Tax notices are mailed each January for the previous year. By the time you get your tax notice, it is too late to protest or appeal your property value.
Key Dates for 2024 property valuation appeals
May 1: Notices of Valuation mailed to owners of real property
May 2 - June 10: Protest period for real property. Protest Form
June 17: Notices of Valuation mailed to owners of taxable business personal property
June 18 - July 1: Protest period for business personal property
Press Release: 2023 San Juan County Property Values up 58.5%
For tax years 2023 and 2024, the county assessor is required by law to appraise all real property at a June 30, 2022 level of value. Between May 2 and June 10, owners of real property can protest the value or the classification established by the assessor. This protest period provides an opportunity for taxpayers to inform the assessor of errors in classification, property description, or other discrepancies that may result in a reduction in value or a change in classification.
Protests to the assessor must be postmarked or delivered by June 10. The assessor will make decisions concerning protests and mail written Notices of Determination on or before the last working day in June. If you are satisfied with the assessor's determination, the tax bill you receive next January will be based on the value and classification reflected on the Notice of Determination.
If you disagree with the assessor's decision, you may file an appeal with the County Board of Equalization (CBOE). An appeal to the CBOE must be postmarked or hand-delivered no later than July 15. The county board will notify you by mail of the hearing date, time, and place where you may present evidence to substantiate your case.
Evidence includes documentation such as the sale prices of comparable properties. The county board will conclude hearings and render decisions by August 5. The county board must mail decisions within five business days of the date of its decision. If you are satisfied with the county board's decision, the tax bill you receive next January will be based on the valuation and classification reflected in the county board's decision.
If you disagree with the action of the county board, you may file an appeal with the State Board of Assessment Appeals or the district court, or you may request a binding arbitration hearing. Your appeal must be made within 30 days of the date of the county board's mailed decision.
Property Valuation Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Isn’t there a limit to how much you can increase my property value/taxes?
A: No, at least not at this time. State Statutes require assessors to value property at market value, and tests those values against actual sales. State legislation or ballot proposition would be needed to cap valuation increases.
Q: Why did my property go up more (or less) than others?
A: The increase of 58.5% from the previous valuation is an average. Half of all properties are up more than that. Each re-appraisal is based on a new set of local sales data. The calculations per size and adjustments for various characteristics change each time. That said, very similar properties should be valued similarly to each other. Fair and equitable valuation is what we strive for.
Q: Does this mean that Town/County/School will be getting 58.5% more tax revenue?
A: No, not exactly. Assessment rates throughout Colorado are lower for 2023, and the State Legislature passed several bills to lower taxes in anticipation of the broad increase in property values. The 2023 estimated tax printed on each Notice last May included a value reduction of $30,000 for commercial and $15,o00 for residential properties. Later, Senate Bill 23B-001 reduced taxable residential values by a total of $55,000. Manufactured Homes worth less than $28,000 are now tax-exempt.
Q: I didn’t do anything to my property! How could the value change so much?
A: It was the sales prices for property comparable to yours that changed.
Q: My land would be prohibitively expensive to build on. Shouldn’t it be worth less?
A: It is true that some land in Silverton would be especially expensive to develop. It is also true that many mining claims in the County are prohibited from being developed by current land use code. We have done our best to adjust the value of those properties using sales of similarly difficult or “unbuildable” properties.
Q: My Notice of Valuation has an error. Do I have to go through the appeal process?
A: No. Just contact the assessor’s office to ask for it to be corrected. The earlier you catch the error, the better. We appreciate any opportunity to improve the accuracy of our data.
Have a different question? Just ask!
Kimberly Buck
San Juan County Assessor
Mail: PO Box 596 Silverton CO 81433 Office: 1557 Greene Street, Silverton CO
Web: sanjuancounty.colorado.gov/assessor Email: assessor@SanJuanColorado.us
Phone: 970-387-5632 Hours: by appointment
Real property is reappraised by the Assessor's Office every odd-numbered year. The value determined by the assessor for the year of reappraisal is generally used for the intervening year also. The actual value of real property based on its value as of the appraisal date, which is June 30 of the year prior to the reappraisal year.
The assessor is required to send a Notice of Valuation to property owners by May 1 of each reappraisal year (odd-numbered years) for real property. During intervening years (even-numbered years), January's Tax Notices serve as Notices of Valuation. Only those real properties increasing in value from the previous year will receive a Notice of Valuation in May.
The deadlines for appeal are statutory and enforced. If you feel the value the assessor has placed on your property is incorrect, you may wish to file an appeal.
An assessment appeal is not a complaint about higher taxes. It is an attempt to demonstrate that your property's estimated market value is inaccurate. You have the right to appeal your property value or its classification.