. (Reduce your home’s value by $50k and your taxes will be based on that number).

· Read and follow the instructions on the property tax postcard carefully. There may be comps listed on the site or not. If not, contact me. But if the comps don’t help your case, I might be able to help.

· The county is giving you an opportunity to write a narrative as to why you think your assessment is wrong. Use it! Be warned, there is a character limit.

· Do it now. If you put it off and then find yourself needing help, you may have to wait, and it might be too late.