SB 18-273

Senate Bill 18-273, which has been signed into law, helps Colorado seniors who need to move due to medical reasons but have not lived in their new home for the full ten years required to qualify for a property tax exemption. If a senior had previously qualified for this exemption at another home but was forced to leave it because of health issues and hasn't owned or occupied another primary residence since, they can now get the same property tax break on their current home as if they had lived there for ten years. This applies to anyone who meets these criteria starting from January 1, 2019. The law is designed to ease financial burdens on seniors facing medical challenges by allowing them to qualify for property tax relief sooner than usual under certain conditions.

Official Summary

The bill specifies that for property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2019, 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 medical necessity forced the senior to stop occupying the former primary residence; The senior has not previously received the exemption by operation of the medical necessity exemption for any former primary residence; 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 that a physician licensed to practice medicine in Colorado has certified as having required a senior to stop occupying his or her prior primary residence. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More

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