Civic LookupFOR THE PEOPLE

See where your property tax is actually going. And why.

Property tax lookup and breakdown

Select your Colorado county

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Built by Jesse Lind for his Arapahoe County Assessor campaign (opens in a new tab)

Two numbers raise your property taxes

Property value

What the county says your property is worth

Mill levy

Everyone on your tax bill, added up

From appraised value to a tax bill

Here's a sample property to show how this works.

Step 1. Colorado sets two assessment rates

This is the percent of your property value that can be taxed. Homes use two rates: one for schools, one for other local governments on the bill.

Local-government assessment rate

6.8%

Used for county, city, fire, metro, and other non-school bill entries.

School assessment rate

7.05%

Used only for school tax on the bill.

On residential property, Colorado uses a separate school assessed value. Other property types follow different assessment-rate rules.

Colorado Division of Property Taxation: Assessed Value (opens in a new tab)

Step 2. The county appraises your property

Appraised value (actual value) is what the Assessor puts on your property. It is the starting number.

Step 3. Appraised value becomes two assessed values

Multiply appraised value by each assessment rate.

Find local assessed value

$500,000 times 6.8% equals local assessed $34,000

Find school assessed value

$500,000 times 7.05% equals school assessed $35,250

Step 4. Mills and the mill levy

A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. Each district sets its own mills. Add every district together and you get the mill levy: the combined rate on your bill.

Here's a sample mill levy:

  • School District40 mills
  • County25 mills
  • Fire15 mills
  • Metro District20 mills
  • Mill levy total100 mills

Step 5. School mills use school assessed value

School District - 40 mills

$40 for every $1,000. Apply that rate to school assessed value $35,250: $1,410. See the math: $35,250 / 1,000 × 40 mills = $1,410.

Step 6. Other districts use local assessed value

County - 25 mills

$25 for every $1,000. Apply that rate to local assessed value $34,000: $850. See the math: $34,000 / 1,000 × 25 mills = $850.

Fire - 15 mills

$15 for every $1,000. Apply that rate to local assessed value $34,000: $510. See the math: $34,000 / 1,000 × 15 mills = $510.

Metro District - 20 mills

$20 for every $1,000. Apply that rate to local assessed value $34,000: $680. See the math: $34,000 / 1,000 × 20 mills = $680.

Step 7. Add the pieces for the tax bill

$1,410 + $850 + $510 + $680 = $3,450

Proposed tax increases and revenue limit waiver

On the November 3, 2026 General Election ballot

Arapahoe County School District No. 6 (Littleton Public Schools)

Proposed tax increase

On the November 3, 2026 General Election ballot

Ballot Issue 4A asks for $10,289,724 more in the first full .

See what's on the ballot

Ballot Issue 4A: override (a voter-approved higher mill rate) for General Fund school purposes

Voters are asked to raise District taxes by $10,289,724 in 2026 for collection in 2027 (and by other amounts in later years up to a ), with the new revenue going to the General Fund (the district's main operating budget) for purposes such as attracting and retaining teachers, school safety, and academic and career programs. The ballot also asks that those revenues be spent as a voter-approved revenue change under .

Proposed tax increase (first full )
$10,289,724

Official source

Arapahoe County TABOR Notice 2026 (opens in a new tab)

Bennett Fire Protection District

Revenue limit waiver

On the November 3, 2026 General Election ballot

Ballot Issue 7G would waive the for all future years.

See what's on the ballot

Ballot Issue 7G: Waive the

Voters are asked to waive the for all future property tax years. The ballot wording says this is without increasing property taxes. The same question also asks that all District revenues be collected, retained, and spent even if revenue limits in law would otherwise block that.

Official source

Arapahoe County TABOR Notice 2026 (opens in a new tab)

Bennett School District No. 29J

Proposed tax increase

On the November 3, 2026 General Election ballot

Ballot Issue 5A asks for $11,000,000 more in the first full and up to $125,000,000 in new debt.

See what's on the ballot

Ballot Issue 5A: and property tax for school buildings

Voters are asked to raise District debt by up to $125 million ( up to $235 million) and to raise District taxes by up to $11 million a year to repair and improve school buildings and address enrollment growth, including a new high school and converting the existing high school to a middle school. The ballot asks for property taxes charged without limit as to the mill rate, up to those dollar caps, to pay the .

Proposed tax increase (first full )
$11,000,000
Proposed
$125,000,000
Total cost (maximum)
$235,000,000

Official source

Arapahoe County TABOR Notice 2026 (opens in a new tab)

Hills at Cherry Creek Metropolitan District

Proposed tax increase

On the November 3, 2026 General Election ballot

Ballot Issue 6A asks for $105,000 more in the first full . Expected additional in the election notice: 3.688 mills.

See what's on the ballot

Ballot Issue 6A: Property tax increase for district operations

Voters are asked to raise District taxes by $105,000 a year beginning in 2027 (and by inflation plus local growth each year after that) for operations and maintenance such as the perimeter wall, playground, park, and courts. The county Clerk's election notice states the levy is expected to be an additional 3.688 . The ballot also asks to collect and spend those revenues even if and the would otherwise block that.

Proposed tax increase (first full )
$105,000
Expected additional (election notice)
3.688 mills
Election notice cost example
About $20.90 per month for a $1,000,000 residence in 2027

Official source

Arapahoe County TABOR Notice 2026 (opens in a new tab)

We're constantly digging into why your property taxes are changing.

