Colorado's Senior Property Tax Portability Has Been Repealed
Program and regulatory figures verified September 19, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
If you are moving in Colorado and someone told you the senior exemption travels with you now, they were reading a page written before June.
What the act actually says
Senate Bill 26-116 is titled, in part, "CONCERNING THE TAXATION OF PROPERTY, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, MODIFYING THE QUALIFIED-SENIOR PRIMARY RESIDENCE BENEFIT". The official summary is direct: the act ends the qualified-senior primary residence real property classification for property tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027.
Its history is not ambiguous. Introduced February 19, 2026. Passed the Senate April 27. Passed the House May 11. Signed by the Governor June 2, 2026. Chapter 307 of the 2026 session laws, effective August 12, 2026.
Two details inside the enacted text matter more than the summary does.
First, section 39-1-104.6(2)(a) now reads "For property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2025, BUT BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2027". Colorado's drafting convention, printed on the act's own first page, is that capital letters indicate new material. The sunset is the new part.
Second, and this is the one that changes what anyone can do about it, section 39-1-104.6(3)(a) now limits applications to "no later than July 15 of the first property tax year for which the classification is sought, THROUGH JULY 15, 2026". The application window did not close in the future. It closed in July.
Why a lender is being this specific
Because the difference is a permanent line in a monthly payment, and because the state's own material still points the other way.
The Division of Property Taxation published a release on March 4, 2026 encouraging eligible seniors to take advantage of the classification, noting it was "available for tax year 2026" and that those who apply for 2026 "will see the reduction in their tax bill that they will receive in 2027". Both statements were true. The headline's "2026-27" is Colorado's assessment-year and payable-year convention, not a two-year extension.
Read today, by someone planning a move for next spring, that page reads like an available benefit. It is not one for tax years 2027 and later. A senior who structures a purchase on the assumption that the classification will reduce their 2027 assessment has built the plan on something that was repealed in June.
What it was worth, so you can size what was lost
SB24-111 subtracted 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value, capped at the lesser of $100,000 or the amount that would reduce assessed value to $1,000. Applied against Colorado's 2026 residential assessment rates of 6.8% for non-school local levies and 7.05% for school levies, that subtraction is a meaningful annual figure in most counties, and it repeated every year it applied.
We are not publishing a dollar estimate of the annual saving, because it depends entirely on your county's mill levy and we would be inventing a number. Your county assessor can tell you precisely. What we can do is put the correct figure into the payment we model, rather than a hopeful one.
What actually remains
The ordinary senior exemption, unchanged: 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value, for an owner at least 65 on January 1 who has owned and occupied the same primary residence for at least 10 consecutive years before that date. There is no portability attached to it any more. Detail on the 10-year clock page.
For a move-up or move-down buyer, that reframes the financing question rather than ending it. If the exemption is not coming with you, the payment on the next house is higher than the naive comparison suggests, and the structures that work are the ones that account for it from the start. That is the structures page.
One thing we will not do
We will not tell you whether a future legislature revives it. People will speculate; some of that speculation will end up on pages that look authoritative. The classification is repealed, and a purchase should be planned against the law as it stands. If that changes, this page changes with it.
Exemption eligibility, property tax classification and landlord notice requirements are legal and tax questions. Your CPA, a Colorado attorney, and your county assessor own those answers. We flag them because they change the numbers we underwrite.
Frequently asked questions
Did Colorado end the senior property tax portability program?
Yes. SB26-116 ends the qualified-senior primary residence classification for property tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. The Governor signed it June 2, 2026; it is Chapter 307 with an effective date of August 12, 2026. The enacted text also limits applications to no later than July 15 of the first tax year sought, through July 15, 2026.
Can I still apply for the qualified-senior primary residence classification?
No. The enacted text of SB26-116 caps applications at July 15, 2026, which has passed. The classification applied only to property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2025 but before January 1, 2027, so there is no tax year remaining for which an application could be filed.
Why does Colorado's state website still say the program is available?
The Division of Property Taxation's press release is dated March 4, 2026 and was accurate then. It describes tax year 2026, with the reduction appearing on the bill received in 2027, which is Colorado's assessment-year and payable-year convention rather than a two-year extension. SB26-116 was signed in June, after that release.
What was the qualified-senior classification worth?
It subtracted 50% of the first $200,000 of a property's actual value, capped at the lesser of $100,000 or the amount that would reduce the assessed value to $1,000. The resulting tax saving depended on the county's mill levy, so your county assessor is the right source for the specific figure on a specific address.
Does the repeal affect the regular senior property tax exemption?
No. The ordinary senior exemption remains: 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value for an owner who is at least 65 on January 1 and has owned and occupied the same primary residence for at least 10 consecutive years prior to that date. What is gone is the ability to carry a benefit to a new home after a move.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or real estate advice. Property tax classifications, exemption eligibility, and landlord-tenant rules change and depend on your facts; your county assessor, your CPA or a Colorado attorney, and your real estate agent each handle their own part. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.