As a homeowner in Denver, you should have received your tax assessment in the mail, and the new actual value of your home may mean an increase in your property taxes. Here are the steps you can take to address your new tax rate:
Step 1: Get your Notice of Valuation. This should have been received in the mail and will outline the assessed value of your property.
Step 2: Determine if the Actual Value is appropriate. Home values have gone up over the last two years, and the assessment is based on homes sold, refinanced, or completed close to your property, not a fully executed home appraisal of your home. If you disagree with the assessed value, you may want to protest the value before the cutoff date to submit the protest. Each county has a different deadline for submissions.
Step 3: Find County Property Tax Rate and Mill Levy. Two numbers are needed to calculate the tax amount, and both should be listed on your notice of valuation or county website.
Step 4: Calculate the new tax amount by comparing the new Tax Amount to the past tax amount. Multiply the Current Actual Value times the Assessment Rate to get the new Assessed Value, and then take the Assessed Value and multiply times the Mill Levy divided by 1000. This is the new annual Property Taxes amount.
Step 5: Now What?! You could explore several options if the increase is too high to afford. One is doing a cash-out refinance or obtaining a home equity line of credit (HELOC) to tap into the equity gained to pay the bill. Someone who is 62 or older may want to consider a reverse mortgage to eliminate the principal and interest portion of their mortgage payment, making this tax adjustment more attainable. In addition, if you are over 65 and have lived in the home for at least ten years, you can apply for the state-funded property tax exception.