SB 25-261: Property Tax Deferral Program Administration - Colorado

Revised (04/09/2025) → Rerevised (04/10/2025) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was rerevised to include all amendments adopted in the second house, with the title changed from 'Revised' to 'Rerevised'. A new third reading unamended date was added for the House, and a new sponsor, Titone, was added to the House sponsorship list. These are primarily administrative updates reflecting the bill's progression through the legislative process.

TECHNICAL

The revision status was updated from 'Revised' to 'Rerevised' to indicate that all amendments adopted in the second house are now included.

A new line was added indicating the bill was read for the third time unamended in the House on April 10, 2025.

Titone was added to the list of House sponsors, expanding the original list of Bird, Sirota, and Taggart.

PA1 (04/08/2025) → Revised (04/09/2025) · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill was revised to shift administrative responsibility for Colorado's Property Tax Deferral Program from county treasurers to the state treasurer, while also adding a one-time appropriation for 2025-26 to fund this administration. The revision also changes the bill's title to reflect the funding authorization rather than reversing administrative responsibilities.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from reversing administrative responsibilities to explicitly authorizing appropriations for the 2025-26 fiscal year to fund the program's administration.

FISCAL

Added a one-time appropriation for the 2025-26 fiscal year to fund the administration of the Property Tax Deferral Program from the Youthful Offender System Surcharge Fund.

TIMELINE

Added a sunset provision requiring the new funding subsection to be repealed effective July 1, 2026.

DEFINITION

Changed the referenced statute from 39-3.5-101 to 9-1.5-104.7 regarding the damage prevention fund repeal.

REQUIREMENT

Modified the statute citation for the Property Tax Deferral Program from 39-3.5-102 to 18-22-103.

Final Act (05/08/2025) → PA1 (04/08/2025) · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill reverses a 2022 administrative shift that moved property tax deferral program responsibilities from county treasurers to the state treasurer, returning authority to local counties. It also rescinds eligibility for property tax deferrals for persons who are not seniors or called into active military service, and requires county commissioners to adopt resolutions before accepting applications from new qualified taxpayers for tax years starting on or after January 1, 2025.

Scope change

The bill narrows eligibility for property tax deferrals by removing the option for non-seniors and non-military personnel to defer taxes based on tax growth, and shifts administrative responsibility back to county treasurers from state treasurer.

ELIGIBILITY

Rescinds eligibility for property tax deferral for persons who are not seniors (65+) or persons called into active military service, removing the tax-growth cap option that allowed other taxpayers to defer taxes.

REQUIREMENT

Requires county commissioners to adopt a resolution after receiving input from the county treasurer before the county treasurer will accept applications for deferral claims from new qualified taxpayers for tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2025.

SCOPE

Reverses the 2022 shift of administrative responsibilities for the property tax deferral program from the state treasurer back to county treasurers.

DEFINITION

Repeals definitions for 'State treasurer' and 'Tax-growth cap' in the property tax deferral statute, removing references to third-party administrators and the tax-growth calculation method.

Signed Act (06/04/2025) → Final Act (05/08/2025) · 12 edits

MAJOR

This bill amends Colorado's property tax deferral program by clarifying administrative responsibilities, correcting typographical errors in the tax calculation formulas, and updating eligibility language for military personnel. The changes ensure the program functions correctly by fixing errors in the tax-growth cap calculation and clarifying that third-party administrators can manage the program on behalf of the state treasurer.

Scope change

The bill maintains the existing scope of the property tax deferral program but corrects administrative and technical provisions to ensure proper implementation.

DEFINITION

Corrected a typographical error in the tax-growth cap calculation formula, changing 'aver age' to 'average' for accurate tax calculations.

Updated the eligibility date threshold for the tax-growth cap calculation from 'commencing on of after January 1, 2025' to 'commencing on or after January 1, 2025'.

Corrected a section reference from '(1)(e)' to '(1)(c)' regarding minimum and total deferral amounts.

Corrected a section reference from 'section - . -' to 'section 39-3.5-102 (1)(c)' regarding military service eligibility.

