Colorado homeowners who are 65 or older can apply from January 1 through April 1, 2027 to defer their property taxes. The program works as a loan from the state, not an exemption, and it is open only to owners whose total liens come to no more than 75% of the home’s actual value. The Colorado Department of the Treasury measures the age test as of December 31, 2026.
A three-month window that opens January 1
The Treasury says homeowners must apply through the Treasurer’s Office in their county of residence between January 1 and April 1. The 2026 window closed on April 1, 2026, and the state says it will post more detail on the 2027 cycle this winter. The January 1 to April 1 dates repeat every year.
The senior program is for a taxpayer who is 65 or older as of December 31, 2026, lives in the home, and either owns it outright or is buying it under a recorded sale contract. All prior property taxes must be paid, and the home cannot carry a reverse mortgage. An owner who turns 65 at any point before December 31 is inside the age line.
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Renewal is built in. Anyone who already has a deferral must reapply each year or tell the state they are opting out, and the Treasury adds that applying for the current year is taken to renew all earlier deferrals. The separate tax growth deferral, aimed at owners whose bills jumped, ended in 2025, so people who used it cannot reapply for 2027.
A second track exists for taxpayers called into military service on January 1 of the filing year. It allows liens up to 90% of actual value on non-VA loans and 100% on VA-guaranteed loans. The 75% limit applies only to the senior program.
What the 75% lien test counts on a mortgaged home
The Treasury’s program FAQ says the total of all liens, mortgages and deeds of trust must be less than or equal to 75% of the property’s actual value. As an illustration, a home with an actual value of $400,000 passes with up to $300,000 in combined liens. A $280,000 mortgage plus a $30,000 home equity line totals $310,000 and misses.
The FAQ defines a junior lien as anything other than the first mortgage, such as a home equity line of credit or a second mortgage. The test covers every lien, mortgage and deed of trust, so those junior loans sit inside the 75% total with the main loan.
An owner close to the line should compare the balances recorded against the title with the actual value the county carries for the home before filing. A home equity line opened last year can be the item that changes the result.
The approved deferral is itself recorded as a junior lien on the property until it is paid in full. Anyone who plans to borrow against the house later will find the state loan among the recorded liens.
What the loan costs and when it comes due
The State Treasurer pays the approved amount to the county by April 30, so the county tax bill is covered while the owner owes the state. The deferral is a simple interest loan. Interest begins accruing on May 1 of the calendar year the deferral is claimed and continues until the loan is paid in full.
For the period May 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027, the Treasury lists a rate of 4.238%. It says the rate resets each year, based on the 10-year rate published in the Wall Street Journal on February 1. As an illustration, a $3,000 deferral at 4.238% adds about $127 in simple interest over a full year.
Repayment is due 90 days after a non-qualifying event. The Treasury lists a sale, a transfer of title to someone other than the owner, the home becoming a rental, and a reverse mortgage taken out after the loan is granted. If the homeowner dies with no surviving spouse, repayment is due one year after the death.
A surviving spouse who is at least 60 and listed on the title can keep the deferral in place. For married owners, that makes the names on the title a practical item to check before the application goes in.
Why the county treasurer now takes the application
Senate Bill 25-261 was signed on June 4, 2025 and took effect July 1, 2025. It moved some administrative duties for the deferral program back to county treasurers, who lost them to the state treasurer in 2022, and it limited eligibility to seniors and people called into active military service.
The web application portal is gone. The Treasury says applicants must contact their County Treasurer for a PDF or printed application, and the FAQ says completed applications must reach that office by April 1. Counties may charge a recording fee, and the state has not published an amount.
The State Treasurer still manages loan accounts, payments, payoffs and lien releases. Questions about a payoff statement go to the Treasury at 303-866-5327, while questions about an application go to the county office.
For an owner 65 or older, the decision comes down to two numbers. The first is the combined liens measured against 75% of actual value, which can be checked before January 1. The second is whether a loan that grows at simple interest and comes due after a sale fits the plan for the house.
Will the liens on the house stay under 75%?
An owner who learns in March that a home equity line pushed liens past the 75% line, or whose application misses the county office by April 1, waits another year for the next window. A sale or a move later starts the 90-day repayment clock on whatever was deferred.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit sets out the 5 kinds of property-tax relief, so a deferral loan can be weighed against the freezes and breaks other programs offer. Its application log and renewal calendar keep the January 1 opening and the April 1 deadline on one page, and Part 3 walks through what each senior program does.
Get the relief kit’s application log and renewal calendar before Colorado’s January 1 window →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
