Senior Tax Deferral

Colorado residents 65 years of age or older may defer or postpone the payment of property taxes on their residence.

Eligibility Requirements:

You must meet ALL of the following eligibility requirements each time you apply for Property Tax Deferral. This is done through your local county treasurer.

• You must be 65 or older as of January 1 of the year claimed.
• You must not be earning any income, such as rent, from your property.
• You must own and occupy your residence. (If you must move because of ill health, you will not lose the deferral.)
• All property taxes for prior years must have been paid, either by you or by the state through this deferral program.
• If your home is subject to a mortgage which is less than 5 years old, you must obtain a subordination agreement from the lender. In other words, the mortgage holder agrees that the state's interest in the property would legally come before their interest in the property.

Property Tax Deferral Process

Obtain a Deferral Claim Form from our office. You must file between January 1 and April 1 each year. The county treasurer will issue you a Certificate of Deferral. The county treasurer will record the certificate and send it to the state treasurer. The state treasurer will charge you interest on the amount deferred beginning May 1 of the year in which the deferral is claimed. The interest is compounded annually. Copies of the deferral certificates are kept in county assessor and treasurer's offices. The deferred taxes may be paid at any time without affecting your deferral eligibility. If your property taxes are normally paid as part of your mortgage payment, you should present your deferral certificate to the mortgagor for a refund of the property tax monies held in escrow.

While it is true that you are deferring your property tax payments, the state is actually making the payments to local governments. Your county treasurer submits your claim form to the state treasurer. The state treasurer makes the payments to your county. Therefore, you are borrowing the payments from the state until such time as you pay the state back.

NOTE: Deferral of your property tax does not negate your right to apply for the Property Tax /Rent/Heat Credit or Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption.

Paying Deferred Property Tax

Deferred taxes must be paid when:

• The claimant dies (unless the surviving spouse is 60 or older and meets all other requirements and elects to continue the deferral).
• The property is sold or the title is transferred to another person.
• The claimant moves for reasons other than ill health.
• The claimant begins to rent the property or otherwise receives income from it.

All deferred taxes plus interest are due:

• In case of death - in one year.
• All other reasons - within 90 days.

Property may be given to the State of Colorado in lieu of payment. If the taxes are not paid, the State of Colorado will foreclose on the property.