Property Tax Reassessment in Denver: What Owners Should Expect This Year

If your property tax bill looked different this year, you're not alone, and you're not imagining it. Here's the surprising part, though: 2026 isn't actually a reassessment year in Colorado. Your home's official value didn't change. So what's going on?

Let's walk through it simply.

This Year Isn't a Reassessment Year, But Your Bill Still Changed

Colorado only updates home values every two years, in odd-numbered years. The last reassessment was 2025, and the next one is scheduled for 2027. That means your home's assessed value for 2026 is simply carried over from last year, based on sales data collected between mid-2022 and mid-2024.

So if your home's value is the same as last year, why did your tax bill change? That comes down to the rate used to calculate the tax, not the value of your home itself.

A Tax Break Expired

A temporary tax relief program that lowered taxable values for homeowners in recent years has now expired. Without that cushion, the same home ends up with a higher taxable amount than before, even though nothing about the home changed.

The State Also Changed How the Math Works

Colorado recently split how property taxes get calculated depending on who the money goes to. One rate applies to school funding, and a slightly lower rate applies to city and local government funding. Compared to the old, simpler single rate, this new split system results in a small but real increase for most homeowners, even if their home's value hasn't budged an inch.

What This Actually Looks Like on a Real Bill

To make this concrete: on a home valued at $600,000, this change works out to roughly $100 more per year than the old system would have charged, with no change in the home's actual value. It's not a dramatic jump, but it adds up, and it explains why so many homeowners were surprised to see any increase at all in a year they expected things to stay flat.

Can You Still Appeal Your Value?

Yes, but the window is narrow, and it's likely already closed for this year. Denver only sends formal notices in a non-reassessment year like this one to homeowners whose property had a specific change, like new construction or a remodel. The deadline to file a protest was early June. If you missed it, you'll need to wait until the next full reassessment cycle opens in 2027 to challenge your value.

What Actually Counts as Evidence, If You Do Appeal

One important thing to know: you can't appeal based on today's market. Since this year's value is based on sales data from mid-2022 through mid-2024, any evidence you submit has to reflect that same time period, comparable home sales from that window, or documentation of a real issue with the property the county might not know about, not current prices.

The Bigger Picture

None of this reflects what's happening in today's housing market. Current home values and sale prices in Denver won't actually affect your tax bill until the next reassessment in 2027. What changed this year was the math behind the bill, not the market itself.

If you have questions about how this affects your specific property, or you're buying or selling and want to understand what property taxes will look like going forward, reach out, we're happy to walk through the details with you.