The deadline for the Colorado Senior Property Tax Exemption is July 15. Here’s Routt County Treasurer Lane Iacovetto.
A property tax exemption is available to those qualifying seniors 65 and over by Jan. 1, and the surviving spouses of seniors who previously qualified. They have to have lived in their home ten consecutive years as their primary residence, as of Jan. 1. The Routt County Assessor’s Office accepts and reviews the Senior Exemption Applications but approval is made by the state.
To apply for the exemption or get more information, visit the Routt County Treasurer’s Tax Exemption Webpage, https://www.co.routt.co.us/659/Tax-Exemption-Information or contact the Routt County Assessor’s Office at 970-870-5544.
Here is more from the Routt County Treasurer’s Office.
Colorado Senior Property Tax Exemption
The Colorado Senior Property Tax Exemption is available to those Routt County property owners who qualify for these programs.
The deadline to apply for the tax exemption is July 15, 2021 (applications must be postmarked by those dates). Routt County Assessor’s Office accepts and reviews the Senior Exemption Applications but does not approve them, approval is made by the state.
A property tax exemption is available to qualifying senior citizens and the surviving spouses of seniors who previously qualified.
The three basic requirements are:
- Applicant must be a senior who is 65 years of age prior to January 1 of the year of application,
- Owned their home for at least 10 consecutive years prior to January 1, and
- Must have occupied the home as their primary residence for at least 10 consecutive years prior to January 1
For those who qualify, 50 percent of the first $200,000 in actual value of the primary residence is exempted from property tax, up to a maximum reduction of $100,000. The state pays the tax on the exempted value. An applicant or married couple can apply for the exemption on only one property. That property must be his/her or their primary residence. Married couples and individuals who apply for the exemption on multiple properties will be denied the exemption on each property. For the purpose of the exemption, “primary residence” is the place at which a person’s habitation is fixed and to which that person, when absent, has the intention of returning. A person can have only one primary residence at a time. If the senior is registered to vote, the address used for voter registration is considered the senior’s primary residence. If the senior is not registered to vote, the address listed on automobile registrations, income tax returns, or other legal documents may be considered as evidence of the senior’s place of primary residency. The property must be classified by the county assessor as residential. If the senior owns a multiple dwelling unit property, the exemption will only be granted to the unit occupied by the senior as his or her primary residence. The social security numbers of the applicant and each additional person who occupies the property as his or her primary residence are required by law, 39- 3-205(2)(a)(I) and (III) C.R.S. They are used to ensure that no individual or married couple receives the exemption on more than one property.
Once a Senior Exemption is filed and approved by the Routt County Assessor’s Office, it remains in effect unless a disqualifying event occurs.
Typical recipients can save $400 and possibly more. The Senior Property Tax Exemption has remained in effect since it was reinstated for property tax year 2012 and is also known as the Homestead Exemption, approved by Colorado voters in 2000.
To apply for the exemption or get more information, visit the Routt County Treasurer’s Tax Exemption Webpage, https://www.co.routt.co.us/659/Tax-Exemption-Information or contact the Routt County Assessor’s Office at 970-870-5544.