Beginning May 1, county tax assessors throughout Colorado will be sending out a NOTICE OF VALUATION to every homeowner in the state. This document determines what you will pay in property taxes for the next two years.
If you disagree with the assessor's valuation of your home, you have a very limited window of time in which to protest or appeal.
Here are the actions you should take promptly upon receipt of your NOTICE OF VALUATION:
1) Examine the value assigned by the assesor's office. Is it correct? Or does it seem inflated?
2) If the value seems too high, call me and I can provide you with free recent comparable sales information to help determine if the valuation is correct.
3) If you choose to protest the assessor's valuation, remember that you have less than 30 days to formally appeal. All appeals must be filed by June 1 - with no exceptions.
HOW ASSESSED VALUES ARE DETERMINED...
Property tax assessments are made every two years in Colorado. In other words, on June 30 of even numbered years, the assessor's office takes a "snapshot" of what they feel your home is worth. Ten months later, on May 1 of the following year, they reveal this valuation to you in the form of your new tax bill, which is binding for the next two years unless you successfully appeal it.
Remember that the assessor will be basing the value of your home on data as of June 30, 2008. Property values in your neighborhood may have risen or fallen since that time.
Your tax bill is coming soon - if you decide to protest the valuation, please do not hestitate to get in touch with me. With overall tax revenues on the decline and government agencies hungry for funding, property owners may be in the crosshairs this year. Be ready to take action when your tax bill arrives.
