Jacob McCrackin
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Colorado exempts half of the first $200,000 of a qualifying veteran’s home value from property tax. For a veteran with a 100% permanent and total rating, or individual unemployability, that is real money every year, and it is easy to miss because nobody applies it for you.
The rules are short. The dates are where veterans lose a year, especially when they have just bought a house.
According to the Colorado Division of Veterans Affairs, the veteran must have an honorable discharge and either:
Gold Star spouses can qualify too. The spouse must be the surviving spouse of a service member whose death resulted from a service-related injury or disease, as determined by the VA, and must be receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.
There is no age requirement for either. Separately, a surviving spouse of a veteran who already received the exemption may be able to keep it, but has to reapply with the correct form.
The exemption applies only to your primary residence, and you must have owned and occupied it since January 1 of the year you apply. One person or married couple gets one exemption in total. You cannot claim it on two properties, and you cannot combine it with Colorado’s senior exemption on the same home.
Fifty percent of the first $200,000 of the home’s actual value is exempt, so up to $100,000 of value comes off the taxable amount. The dollar savings depend on your mill levy. As a rough guide, El Paso County’s median effective tax rate has been around 0.45% of value, which puts the savings in the neighborhood of $450 a year. Homes in a metropolitan district or a higher-levy area save more.
The reduction shows up a year later than you might expect. If you are approved during the 2026 tax year, you see it on the 2026 tax bill, which arrives in early 2027.
Since January 1, 2024, applications go straight to the county assessor, not to the state. Send yours to the El Paso County Assessor’s Office with your VA Benefit Summary Letter attached. Gold Star spouses without a summary letter can submit DD Form 1300, the Report of Casualty, according to the state’s FAQ.
The filing window runs from January 1 to July 1. Applications that arrive after July 1 are not held for the next year; you file again when the window reopens on January 1. Questions go to the El Paso County Assessor at 719-520-6600.
Once you are approved, you do not reapply every year. You do have to file again within 60 days if your ownership, occupancy or primary residence changes, and again if your VA status changes.
This is the part that catches buyers. You must own and occupy the home on January 1 of the year you apply. Close on a house and move in on December 20, and you can apply in the window that opens January 1. Close on January 10, and that year is gone; your first chance is the following January, and the first lower tax bill comes the year after that.
If you qualify and are buying near the end of the year, it is worth asking whether a December closing is possible. On a move from one Colorado home to another, the exemption does not follow you automatically. You file a new application with the new address in the next January to July window.
Not on the rating alone. You qualify with a 100% permanent and total rating, or with individual unemployability status from the VA. Veterans with individual unemployability are usually rated below 100% but paid at the 100% rate.
Applications go to the El Paso County Assessor between January 1 and July 1, with your VA Benefit Summary Letter attached. You must have owned and occupied the home as your primary residence since January 1 of that year.
Yes. The exemption is tied to your primary residence, so a new home needs a new application to the county assessor in the next January 1 to July 1 window. If you stay put, you do not reapply unless your ownership, occupancy or VA status changes.
Verify with the Assessor: rules and deadlines can change, so confirm your eligibility and the current application form with the El Paso County Assessor’s Office before you file. If you are buying or selling with this exemption in mind, contact us about your timeline and we will plan the closing date around it.
For buying with a VA loan, see our page on working with a VA loan realtor in Colorado Springs. Arriving on orders? Start with military relocation to Colorado Springs.
Sources: Colorado Division of Veterans Affairs, Property Tax Exemption page; Colorado Division of Property Taxation, exemption FAQ; El Paso County Assessor, disabled veteran exemption page; Property Tax Almanac (El Paso County median effective rate). Read October 23, 2026. Last updated October 23, 2026.
Jacob McCrackin is a U.S. Army veteran and a former Staff Sergeant. As an associate broker with Solid Oak Realty in Colorado Springs, he helps veterans buy and sell homes, including timing a purchase so benefits like this one are not delayed a year.