Colorado property owners should expect a bit of sticker shock when they receive their 2017 property tax assessments around May 1st of this year. The Notice of Valuation is not a tax bill, but the assessed value is used to determine what property owners will pay in property taxes over the next two years. The ability to control tax liability can help property owners and tenants reduce their overhead and expenses.

By law, real property in Colorado is revalued every two years in the odd-number year. This year, county assessors will determine the actual value of property for the 2017-2018 tax cycle using economic data primarily from the period from January 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016, which was a period of market appreciation. Although we expect values to rise significantly, property owners should carefully review their Notice of Valuation when it arrives to determine if their property was accurately assessed. Specifically, property owners should look for incorrectly listed property details, overvaluation and misclassification.

If an owner disagrees with the classification or value assigned to their property, they can file a protest with their county assessor’s office, and appeal from there. The deadline to protest the 2017 Notice of Valuation is June 1, 2017. Once the June 1 deadline passes, the right to protest this year’s notice is lost.

Although there is a separate statutory procedure for seeking an abatement and refund of taxes after the expiration of the protest period, owners who take action during the initial protest period are often able to reduce the amount of their property tax burden before the tax payments are actually due. Accordingly, owners are encouraged to look for their 2017 Notice of Valuation, examine it, and act quickly to preserve their protest rights.

As a service to our clients who own commercial or industrial real property, Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe, PC, in conjunction with Downey & Associates, PC, will undertake property tax assessment appeal cases this year on a flexible fee basis. For questions, or to learn more about your individual assessment or protest options, please contact any of the authors listed below.

What is written here is intended as general information, and is not to be construed as legal advice. If legal advice is needed, you should consult an attorney.

About the authors:

Thomas E. Downey, Jr. is a property tax and litigation attorney with Downey & Associates, P.C. in Centennial, Colorado he can be reached at tom@downeylawpc.com. Tom Downey is a regulatory attorney, with Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe, PC; he can be reached at tdowney@irelandstapleton.com.