Tax Exemptions for Seniors / Veterans / Gold Star Spouses

Senior Citizen Exemptions

Note: The General Assembly may eliminate the funding for the Senior Citizen Exemption or Disabled Veteran Exemption in any year in which the budget does not allow for the reimbursement.

Qualified senior citizens are entitled to an exemption equal to 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value of the qualified applicant's primary residence when the State legislature funds the exemption.

Senior Citizens

Qualified seniors must meet the following requirements:

  • The owner-occupier is sixty-five years of age or older as of the assessment date and has owned and occupied such residential real property as his or her primary residence for the ten years preceding the assessment date.
  • The exemption is available on only one property. Legally married individuals may only have one property exemption together.

If the senior(s) also qualifies for a disabled veteran's exemption, the senior(s) will only be entitled to one property exemption.

The application deadline for each tax year is July 15.

Short Form Instructions and Application - this form is used by most qualifying seniors.

Completed Applications should be submitted by July 15 to:

In person
Teller County Assessor's Office
101 W Bennett Avenue
Cripple Creek, CO 80813

By Mail
Teller County Assessor's Office
P.O. Box 1008
Cripple Creek, CO 80813

Senior Citizen's Surviving Spouses

Senior Exemption: Surviving spouses of eligible senior citizens may also qualify for exemptions, provided that the surviving spouse meets the following requirements:

  • The surviving spouse was legally married to a senior citizen who met the age, occupancy and ownership requirements on any January 1 since January 1, 2002; and
  • The surviving spouse has not remarried;
  • The surviving spouse occupied the residential property with the eligible senior citizen as his or her primary residence and still occupies the same property.

The application deadline for each tax year is July 15.

Long Form Instructions and Application - this is used by either surviving spouses of previously qualified applicants or for those properties held in a trust.

Completed Applications should be submitted by July 15 to:
In person- Teller County Assessor's Office 101 W Bennett Avenue Cripple Creek, CO 80813

By Mail- Teller County Assessor's Office P.O. Box 1008 Cripple Creek, CO 80813

Exceptions to Basic Requirements

An applicant may still qualify if the preceding ownership and/or occupancy requirements cannot be met due to any of the following reasons:
Title to the property is held in a trust, a corporate partnership or other legal entity solely for estate planning purposes. The maker of the trust must be the qualifying senior or the spouse of the qualifying senior

The qualifying senior, spouse, or surviving spouse is/was confined to a hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility. The prior home was condemned in an eminent domain proceeding by a governmental entity, or it was sold to a governmental entity upon threat of condemnation by eminent domain.

Applications

Please contact the Assessor's Office for an application. Applications are due on or before July 15 of the year for which exemption is requested. Late applications are accepted until August 15.

Disabled Veterans Exemptions

Disabled veterans are entitled to an exemption equal to 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value of the qualified applicant's primary residence.

Qualified disabled veterans must meet the following requirements:

  • The veteran sustained a service-connected disability while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States. This includes members of the National Guard and Reserves who sustained their injury during a period in which they were called to active duty.
  • The veteran was honorably discharged.
  • The federal Department of Veterans Affairs has rated the veteran's service-connected disability as a one hundred % permanent disability through disability retirement benefits pursuant to a law or regulation administered by the department, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or the Department of the Army, Navy, or Air Force.

The veteran must own the property and must have been an owner of record since January 1 of the year of application.

If the veteran's spouse owns the property, the veteran may meet the ownership requirement if the couple was married on or before January 1 and both have occupied the property as their primary residence since January 1.

In 2014 Colorado's legislature expanded the Disabled Veterans Property Tax Exemption to include the surviving spouse of a prequalifying disabled veteran. The surviving spouse must be the owner-occupier of the residence of a qualifying disabled veteran who previously received the exemption and who passed away.

Applications must be postmarked or delivered to the Division of Veterans Affairs by July 1 of the year in which the exemption is requested.

Instructions and Application Form - for Property Tax Exemption for Disabled Veteran

Disabled Veteran: Surviving Spouses of eligible Disabled Veterans may also qualify for exemptions, provided that the surviving spouse meets the following requirements:

  • The applicant must be the owner-occupier of the property
  • The applicant must be the surviving spouse of a veteran who passed away prior to January 1 of the current year.
  • The veteran to whom the applicant was married must have applied for and been granted the disabled veterans' property tax exemption as provided by § 39-3-203(1.5)(a),C.R.S., prior to his or her death.

Applications must be postmarked or delivered to the Division of Veterans Affairs by July 1 of the year in which the exemption is requested.

Instructions and Application Form - for the Property Tax Exemption for the surviving spouse of a previously qualified Disabled Veteran

Disabled Veteran: Gold Star Spouses

Amendment E expands the current homestead exemption to reduce the property taxes paid by a homeowner who is the surviving spouse of either a military service member who died in the line of duty or a veteran whose death resulted from a service-related injury or disease.
The surviving spouse must be qualified under Federal Law and by the state Department of Military and Veteran affairs. The surviving spouse must provide a complete packet with the Gold Star Spouse Application, documentation that the service members' death was the result of service-related injury or disease, and documentation that the death occurred on active duty or following separation from the military.

Documentation can be the VA Benefits Summary letter or a letter from the Department of Defense. The surviving spouse must not have remarried in order to be eligible.

Applications must be postmarked or delivered to the Division of Veterans Affairs by July 1 of the year in which the exemption is requested.

Instructions and Application Form - for the Property Tax Exemption for Gold Star Spouses

If the property is owned by a trust, corporate partnership, or other legal entity, the veteran will meet the ownership requirement if each of the following items is true:

  • The veteran or spouse is a maker of the trust or a principal of the corporate partnership or legal entity
  • The property was transferred solely for estate planning purposes
  • The veteran or spouse would otherwise be the owner of record

If the disabled veteran also qualifies for a senior citizen's exemption, the disabled veteran will only be entitled to ONE property exemption.

Applications must be postmarked or delivered to the Division of Veterans Affairs by July 1 of the year in which the exemption is requested.

For more information, here is a link to the State Brochure (PDF).