ELIGIBILITY

Corrected a typographical error changing 'defeijal' to 'deferral' in the tax-growth cap definition.

Corrected a typographical error changing 'ical' to 'real' in the property tax deferral language.

REQUIREMENT

Fixed a typographical error in the claim filing deadline language, changing 'ich' to 'which' for clarity.

TECHNICAL

Added a space between 'statetreasurer' and 'treasurer' in the program administration section.

Corrected punctuation in the rules promulgation section, changing 'm accordance' to 'in accordance' and 'article 4-of' to 'article 4 of'.

Corrected a typographical error changing 'er in' to 'or in' in the tax deferral language.

Corrected a typographical error changing 'ical' to 'real' in the property tax deferral language.

Corrected a typographical error changing 'nay' to 'may' in the claim filing language.

Reengrossed (04/03/2025) → Signed Act (06/04/2025) · 6 edits · Jun 4, 2025

MODERATE

This bill reverses a 2022 administrative change that moved property tax deferral program responsibilities from county treasurers to the state treasurer, returning authority to county treasurers. It also clarifies eligibility rules for military personnel and adjusts tax-growth cap calculations for new qualifying taxpayers.

Scope change

The bill's scope changed from state-level administration to county-level administration of the property tax deferral program, and eligibility criteria were modified to clarify rules for military personnel and new qualifying taxpayers.

SCOPE

Administrative responsibility for the property tax deferral program returns to county treasurers instead of the state treasurer, reversing a 2022 shift.

ELIGIBILITY

Clarified that military personnel can only defer taxes for years they are actively in military service, with provisions to continue deferral after service ends.

Adjusted tax-growth cap calculation for new qualifying taxpayers to exclude the four percent increase for tax years starting on or after January 1, 2025.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirements for county commissioners to adopt resolutions accepting deferral claims from new qualifying taxpayers for tax years starting on or after January 1, 2025.

Modified claim filing requirements to specify that claims must be submitted to the county treasurer rather than the state treasurer.

DEFINITION

Updated definition of 'state treasurer' to include third-party administrators who contract with the state to administer the program.

Engrossed (04/02/2025) → Reengrossed (04/03/2025) · 3 edits · Apr 3, 2025

MINOR

The bill was reengrossed to include all amendments adopted in the House of Introduction, updating the sponsor list to add Rich. The substantive text of the bill regarding the shift of administrative responsibilities for a program from county treasurers to the state treasurer remains unchanged, though the version label and amendment status were updated.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; only the version status and sponsor list were updated.

TECHNICAL

The bill version was changed from 'Engrossed' to 'Reengrossed' to reflect that all amendments adopted in the House of Introduction have been incorporated.

A new sponsor, Rich, was added to the Senate sponsorship list.

The line indicating 'This Version Includes All Amendments Adopted on Second Reading in the House of Introduction' was removed as it is no longer accurate for a reengrossed version.

Introduced (03/31/2025) → Engrossed (04/02/2025) · 5 edits · Apr 3, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to remove eligibility for property tax deferrals for non-senior and non-military personnel, and to repeal the 2023 expansion that allowed county opt-in for additional deferral eligibility. The amendment also adds a new definition for the 'tax-growth cap' and repeals the section that allowed third-party administrators to run the program.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by removing eligibility for non-seniors and non-military personnel, and by repealing the 2023 expansion that allowed counties to opt into expanded eligibility.

ELIGIBILITY

Removed eligibility for property tax deferral for persons who are not seniors or persons called into active military service.

Repealed the 2023 expansion that allowed counties to opt in to expanded eligibility for taxpayers whose homesteads are in those counties.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'tax-growth cap' to clarify how the cap is calculated for property tax years before and after January 1, 2025.

REQUIREMENT

Repealed the section that allowed the state treasurer to contract with a third-party administrator to run the property tax deferral program.

Modified the filing requirements for deferral claims to require filing with the state treasurer rather than the county treasurer for certain categories.

Property Tax Deferral Program Administration

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