Effective Property Tax Rate in Denver County, CO

The effective property tax rate in Denver County sits at roughly 0.50% to 0.55% of market value for a typical residential property in the 2026 tax year, well under the national average of about 1%. Commercial property is a different story, with an effective rate close to 2.0%. The gap comes from Colorado’s residential assessment rates, which tax only a small slice of your home’s market value before the local mill levy is applied.

Three numbers decide what you actually pay: the assessor’s estimate of your property’s market value, the state assessment rate for your property type, and the combined mill levy of the taxing districts that overlap your parcel.

How the Bill Is Built

Denver’s assessor sets an “actual value” for your property. For homes, that figure comes from comparable sales data; for commercial property, the assessor uses a mix of market, cost, and income approaches.¹ That actual value is multiplied by a state-set assessment rate to produce the “assessed value,” which is the taxable slice. The assessed value is then multiplied by the local mill levy to produce the tax owed.²

A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value.³ Every piece of the formula can shift from year to year. The assessor revalues properties on a two-year cycle, the legislature keeps adjusting assessment rates, and each taxing district sets its own mill levy based on its budget.

2026 Assessment Rates

Residential property is no longer taxed under a single flat rate. For 2026 Colorado uses a dual-rate system, applying one rate for school district levies and a lower rate for all other local government levies.⁴

For non-school levies, the 2026 residential assessment rate is 6.8%, applied after a 10% reduction of the first $700,000 in actual value.⁵ A home valued at $600,000, for example, gets a $60,000 reduction before the 6.8% rate is applied. For school district levies, SB24-233 sets the rate at 7.15% of the full actual value, or a lower percentage set by the state property tax administrator, whichever produces the smaller figure.⁴

Commercial and industrial property faces much steeper assessment rates. For 2026, commercial improved property is assessed at 25%, and commercial land and industrial property at 26%.⁶ Both are down from the 27.9% rate that applied in recent prior years.

The Denver Mill Levy

Denver’s 2025 combined general mill levy, the most recent finalized figure, is 79.602 mills.¹ That total breaks down across three taxing entities:

City and County of Denver: 26.328 mills, covering the general fund, bond payments, social services, fire and police pensions, capital maintenance, the library, and affordable housing.
Denver Public Schools (School District No. 1): 52.274 mills, the largest single slice, covering the general fund, bond redemption, and special revenue.
Urban Drainage and Flood Control District: 1.000 mill.

These numbers come from Denver’s 2025 Abstract of Assessment.⁷ The total shifts modestly year to year as districts adjust their budgets and bond obligations.

Metro District Overlays Can Change Your Effective Rate

If your home sits in a newer development, you may pay a metropolitan district levy on top of the base 79.602 mills. Metro districts are special taxing entities created by developers to finance infrastructure like roads, water systems, and parks. The overlay can add anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per year depending on the district’s outstanding debt, meaningfully increasing your total bill compared to an established neighborhood with no district levy. The extra mills stay with the parcel regardless of future owners, so check the tax district before buying.

What That Works Out to on a Real Property

Residential

Take a home with a market value of $600,000 under the 2026 dual-rate system, using the 2025 mill levies:

Non-school assessed value: $600,000 minus the 10% reduction ($60,000) = $540,000, then $540,000 × 6.8% = $36,720.
Non-school tax: $36,720 × 27.328 mills ÷ 1,000 = roughly $1,004.
School assessed value: $600,000 × 7.15% = $42,900.
School tax: $42,900 × 52.274 mills ÷ 1,000 = roughly $2,243.
Total estimated tax: about $3,247, which is an effective rate of roughly 0.54%.

For pricier homes, the 10% value reduction caps at $70,000, so the effective rate ticks slightly higher once a home’s value exceeds $700,000.⁵ Most Denver homeowners still land in the 0.50% to 0.55% range absent any metro district overlay.

