Preserve Senior And Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption

The bill specifies that for property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2020, a senior is deemed to be a 10-year owner-occupier of a primary residence that the senior has owned and occupied for less than 10 years and therefore qualifies for the senior property tax exemption for the residence if:

• The senior would have qualified for the senior property tax exemption for the senior's former primary residence but for the fact that medical necessity required the senior to stop occupying the former primary residence;
• The senior has not previously received the exemption for a former primary residence on the basis of medical necessity; and
• The senior has not owned and occupied another primary residence since the senior first stopped occupying his or her former primary residence due to medical necessity.

"Medical necessity" is defined as a medical condition of a senior that a physician licensed to practice medicine in Colorado has certified, on a form developed by the state property tax administrator, as having required the senior to stop occupying the senior's prior primary residence. When applying for such an exemption, a senior must provide to the assessor the form establishing proof of medical necessity.

For any property tax year commencing on or after January 1, 2019, the bill prohibits the general assembly from reducing or suspending the exemption for qualifying seniors and disabled veterans by lowering the maximum amount of actual value of residential real property that is the primary residence of a qualifying senior or a qualifying disabled veteran of which 50% is exempt from property taxation below $200,000 unless the amount of general fund revenue for the state fiscal year that ended during the prior property tax year is less than the amount of general fund revenue for the next preceding state fiscal year. If the general assembly lowers the amount of actual value of residential real property that is the primary residence of a qualifying senior or a qualifying disabled veteran of which 50% is exempt from property taxation for a property tax year below $200,000 in accordance with the new limitation established by the bill, that amount automatically increases to $200,000 for any subsequent property tax year for which the amount of general fund revenue for the state fiscal year that ended during the prior property tax year is equal to or more than the amount of general fund revenue for the next preceding state fiscal year.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)