How do I appeal my property assessment in El Paso County?

What you're actually appealing

You are not appealing your tax bill. You are appealing the Assessor's estimate of your property's actual value, or its classification. The Assessor sets value. The legislature sets the assessment rate, and the taxing districts set the mill levies, and neither of those is appealable. If you want the background on how those three pieces combine, start with How do property taxes work in Colorado Springs and El Paso County?

One encouraging thing the Assessor's office states plainly: there is no presumption in favor of the Assessor's value. At the protest stage, you and the Assessor are on equal footing.

The single most important rule

Colorado law fixes the date your value is measured against, and it is not today.

Real property is reappraised in odd-numbered years, and each cycle uses a statutory data-gathering period. For the 2025 and 2026 values, that period was the 18 months from January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. The Assessor is estimating what your home was worth at the end of that window.

So if you pull three recent sales off a listing portal and send them in, you have submitted evidence about the wrong period, no matter how accurate those sales are. The Assessor cannot consider them. This is the most common reason a reasonable-sounding appeal goes nowhere.

The Assessor also notes that Colorado law requires residential property to be valued by the market approach only, and adds a pointed tip: a square-foot value is not the market approach. Dividing your neighbor's sale price by square footage and applying it to your house is not an argument the office can act on.

What evidence the Assessor accepts

The Assessor's office lists supporting documentation as a recent appraisal, photographs, comparable sales, or a written description of the condition of the property. Comparable sales are explicitly on that list, which is why this is worth doing properly rather than emotionally.

Useful evidence looks like:

• Comparable sales from the correct data period, similar to your property in location, size, age, style, and condition.
• Errors in the Assessor's record. If the office has your square footage, bedroom count, basement finish, or lot characteristics wrong, a fair value cannot be estimated from bad data. Correcting the record is often faster and more effective than arguing about value.
• Condition problems that a mass appraisal cannot see: foundation movement, a failed roof, deferred maintenance, drainage issues, an unusual lot.
• A recent appraisal, if you happen to have one from close to the valuation date.
• Your own purchase price, if you bought during the data period.

The county publishes its Re-Appraisal Sale Data so you can see the sales it worked from, and you can look at your own property record online. Start there — sometimes the record explains the value and there's nothing to appeal.

Where I can help

This is the part where calling your REALTOR® is genuinely useful rather than a formality, because pulling comparable sales from a defined historical window and adjusting them to a specific appraisal date is ordinary work for someone with MLS access and not at all ordinary for a homeowner with a browser.

If you want a comparative market analysis to support an appeal, I'm glad to put one together. What I'd do is pull sales from the statutory period the Assessor is required to use, select comps that actually resemble your property, and lay out the adjustments so the office can follow the reasoning. Comparable sales are on the Assessor's own list of accepted documentation, so this is evidence in the form the county asked for.

Two honest caveats. A CMA is not a licensed appraisal, and if your case is large or complicated, a certified appraisal carries more weight. And I can't promise an outcome — what I can do is make sure your evidence is the right kind, from the right period, so the appeal is decided on its merits.

The deadlines, and a discrepancy worth knowing about

Deadlines here are strict, and missing one forfeits the right for that year.

Read this part carefully. The county's own sources are not currently consistent. The Assessor's appeals page states the Notice of Determination will be issued on or before August 15, while the Clerk and Recorder's Board of Equalization page sets the CBOE deadline at July 15 with hearings concluding August 5, and the Assessor's assessment calendar and Notice of Determination template both reference the last working day in June under county Resolution 16-389. A July 15 CBOE deadline cannot follow an August 15 determination.

I'm not in a position to resolve that, and neither is any website. Go by the dates printed on your own Notice of Valuation and Notice of Determination, and call the Assessor's office at (719) 520-6600 to confirm the current year's deadlines before you rely on any of them. On something where a missed date ends your appeal, verify rather than trust an article, including this one.

How to file

You have several options, and none of them require a lawyer:

• Online through the county's property record search, using the 10-digit schedule number from the upper left of your Notice of Valuation. Complete the form and upload your documentation.
• In writing — the back of your Notice of Valuation is the official appeal form.
• By telephone, mail, fax, or walk-in.

Three procedural points that trip people up. All documentation must be surrendered at the time you file, so don't plan to send your evidence later. If you're appealing more than one property, each parcel needs its own complete, separate submission even if the documents are identical. And keep proof of mailing — you may be asked to show that you filed on time.

An informal review with the Assessor's office is available and is not required before appealing. It's often worth doing, because it can resolve a record error without a formal appeal at all.