Here are the latest updates.

Cherry Creek Basin Water Quality AuthorityUp 4.7% from last year

Who authorized this?

According to the 2024 Colorado Revised Statutes Title 25 § 25-8.5-111 (opens in a new tab), this authority may levy property tax of not more than one-half mill unless electors approve a higher levy.

See each step

  1. Who gets this money?

    This mill's property-tax revenue helps pay for water-quality work in the Cherry Creek basin, including monitoring Cherry Creek Reservoir and pollution-abatement projects.

    Name on the county tax list
    CHERRY CREEK BASIN AUTH

  2. What changed?

    County published rates for this authority have moved between 0.425 and 0.500 in the years we track. Authority budgets show a 0.500 general mill with a temporary reduction in some years so collections stay under .

  3. Property-tax levy limit

    Not more than one-half unless electors approve a higher levy
    Colorado law says this authority may levy and collect a property tax of not more than one-half mill unless electors approve a higher levy.
    Temporary mill levy reduction (2026 budget)
    The 2026 adopted budget shows a 0.500 general mill with a temporary mill levy reduction of 0.050 mills under , for a billed total of 0.450 mills.
    Sixty percent of revenues on pollution abatement (C.R.S. § 25-8.5-111)
    State law says at least 60 percent of the authority's annual revenues from fees, tolls, and property tax must be spent on construction and maintenance of pollution-abatement projects in the Cherry Creek basin, or on debt incurred entirely for those projects.
What we can't say for sure
  • The authority publishes one total mill rate on your bill. Recent authority budgets show a general mill with a temporary mill levy reduction so collections stay under TABOR, below the one-half mill ceiling in state law. From the county rate table alone, we cannot show a separate temporary-reduction line versus that general mill.
  • This trail covers the property-tax mill on your levy list. The authority also collects recreation, building-permit, and wastewater fees. Those fees are not part of this property-tax authorization trail.

Arapahoe Law Enforcement AuthorityNo change from last year

Who authorized this?

According to the 2025 Arapahoe County Adopted Budget (opens in a new tab), the base mill levy has been 4.982 since 1993 when voters approved a 0.900 mill increase.

See each step

  1. Who gets this money?

    This mill's property-tax revenue pays for sheriff law enforcement in unincorporated Arapahoe County. Owners of property in a city or town do not pay this mill.

    Name on the county tax list
    ARAPAHOE COUNTY L.E.A.

  2. What changed?

    County published rates for this authority have been 4.982 across the years we track.

    Change from last year

    2024: 4.982 mills

    2025: 4.982 mills

    No change in mills

  3. Property-tax levy limit

    Up to seven mills for operating expenses
    Colorado law says this authority may levy a property tax of not more than seven for operating expenses.
    4.982 mills since 1993 (county budget)
    The 2025 adopted budget says the base mill levy has been 4.982 since 1993, when voters approved a 0.900 mill increase.
    Who sits as the board (C.R.S. § 30-11-404)
    On the effective date of the creating resolution, the board of county commissioners sits as the governing board of the authority because they hold county office, not because voters elect a separate authority board.
    1998 TABOR revenue change (county budget)
    The 2025 adopted budget says voters in the unincorporated area approved a revenue change in November 1998 that ended the fiscal-year spending limit for this authority. The authority remains subject to other TABOR limits.
    Ballot Issue 5A (November 1998)

    Yes: 34,921 (70.07%)

    No: 14,914 (29.93%)

What we can't say for sure
  • State law says electors must approve creating a law enforcement authority. The 2025 county budget describes later voter approvals in 1993 and 1998, and we link the 1998 certified yes/no totals for Ballot Issue 5A. We have not located the 1993 ballot wording, the 1998 ballot wording, or the creation election among Arapahoe County's published election files.

West Arapahoe Conservation DistrictNo change from last year

Who authorized this?

According to the 2024 Colorado Revised Statutes Title 35 § 35-70-109 (opens in a new tab), this district may levy property tax only after qualified electors approve it, and not more than one-half mill.

See each step

  1. Who gets this money?

    When this district collects a property-tax mill that qualified electors approved, that money pays for the district's conservation work, including soil and water conservation, erosion control, and related land stewardship in its area.

    Name on the county tax list
    W. ARAP. CONSERVATION DIS

  2. What changed?

    County published s for this authority have been 0.000 mills across the years we track. This line can still appear on your levy list even when it does not add property-tax dollars.

    Change from last year

    2024: 0.000 mills

    2025: 0.000 mills

    No change in mills

  3. Property-tax levy limit

    Property tax only after qualified electors approve it, capped at half a mill
    Colorado law says this district may not impose a property-tax levy unless qualified electors of the district approve it, and that levy may not exceed one-half mill.
    Who may vote on a levy (C.R.S. § 35-70-104)
    For these districts, a qualified elector is a registered voter or corporation that owns land in the district, or an heir or devisee of that land (someone who inherits it from a deceased landowner).
What we can't say for sure
  • State law says this district cannot collect a property-tax mill until qualified electors approve a levy. County property-tax tables show 0.000 mills for the years we track. We have not located a published mill-levy election for this district, so we cannot say whether qualified electors ever approved a levy that is not being collected today.