Money and taxes
What Does a $1.5 Million Home Pay in Colorado Property Tax?
About $8,100 to $10,700 a year in six Denver-area tax areas. Here is the math, town by town.
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A $1.5 million Colorado home pays about $8,100 to $10,700 a year in property tax for tax year 2026 in the six Denver-area tax areas we checked, at their 2025 mill levies (Highlands Ranch's includes its metro district; the others carry none): Castle Rock at the low end, Cherry Hills Village at the high end. The math has two parts. School levies apply to 7.05% of the full value ($105,750 on $1.5 million). Every other levy applies to 6.8% of the value after the first $70,000 comes off ($97,240). Multiply each by its mills and divide by 1,000. The bill for tax year 2026 is mailed in January 2027 (Colorado Division of Property Taxation). The Kenna Group at Keller Williams DTC ran the numbers so you can compare towns before you choose one.
Tax year 2026, bills paid in 2027
The four numbers that set the bill.
Full value.
School district mills apply to 7.05% of actual value. No reduction for 2026.
After the cut.
City, county, fire, library, water and metro district mills apply to 6.8% of value minus $70,000.
Non-school only.
10% of the first $700,000 of value comes off before the 6.8% rate. The cap is $70,000.
Paid in arrears.
The 2026 bill is mailed in January 2027 and due by April 30, 2027.
01
How is the bill figured in 2026?
- Step 1: school assessed value. $1,500,000 x 7.05% = $105,750.
- Step 2: everyone-else assessed value. ($1,500,000 - $70,000) x 6.8% = $97,240.
- Step 3: multiply by the mills. School assessed value x school mills / 1,000, plus the other assessed value x every other mill / 1,000.
- Step 4: add any metro district or special district. Those mills belong to the non-school side and can be large in newer subdivisions.
Colorado set these rates in 2024 law (HB24B-1001). For tax year 2025 the rates were 7.05% for schools and 6.25% for everything else, with no $70,000 cut. That is why a 2025 bill and a 2026 bill on the same home do not match even when the value did not change.
| $1.5 million home | 2025 rules | 2026 rules |
|---|---|---|
| School assessed value | $105,750 | $105,750 |
| Other assessed value | $93,750 | $97,240 |
| Value cut for other levies | None | $70,000 |
Assessed value is the taxable slice of your home's value. Mills are dollars of tax per $1,000 of assessed value.
02
What does $1 million, $1.5 million, $2 million and $3 million pay, town by town?
Tax year 2026 rates applied to each tax area's 2025 mill levy, the latest final levy (the 2026 levies are certified in December 2026). Each row is one tax area, the levy on one street. Your parcel can sit in a different tax area with a different metro, fire or water district.
| Town and tax area | Total mills (2025) | $1M | $1.5M | $2M | $3M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Rock Douglas tax district 0214, in town with the Castle Rock Fire Protection District, no metro district | 79.945 | $5,386 | $8,161 | $10,936 | $16,486 |
| Denver City and County of Denver, base district (Denver Public Schools) | 79.602 | $5,414 | $8,185 | $10,957 | $16,501 |
| Boulder Boulder tax area 0010 (Boulder Valley School District RE-2) | 89.200 | $5,990 | $9,083 | $12,176 | $18,361 |
| Greenwood Village Arapahoe tax area 0453 (Cherry Creek School District 5) | 92.968 | $6,272 | $9,501 | $12,729 | $19,186 |
| Highlands Ranch Douglas tax district 3602, includes the Highlands Ranch Metro District (12.250 mills) | 98.821 | $6,580 | $9,997 | $13,414 | $20,247 |
| Cherry Hills Village Arapahoe tax area 0235 (Cherry Creek School District 5) | 105.258 | $7,049 | $10,696 | $14,342 | $21,635 |
Our arithmetic from the Colorado Division of Property Taxation's 2026 rates and each county's 2025 levy. Your county treasurer's bill is the final word.
03
What does a metro district add?
- Every 10 mills on the non-school side adds about $972 a year on a $1.5 million home. That is $97,240 of assessed value x 10 / 1,000.
- Newer luxury and 55+ subdivisions carry them most. Developers use metro districts to pay for streets, water and parks, and the debt is repaid through the mill levy. In Douglas County's 2025 levy file, Castle Rock tax districts with newer metro districts run from about 105 to 149 total mills, against 79.945 in the older in-town area in our table.
- The levy can run for decades. Read the district's debt and its maximum mill levy before you offer.
- Look it up first. The county assessor's parcel page lists every district on the parcel. Our HOA vs metro district guide walks through it.
04
Does the senior exemption help on a $1.5 million home?
- It is capped. Colorado's senior exemption takes 50% off the first $200,000 of actual value, so at most $100,000 of value comes off, on a $500,000 home or a $5 million home.