If the Assessor denies you

You appeal to the County Board of Equalization. In El Paso County those hearings are conducted by independent referees appointed by the CBOE, held virtually, with each side given ten minutes to present. The referee's finding is the final action of the CBOE.

Note the shift: at the protest stage there's no presumption in favor of the Assessor, but at the CBOE the petitioner carries the burden of presenting evidence as to value. Bring your documentation, and be ready to explain it in ten minutes.

If you're dissatisfied with the CBOE, you have three routes within 30 days of the decision letter: the state Board of Assessment Appeals, district court, or binding arbitration through the County Commissioners. Arbitration decisions are final and not subject to review, so understand that before choosing it. Beyond that, appeals go to the Court of Appeals within 30 days of a BAA decision or 45 days of a district court decision.

If you missed the window entirely

You may be able to file a petition for abatement or refund, which corrects taxes levied erroneously or illegally, including through overvaluation, under § 39-10-114, C.R.S. Abatements are limited to two years.

There's a trap in the sequencing. If you protested for the year in question and received a Notice of Determination, you generally cannot later get an abatement on the grounds of overvaluation for that same year. Clerical errors and illegalities are a different matter and can be corrected regardless. Practically: don't treat the abatement as a backup plan for an appeal you expect to lose.

What could change the answer

• Which year it is. Values are reset in odd-numbered years, and 2027 is the next reappraisal. In intervening even-numbered years, only properties that changed receive a new Notice of Valuation.
• The data period. Each cycle uses its own statutory window, and using the wrong one is fatal to an appeal.
• The county's published dates. See the discrepancy above. Confirm before you rely on any date.
• What kind of problem you have. A record error is usually a phone call. A value disagreement is an evidence exercise. They're different projects.
• Whether it's worth it. Work out roughly what a reduction would save you before you invest a lot of time. Multiply the value reduction you're seeking by your assessment rate, then by your mill levy.

When to talk with a professional

The El Paso County Assessor's office at (719) 520-6600 is the authority on your value, your record, and the current deadlines, and the Clerk to the Board at (719) 520-6430 handles the CBOE side. For a high-value property or a contested commercial case, a certified appraiser and, past the CBOE, a property tax attorney are worth the cost. I'm a real estate professional, not an appraiser or an attorney — what I bring is the comparable sales data and how to frame it.

About the author

Weldon Hobbs is a Colorado Springs REALTOR® and co-founder of Team Hobbs Realty. He is a member of The Platinum Group, REALTORS®, Colorado Springs' #1 independent brokerage, which pairs deep local expertise with premium marketing exposure. A U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and retired Air Force veteran, he and his family made more than 10 military moves. Since 2006, he and his wife, Kristen, have bought and sold their own homes, managed a portfolio of rental properties, and guided others through their own real estate decisions. He has also helped both family members and clients downsize, where the decisions are often complex and the process can feel overwhelming. Drawing on his background as a PMP® (Project Management Professional), he helps people break those decisions into clear, manageable steps.

Since beginning his real estate career, he has ranked in the top 7% by sales volume among the more than 4,000 members of the Pikes Peak Association of REALTORS®. He works with military families, seniors and downsizing clients, luxury and premium home sellers, and people relocating to Colorado Springs. He developed the Life → Wealth → Real Estate™ method, hosts the national YouTube channel Life & Real Estate Without Regret, and holds an MBA along with the SRES® (Seniors Real Estate Specialist®), MRP (Military Relocation Professional), and Certified Financial Coach credentials. More about Weldon

Sources

• El Paso County Assessor, Re-Appraisal, Appeal & Notice of Value Information (appeal window, accepted documentation, market approach requirement, online and written filing, no presumption in favor of the Assessor's value, appeal routes beyond the CBOE). assessor.elpasoco.com
• El Paso County Assessor, Assessment Calendar (Notice of Determination on or before the last working day in June; CBOE sitting dates). assessor.elpasoco.com
• El Paso County Clerk and Recorder, Board of Equalization Appeal Process (July 15 real property and July 20 personal property deadlines; referee hearings concluding August 5; five-business-day decision; petitioner's burden of proof; Resolution No. 16-389). clerkandrecorder.elpasoco.com
• § 39-1-104(12.3)(a), C.R.S. (18-month data-gathering period for the 2025 and 2026 valuations).
• § 39-8-107, C.R.S. (county board of equalization hearings and decision deadlines). law.justia.com
• § 39-10-114, C.R.S., and Colorado Division of Property Taxation, Protests and Appeals (abatement and refund procedure; two-year limit; overvaluation bar where a determination was issued). dpt.colorado.gov