Property Taxes in Denver
Denver property taxes run through a genuinely complex, two-rate system following the 2020 repeal of Colorado's Gallagher Amendment: for 2026, the legislature set a 6.8% residential assessment rate for local-government levies (after a 10%-of-value reduction capped at $70,000) and a separate 7.05% rate for school-district levies, layered on top of an effective rate the base Denver record already discloses as unresolved (sources ranged roughly 0.44%-0.48%, not settled to one figure this session).
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Learn moreThe Gallagher Amendment's 38-Year Legacy, and Its 2020 Repeal
Colorado's Gallagher Amendment, in place from 1982 to 2020, locked residential property into a fixed 45% share of the statewide property tax base relative to commercial property's 55% share, automatically recalculating the residential assessment rate every two years to preserve that ratio as home values rose faster than commercial values -- pushing the residential rate down from 21% in 1982 to 7.15% by 2019. Colorado voters repealed Gallagher via Amendment B in November 2020, freezing the rate at its 2020 level (7.15%) but removing the automatic ratcheting mechanism and giving the legislature direct statutory authority to set rates going forward.
A Genuinely Complex, Two-Rate System Since the Repeal
Since Gallagher's repeal, the residential assessment rate has been cut repeatedly by statute: 6.95% (2021), 6.765% (2022), and 6.7% (2023-2024). For the 2026 tax year specifically, the legislature split the rate rather than setting a single figure: 6.8% for local-government levies (applied after a 10%-of-value reduction capped at $70,000 of actual value) and 7.05% for school-district levies. This split-rate structure is genuinely more complex than a single flat assessment rate, and a homeowner's actual bill depends on how their specific mill levies divide between local-government and school-district portions.
The Mill Levy Side: A Real Figure to Confirm, Not Assume
One 2026 source cited a "typical" Denver-area mill levy of roughly 80 mills, though this figure should be confirmed directly with the Denver County Assessor for a specific property rather than assumed, since mill levies vary by the specific overlapping taxing districts (city, county, school district, and any special districts) that apply to an address.
The Senior Property Tax Homestead Exemption: Real, but Historically Unstable
Colorado's Senior Property Tax Homestead Exemption exempts 50% of the first $200,000 of a home's actual value (up to $100,000 off taxable value) for homeowners age 65 or older who have owned and occupied the property for 10 consecutive years, with a 2026 application deadline of July 15. This exemption is disclosed here with an honest caveat: it has been suspended by the legislature in multiple past budget cycles due to state revenue constraints, and while it is described as "fully funded" for 2026, a qualifying senior should not assume its funding is permanently guaranteed in future years.
The Base Record's Unresolved Effective Rate -- Carried Forward Honestly
The base Denver record already discloses that Denver County's effective property tax rate could not be resolved to one authoritative figure this project: aggregator sites cited roughly 0.44% (taxbycounty.com) against roughly 0.48% (an Ownwell-style median-effective-rate framing), itself cited as running both above and below a separately cited 0.393%-0.50% statewide range depending on source. Given the genuinely complex split-rate assessment system detailed above layered on top of that already-disclosed disagreement, confirm the actual current bill for a specific property directly with the Denver County Assessor rather than relying on any single percentage figure in this file.
Key takeaways
- The Gallagher Amendment (1982-2020) locked residential property at a fixed 45% share of Colorado's tax base, pushing the assessment rate down from 21% to 7.15% before its 2020 repeal via Amendment B.
- For 2026, Colorado set a genuinely complex, two-rate residential assessment system: 6.8% for local-government levies (after a value reduction capped at $70,000) and 7.05% for school-district levies -- not one single flat rate.
- One source cited a "typical" Denver-area mill levy around 80 mills, but this should be confirmed directly with the Denver County Assessor for a specific address given how much mill levies vary by overlapping taxing district.
- Colorado's Senior Property Tax Homestead Exemption (50% of the first $200,000 of value, for owners 65+ who've owned/occupied 10+ years, 2026 deadline July 15) is real but has been suspended in past budget cycles -- don't assume permanent future funding.
- The base Denver record's disclosed, unresolved effective-rate range (roughly 0.44%-0.48%) carries forward here, compounded by the genuinely complex split-rate system above -- confirm an actual bill directly with the county assessor.
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