Assessor

Duties

Value all real and personal property within Pueblo County for tax purposes, and maintains, keeps, and gathers all property records in Pueblo County (ownership, legals, lot sizes, etc).

Mandated

Value all real and personal property within Pueblo County for tax purposes.

Services Provided

Maintain, keep, and gather all property records in Pueblo County (ownership, legals, lot sizes, etc).

Public Announcements

Protest Period

In Person, Phone or Fax: May 1, 2023 – June 8, 2023

By Mail:  Must be postmarked by June 8, 2023

Current News

This is a high level summary of the primary components of Proposition HH, which will be on the 2023 statewide ballot.  All provisions are statutory in nature.  For more detailed information, please consult the fiscal note to SB 23-303 or Legislative Council "blue book" that will be mailed to voters in September. 
 
Primary components of Proposition HH:

• Assessment Rates/Taxable Values.  Decreases assessment rates and taxable values for residential and nonresidential property owners.  For owner-occupied primary residences, the assessment rates will decrease as shown below:

prop hh chart

*The assessment rate for owner-occupied primary residences may remain at 6.7 percent in 2033 and after under certain circumstances. Note – For 2023, the changes under HH apply to all residential properties; beginning 2024, HH creates a new category of Owner Occupied Primary Residences and that is what is reflected above. There are other changes for senior owner-occupied, other multifamily residences, and commercial property tax categories as well. 

So, for the “average” homeowner, using the statewide average of 69 mills:  if you own a $500,000 home, your taxes will decrease by an average of $221/year for 2023 tax year.  A homeowner owning a $1.5 million home will have property taxes decrease by $275/year for 2023 tax year.   

• TABOR Limit.  Allows the state to retain money that otherwise would be refunded by TABOR for ten years, and the legislature can extend that by legislation, without another ballot vote.  The TABOR revenue limit is inflation plus population growth, and Prop HH adds an additional 1.0 percent to the calculation.  This limit will grow each year, so that by FY 2031-32 the state would be collecting an additional estimated $2.2 billion not subject to TABOR.  With these additional retained revenues, they will backfill local governments to varying degrees (those below a property tax revenue threshold), allocate funding for rental assistance, and allocate money to the State Education Fund for K-12 education. TABOR refunds for all taxpayers will decrease if the state’s TABOR revenue limit increases.
• TABOR Refunds.  Just for 2023, if Prop HH passes all TABOR refunds will be equalized at approximately $820.  Equalizing TABOR refunds helps lower income earners. If you make $50,000, your refund will increase by $233; if you make $275,000, your refund will decrease by $1,000. 
• Senior Homestead Exemption.  Beginning in January 2025, allows the Senior Homestead Exemption to be portable once seniors qualify for the exemption.  In other words, once qualified, you can sell your home and move to a different residence and retain the exemption. 
• Local Government Revenue Cap.  Creates a property tax revenue cap for local governments, excluding home-rule cities and counties and all school districts.  Districts can adopt resolutions to exceed the cap.  This is in addition to the existing local government limits imposed by TABOR and the statutory 5.5% cap.    

Summary
Prop HH will provide limited property tax reductions for homeowners, taxpayers will be foregoing some portion of their future TABOR refunds, and K-12 education should see a steady stream of new revenues whenever state revenues are increasing.  A downturn economy would change those projections. 

2023 is a reapprasial year in the State of Colorado.  

The protest period for 2023 valuations will begin May 1st of this year and will continue for the entire month of May and first week of June.  You can still protest your valuation at that time.  A protest is not a complaint about higher taxes. It is an attempt to prove that the estimated market value placed on your property is either inaccurate or unfair.

This year was a busy year for new House and Senate Bills regarding Valuation changes. Below are a few that will make some valuation and taxation changes.

HB22-1223

Mobile Home Property Tax Sales Notice and Exemption:

This bill exempts any titled mobile home or titled manufactured home with an Actual Value  equal to or less than $28,000 from property taxation.  The exemption is for tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2022.

SB22-238

2023 and 2024 Property Tax:

Short version, every residential improved property will receive a reduction in value of $15,000. Commercial improved property will receive $30,000 reduction in value. All Assessment Rates will be lowering as well.

HB22-1301

Controlled Environmental Agricultural Facility as Agricultural Property:

Agricultural equipment and personal property is exempt in a CEA facility- but the burden is on the property owner to claim an exemption for personal property tax.

Sole purpose of the CEA facility is to grow crops for human or livestock consumption. A facility Cannot grow marijuana.

Repealed 2028  

HB22-1296

Residential Real Property Tax Classification:

Adds nursing homes to the definition of Residential Real Property regardless of a patient’s length of stay.

A nursing home has to be licensed by CDPHE and meet the definition of a nursing care facility per CDPHE regulations.

HB22-1205

Senior Housing Income Tax Credit 2022-2023.

If a senior does not qualify for Homestead Exemption they can apply for an income tax credit of $1,000.

HB22-1416

Property Tax Administrative Procedures:

Requires an assessor to include an estimate of taxes or range of estimated taxes.

Requires any valuation sent to the owner of any real property to alert the property owner to the process of requesting an abatement if they do not make a timely objection to their property’s valuation.  Likewise, any notice of valuation sent to the owner of commercial property must include contact information for the relevant County Assessor and a specific statement directing the owner to contact the County Assessor if needed for information on how the property was valued.

Requires an assessor who discovers any error that impacts the valuation of a class or subclass of property to recommend to the County Board of Equalization an adjustment to the class of subclass of property to correct the error.

Protest Period will be extended to June 8th.

HB22-1242

Regulate Tiny Homes Manufacture Sale and Install:

This bill adds “tiny houses”, which have received an installation insignia from the Division of Housing, to the definition of “residential improvements”.  The Division of Housing shall implement rules establishing standard for the manufacturing of tiny houses by July 1, 2023.

Additional Information

Pursuant to Colorado State General Property Tax Law, the duty of the Assessor is to “discover, list, and value” all real property. The Assessor’s Office is required to appraise all real property and to estimate the value for ad valorem taxation purposes.

Land and Improvements: Colorado statute define Improvements as “all structures, buildings, fixtures, fences, and water rights erected upon or affixed to land, whether or not title to such land has been acquired.” 39-1-102(7), C.R.S.

The Personal Property Tax: The Colorado personal property tax is a levy on personal property used in a business or organization. The procedure for applying this tax is similar to that used for real property. The Assessor estimates a value for the property and consolidates the levies; the Treasurer then mails a tax bill to the property owner.

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