Commercial

Commercial improved property assessed at 25% carries a much heavier burden. A commercial building valued at $600,000 would be assessed at $150,000, producing a tax bill of roughly $11,940 at 79.602 mills. That is an effective rate of about 2.0%.⁶ Commercial land and industrial property at the 26% rate pays slightly more, pushing the effective rate closer to 2.1%.

Programs That Lower Your Effective Rate

Several state-administered programs reduce the share of market value you actually pay. Each one requires an application filed with the county assessor or treasurer; none apply automatically on their own.

Senior Homestead Exemption

Homeowners age 65 or older who have owned and occupied their primary residence continuously for at least ten years qualify for a 50% exemption on the first $200,000 of actual value, reducing the taxable value by up to $100,000. The State of Colorado pays the taxes on the exempted portion, so eligible seniors see a direct cut in their bill. For the 2026 tax year, you must have been born on or before January 1, 1961, and must have owned and lived in the home since at least January 1, 2016. Applications are due by July 15.⁸

Disabled Veteran Exemption

Veterans with a service-connected disability rated as 100% permanent by the VA qualify for a 50% exemption on the first $200,000 of their primary residence’s value. Veterans rated at least 70% who receive compensation at the 100% rate through individual unemployability (TDIU) also qualify. You must have served at least 24 months on active duty, received an honorable discharge, and owned and occupied the property as your primary residence since January 1 of the application year. Applications go to the county assessor between January 1 and July 1.⁹

Qualified-Senior Primary Residence Reduction

Beyond the homestead exemption, SB24-233 provides an additional assessed-value reduction for qualifying seniors on the non-school portion of the bill. For 2026, the formula reduces taxable value by 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value in addition to the standard 10% reduction, then applies the 6.95% rate.⁴ This stacks with the senior homestead exemption for anyone who qualifies for both, cutting the local-government portion of the bill significantly.

Property Tax Deferral

Colorado’s deferral program lets qualifying homeowners postpone paying property taxes without penalty. The deferred taxes become a lien on the property, repaid when you sell or transfer the home. To qualify, you must be age 65 or older (or an active-duty military member), own and live in the property, have all prior property taxes paid, carry no reverse mortgage, and have total liens and mortgages at or below 75% of the property’s actual value. Applications are accepted between January 1 and April 1 through the county treasurer.¹⁰

If the Assessor’s Value Looks Too High

Your effective rate depends entirely on the actual value the assessor assigns to your property. If that number is inflated, so is your bill. Denver’s protest window runs from May 1 through June 1 each year.¹¹ If either date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day. You can file in person, by mail, or online through the assessor’s office.

Strong protests rely on concrete evidence: recent comparable sales showing your property is overvalued, documentation of condition issues the assessor may not have accounted for, or proof that square footage or lot size is recorded incorrectly. Simply disagreeing isn’t enough. You have the right to ask the assessor to explain the methods used to arrive at your valuation.¹² If the assessor denies your protest, you can appeal to the county Board of Equalization and, beyond that, to the state Board of Assessment Appeals or district court.

Denver’s real estate market has appreciated rapidly, and assessors rely on area-wide sales data that may not reflect your specific property’s condition or location within a neighborhood. Even a modest overvaluation compounds every year it goes uncorrected.

1
City and County of Denver. Assessment FAQ
2
Colorado Department of Local Affairs Division of Property Taxation. Understanding Property Taxes in Colorado
3
Assessors’ Library. Chapter 4 – Assessment Math
4
Colorado General Assembly. SB24-233 Property Tax
5
Colorado Department of Local Affairs Division of Property Taxation. Residential Local Government Assessment Rate
6
Colorado Department of Local Affairs Division of Property Taxation. Property Valuation and Taxation For Business and Industry In Colorado
7
City and County of Denver. 2025 Abstract of Assessment And Summary of Levies
8
Boulder County. Senior Homestead Property Tax Exemption
9
Colorado Division of Veterans Affairs. Property Tax Exemption
10
Colorado State Treasurer. Property Tax Deferral Program Overview
11
Denver Government. Assessor’s Office Forms
12
Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Protests and Appeals