Exemptions (Senior Citizen and Disabled Veterans)
Senior Citizen Exemptions
Qualified senior citizens
are entitled to an exemption equal to 50 percent of the first $200,000 of
actual value of the qualified applicant’s primary residence
when the State legislature funds
the exemption.
Qualified seniors must meet the following requirements:
The applicant is at least 65 years old on January 1 of the year in which
he/she applies;
The applicant or his/her spouse is the property owner of record and has
owned the property for at least 10 consecutive years prior to January 1;
The applicant occupies the property as his/her primary residence, and has done so for at least 10 consecutive years prior to January 1
The exemption is available on only ONE property. Legally married individuals
may only have ONE property exemption together.
If the senior(s) also qualifies for a disabled veteran’s exemption, the
senior(s) will only be entitled to ONE property exemption.
Short Form
- is used by most qualifying seniors, please click
here
Surviving spouses
of eligible senior citizens may also qualify for exemptions,
provided that the surviving spouse meets the following
requirements:
The surviving
spouse was legally married to a senior citizen who met the
age, occupancy and ownership requirements on any January 1
since
January 1, 2002; and
The surviving spouse has not remarried;
The surviving spouse occupied
the residential property with the eligible senior citizen as his or her primary residence and still occupies the same property.
Long Form
- is used by either surviving spouses of previously qualified applicants or for
those properties held in a trust, please click
here
Exceptions to Basic Requirements:
An applicant may still qualify if the preceding ownership and/or
occupancy requirements cannot be met due to any of the following reasons:
Title to the property is held in a trust, a corporate partnership or other legal entity solely for estate planning purposes. The
maker of the trust must be the
qualifying senior or the spouse of the qualifying senior
The qualifying senior, spouse, or surviving spouse is/was confined to a
hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility
The prior home was condemned in an eminent domain proceeding by a governmental entity, or it was sold to a governmental
entity upon threat of
condemnation by eminent domain.
APPLICATIONS
Please contact the Assessor’s Office for an application. Applications are due on or before July 15 of the
year for which exemption is requested. If you can show good cause, you may
be entitled to an extension until September 15.
For more information, please click
here for a copy of the State brochure.
Disabled Veterans Exemptions
Disabled veterans are entitled to an exemption equal to 50 percent of the first $200,000 of actual
value of the qualified applicant’s primary residence.
Qualified disabled veterans
must meet the following requirements:
Served on active duty in the U.S. armed forces
An individual who was honorably discharged
An individual who sustained a service-connected disability that has been
rated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as 100% “permanent and
total.”
VA unemployment ability awards do not meet the
requirement for determining an applicant’s eligibility.
The veteran must own the property and must have been an owner of
record since January 1 of the year of application.
If the veteran’s spouse owns the property, the veteran may meet the
ownership requirement if the couple was married on or before January 1 and
both have occupied the property as their primary residence since January 1.
If the property is owned by a trust, corporate partnership, or
other legal entity, the veteran will meet the ownership requirement if each
of the following items is true:
The veteran or spouse is a maker of the trust or a principal of the
corporate partnership or legal entity
The property was transferred solely for estate planning purposes
The veteran or spouse would otherwise be the owner of record
If the disabled veteran also qualifies for a senior citizen’s exemption, the
disabled veteran will only be entitled to ONE property exemption.
APPLICATIONS
Applications are available from the Colorado Department of Military
and Veterans Affairs, Division of Veterans Affairs.
Click here
for application.
or the Division of Property
Taxation’s website.
Click
here for application
Applications must be postmarked or delivered to the Division of
Veterans Affairs by July 1 of the year in which the exemption is
requested. Late applications may be accepted through September 1 if the
applicant can show good cause for missing the July 1 deadline.
For more information, please click
here for a copy of the State brochure.