- On a $1.5 million home that is a small share of the bill. At about 80 total mills, $100,000 less value is about $500 a year off (our arithmetic; the assessor applies it).
- It needs 10 years in the same home. You must be 65 or older on January 1 and have owned and lived in the home for the 10 years before it.
- It does not follow you after 2026. The rule that carried it to a new home covered tax years 2025 and 2026 only; SB26-116 ended it for 2027 and later. See our senior exemption guide.
- A deferral is different. Homeowners 65 and older can defer the tax as a loan through the county treasurer, applying January 1 to April 1 each year. See the deferral program.
05
When is the bill due, and how do I appeal?
- Bills mail in January. The 2026 bill arrives in early 2027.
- Pay in full by April 30, or in two halves: the first by the last day of February, the second by June 15 (Colorado Division of Property Taxation). A date that lands on a weekend moves to the next business day, so check your county treasurer's notice.
- Values change in odd years. Colorado revalues real property every odd-numbered year, so 2027 brings new values, based on sales in the data period that ends June 30, 2026.
- Protest window. Notices of value mail by May 1. The protest deadline was June 8 through 2026; SB26-046 moves it to June 1 starting in 2027.
- Bring sales. A protest wins on comparable sales from the county's data period, not on the size of the bill.
What to watch out for.
- Using the seller's bill. It reflects last year's value, last year's rates and the seller's exemptions. Your first full bill can be higher.
- Missing a metro district. Two homes at the same price a mile apart can sit in different tax areas.
- Assuming the senior exemption carries over. After tax year 2026 it does not. The 10-year test starts again at the new home.
- Forgetting the 2027 reappraisal. New values arrive in May 2027 and set the bills paid in 2028 and 2029.
- Comparing towns by mill levy alone. The bill is levy times value. Cherry Hills Village has the highest levy in our table and the biggest values, so run both numbers.
- Budgeting from a listing's "taxes" line. Listing tax figures are the prior year's bill. Ask us to run the tax area.
We are real estate agents, not tax professionals, accountants or attorneys. This page is general information about how the topic affects buying and selling a home. Talk with a CPA or tax attorney about your own sale and your own bill. Rules, rates and dates change, and nothing here is a promise of any result.
Quick answers
Questions, answered.
What is the property tax on a $1.5 million home in Colorado?
About $8,100 to $10,700 a year for tax year 2026 in the six Denver-area tax areas we checked (Denver, Castle Rock, Boulder, Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch, Cherry Hills Village), at their 2025 mill levies. A newer metro district adds more. The exact bill depends on the tax area's mills.
What is the 2026 residential assessment rate in Colorado?
7.05% of actual value for school district levies, and 6.8% for all other levies after 10% of the first $700,000 of value (at most $70,000) comes off (Colorado Division of Property Taxation).
Do metro districts raise property tax?
Yes. A metro district's mills are added to the non-school side of the bill. Each 10 mills adds about $972 a year on a $1.5 million home in tax year 2026.
Does Colorado have a property tax cap for seniors?
Colorado has a senior exemption, not a cap: 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value is exempt for owners 65 and older who have owned and lived in the home for 10 years. The moving version ended after tax year 2026.
Is there a property tax deferral for people 65 and older?
Yes. The Colorado Property Tax Deferral Program lets eligible homeowners 65 and older defer the tax as a loan. Apply through your county treasurer between January 1 and April 1.
When are Colorado property taxes due?
Pay in full by April 30, or in two halves: the first by the last day of February and the second by June 15, with weekend dates moving to the next business day. Bills are mailed in January for the prior tax year.
Why is my new home's tax bill different from the seller's?
The seller's bill reflects last year's value, last year's rates and the seller's own exemptions. Your bill uses this year's rates and value, and no senior exemption carries over from the seller.
Sources
Where the numbers come from.
- Colorado Division of Property Taxation, Residential Local Government Assessment Rate (2026)
- Colorado Division of Property Taxation, Understanding Property Taxes in Colorado
- Colorado Division of Property Taxation, Current Assessment Rates
- Colorado General Assembly, HB24B-1001 (enrolled)
- Legislative Council Staff, 2026 property tax balancing percentage memo (Jan. 15, 2026)
- Colorado Division of Property Taxation, Recent Legislation (SB26-046, SB26-116)
- Colorado Department of the Treasury, Property Tax Deferral Program
- Colorado Division of Property Taxation, Senior Property Tax Exemption
- Denver Assessor, 2025 Abstract of Assessment and Summary of Levies
- Arapahoe County Assessor, Taxing District Levy Percentage, Tax Year 2025
- Douglas County, 2025 Tax Districts and Mill Levies
- Boulder County Assessor, Mill Levy Changes from 2024 to 2025
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