Arapahoe County
Property Tax Guide

Assessment administration: Revaluation cycle: Every 2 years. Director is Elected. County governments in Colorado are responsible for overseeing the discovery, listing, classification, and valuation of all property within the county. All 64 counties in the state oversee property assessments in their jurisdictions.

Classification and ratios: Class 1 6.7%; Multi-Family Residential 6.7%; Class 2 27.9%; Class 3 87.5%

Tax limits: With repeal of the Gallagher Amendment, the assessment limits are set by the legislature. The 2022 legislation set the assessment rate for nonresidential, not including agricultural or renewal energy production property, at 27.9% and 26.4% for agricultural and renewable energy production property for tax year 2024. An exemption for improved commercial properties is the lesser of $30,000 or an amount for the assessed value to be $1,000, except possessory interests and personal property do not qualify for the value adjustment. The rate for residential property for 2024 is set at 6.7% for residential property, including multi-family properties. An exemption for residential properties is the lesser of $55,000 or an amount for the assessed value to be $1,000 .

Agricultural treatment: The actual value of agricultural land, exclusive of improvements, is based on the earning or productive capacity of the land, capitalized at the statutory rate of 13% to arrive at an indication of actual value. The landlord’s gross income is calculated by multiplying the 10-year average price of the commodity or grazing rental rate by the yield associated with the subject property’s soil classification, and then multiplying that figure by the typical landlord’s crop share. The 10-year average of typical landlord expenses (statewide) are subtracted from the landlord’s gross income to arrive at the landlord’s net income. The assessment ratio for agricultural land is 26.4% which is less than as commercial and industrial properties and higher than residential properties.

Personal property treatment: Personal property taxed: Yes, but see explanation. Inventory taxed: No. Machinery and equipment taxed: Yes, but see footnote

Transfer charges: The state-mandated documentary fee on deed or instrument in writing is $0.01 for each $100 of total consideration paid by the purchaser, inclusive of the amount of any lien or encumbrance against the real property granted or conveyed and all charges and expenses required to be paid for the making of such grant or conveyance, on transactions that exceed $500. The passage of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) in 1992 explicitly prohibits new or increased transfer tax rates on real property and thus prevents additional municipalities from instituting local transfer taxes, but municipalities holding such authority prior to 14 January 1993 retain their authority under the state constitution...

Legal definition: "Real property" means: (a) All lands or interests in lands to which title or the right of title has been acquired from the government of the United States or from sovereign authority ratified by treaties entered into by the United States, or from the state; (b) All mines, quarries, and minerals in and under the land, and all rights and privileges thereunto appertaining; and (c) Improvements.