Property tax bills hold big surprise?
If you are in Colorado, you likely have received your property tax bill (or will shortly) and likely were very surprised and even remarked… holy xxxx (insert your favorite explitive) Tax bills have increased substantially throughout the state but especially across the front range (see recent Denver post article). Many folks have questions and we have the answers:
- How are property tax values determined?
- When are the values determined?
- Why is this year such a big jump?
- What can you do about it?
- Are further increases on the way?
- See 5 tips to help you protest your taxes
How are property tax values determined and when are they determined? In Colorado every county is the same, each odd numbered year is a revaluation year (for example 15 was a big year for revaluations). During the revaluation period the tax assessor looks at comparables 18 months prior, so for 15 they would be using 13 and 14 comparables (to be exact you can use a comparable up to 6/14)
Why is this year such a big jump? Most areas in Colorado really started picking up steam (aka value) in 13 and 14 and both years were very large for increases. In many areas values increased > 15% a year during these two years. These increases were reflected in the sales that ultimately were used in the last revaluation period
What can you do about it? Unfortunately, unless you protested your taxes last year during the protest period you are pretty much out of luck. You can protest your value this summer (from 5/1 to 6/1), using comparables from the prior revaluation period. See 5 tips to protest your value and win!
Are further increases on the way? Increases will be determined based on increases in value. Unfortunately, there will be large increases again in 17 since 15 already had substantial increases in value and 16 appears to be continuing the trend so far. These new increases will be passed on in the revaluation next year and they likely will be substantial as well.
Long and short, Colorado is a bit unique in that the values we see now are from basically two years ago so the recent jumps in values have not been fully factored into tax bills yet. Property tax owners are definitely in for further increases at least in the next few revaluation cycles based on the large increases throughout the state. Fortunately, you do have the ability to protest and if done right you more than likely will win. I’ve protested my taxes multiple times and won each one both in Colorado and throughout the country on commercial properties. I put together a quick guide to help you through the process, make sure you focus on the dates since they are critical to follow in order to succeed
Written by Glen Weinberg, COO/ VP Fairview Commercial Lending. Glen has been published as an expert in hard money lending, real estate valuation, financing, and various other real estate topics in the Colorado Real Estate Journal, the CO Biz Magazine, The Denver Post, The Scotsman mortgage broker guide, Mortgage Professional America and various other national publications.
Fairview is a hard money lender specializing in private money loans / non-bank real estate loans in Georgia, Colorado, Illinois, and Florida. They are recognized in the industry as the leader in hard money lending with no upfront fees or any other games. Learn more about Hard Money Lending through our free Hard Money Guide. To get started on a loan all they need is their simple one page application (no upfront fees or other games).