Senior Tax Deferral. Property must be owner-occupied Must own or be buying the property. Total amount owed must be less than 75% of value

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1 Senior Programs

2 Senior Tax Deferral

3 Senior Tax Deferral A State program C.R.S. (1) (a) Subject to the provisions of this article, a person who is sixty-five years of age or older or who is a person called into military service on January 1 of the year in which the person files a claim under this section may elect to defer the payment of real property taxes. To exercise this option, the taxpayer shall file a claim for deferral with the treasurer of the county in which the taxpayer's homestead is located. The claim shall be filed after January 1 and on or before April 1 of each year in which the taxpayer claims the deferral.

4 Senior Tax Deferral Property must be owner-occupied Must own or be buying the property Total amount owed must be less than 75% of value Must not be income producing Must be over 65 years old

5 Senior Tax Deferral This is essentially a loan from the State against the property equal to the property tax owed Property owner is responsible for paying taxes and interest Interest is set at same level as ten-year treasury note This year = 2.25% State backfills the County for property taxes The lien created by the deferral is junior to any mortgage or deed of trust held prior

6 Senior Tax Deferral Boulder 357 $ 6,354, El Paso 53 $ 321, Arapahoe 28 $ 448, Jefferson 28 $ 333, Denver 12 $ 99, Larimer 11 $ 114, Douglas 10 $ 245, Pitkin 8 $ 263, Garfield 6 $ 52, Mesa 5 $ 54, Adams 4 $ 40, Delta 2 $ 10, Ouray 2 $ 18, Eagle 1 $ 3, Elbert 1 $ 1,171.80

7 Senior Tax Deferral Who s in the program?

8 Senior Homestead Exemption

9 Senior Homestead Exemption

10 Senior Homestead Exemption Article X, Section 3.5

11 Senior Homestead Exemption Passed in % of the first $200,000 of actual value Funded by the State General Fund Can be lowered by the Legislature: Article X, Section 3.5, (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, section 20 of this article, or any other constitutional provision, for any property tax year commencing on or after January 1, 2003, the general assembly may raise or lower by law the maximum amount of actual value of residential real property of which fifty percent shall be exempt under subsection (1) of this section.

12 Senior Homestead Exemption Must be 65 or older Must be owner-occupied as primary residence Must have lived in house for at least 10 years or be a surviving spouse

13 Senior Homestead Exemption Number of Senior Applicants Number of Veteran Applicants Exempted Actual Value Seniors Exempted Actual Value Veterans Exempted Taxes Seniors Exempted Taxes Veterans Payment to Counties 207,457 4,235 $17 Billion $338 Million $114 Million $2.4 Million $117 Million

14 Property Tax/ Rent/ Heat Credit (PTC) Rebate

15 Property Tax/ Rent/ Heat Credit (PTC) Rebate A Colorado Resident Age 65 or older or surviving spouse 58 years or older Income based: Single income less than $12,720 Married income less than $17,146

16 Property Tax/ Rent/ Heat Credit (PTC) Rebate Pays in installments a portion of taxes or rent and a portion of utility bill. Amount paid is figured by formula

17 LEAP

18 LEAP Low-Income Energy Assistance Program

19 LEAP LEAP is primarily a federally funded program that helps eligible hard working Colorado families, seniors and individuals pay a portion of their winter home heating costs. It is not intended to pay the entire cost of home heating, but rather to help alleviate some of the burden associated with the colder months.

20 LEAP Applications accepted starting November 1 st HEAT-HELP ( ) Managed through County Department of Human Services

21 LEAP Last Season the program served 81,445 Average Benefit was $ In addition to LEAP: Crisis Intervention Program Help with repair or replacements of home heating systems Weatherization Program Through the Colorado Energy Office, helps with energy efficiency improvements

22 Boulder County Senior Tax Worker Program

23 Boulder County Senior Tax Worker Program 60 years or older Owner-occupied location in Boulder County Earn $10 per hour Earn between $240 and $1,000 County General Fund pays ½ Department where working pays ½ Earnings based only on County portion of taxes Wages are paid directly to worker

24 Boulder County Senior Tax Worker Program Social Security and PERA are deducted Applications go through BOCC Departments determine availability and best use Wages are not deducted from property tax owed, rather they are paid directly to the senior worker Participants are still responsible for paying their own taxes

25 Boulder County Senior Tax Worker Program Treasurer s Office Filing Sorting Tax Collection Sites

26 Boulder County Senior Tax Worker Program Throughout the County Clerical Bookkeeping Auto Repair Gardening Phones Translation Trail and Weed maintenance

27 Boulder County Senior Tax Worker Program Who s in the program?

28 You damn kids, get off my lawn!

29 State Treasurer s Office Jamila Loftis Colorado State Treasury 200 East Colfax, Suite 140 Denver, CO phone fax (who uses one of these?) jamila.loftis@state.co.us