How much do metro district taxes add to a new Colorado home?

What a metro district is

A metropolitan district is a special taxing district. Developers often use one to pay for roads, water lines, parks and other infrastructure in a new neighborhood. The district borrows money, and owners in it repay that debt over time through a property tax levy on top of the county, city and school levies.

For a buyer, the result is simple. Two similar homes at the same price can have very different tax bills if one sits inside a metro district.

The disclosures you are owed

Colorado law gives you two layers of warning.

Every residential contract

Under C.R.S. 38-35.7-101, every contract to buy a home must carry a bold notice. It says special taxing districts may carry general obligation debt and that owners "may be placed at risk for increased mill levies and tax to support the servicing of such debt." It tells buyers to check with the county treasurer and review the certificate of taxes due.

Newly built homes in a metro district

Under C.R.S. 38-35.7-110, a seller of a newly built home inside a metro district must give you these items with or before the contract:

• The district's most recent notice to electors
• Its service plan, including amendments
• A statement of its power to issue debt, how the debt is repaid, the maximum debt service mill levy (or that there is none), any operating levy, and other fees
• An estimate of the district's taxes for the year of sale, as a mill levy and a dollar amount based on your price
• The county treasurer's most recent tax statement showing the other taxing entities

The estimate must include a bold warning that it is only an illustration and that taxes may be higher in later years. Read that line twice.

How the tax is figured

The Colorado Division of Property Taxation lays out the math:

1. Actual value comes from comparable sales. For 2025 and 2026, the sales window is January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.
2. Assessed value is actual value times the assessment rate. For 2026, the residential rate is 6.8% for local governments and 7.05% for school districts.
3. Tax is assessed value times the mill levy. One mill is $1 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Metro districts are local governments, so their levy uses the local rate. Properties are revalued in odd-numbered years.

Worked estimate: a $500,000 new build

All mill levies below are illustrative. Use the real ones from your disclosure.

In this example the district adds about $156 a month. At CHFA's 50% debt-to-income ceiling, that equals about $312 of monthly income you would otherwise not need. Try your numbers in the affordability calculator.

Why the first tax bill can surprise you

Colorado property tax is paid in arrears. Bills mailed early in the year cover the year before. Payment is due by April 30 in full, or in two halves at the end of February and June 15, per the Division of Property Taxation.

On a brand-new home, the prior year's bill may reflect only the lot, or a partly built house. Your lender may set up escrow from that low number. When the finished home is assessed, the bill jumps, and your escrow comes up short. Ask your lender to set escrow from the full estimated tax, not last year's bill.

Questions to ask before you sign

1. What is the maximum debt service mill levy, or is there no cap?
2. How much debt has the district issued, and how much more can it issue?
3. Does the district charge fees in addition to taxes, and is there a fee schedule?
4. Is the home also in an HOA? Dues and district taxes can stack.
5. Will the levy change next year? The seller must use updated levies if it knows they will change.

The county treasurer, assessor, clerk and recorder, and board of commissioners can all confirm details, per the contract disclosure.

Planning note: the county treasurer's certificate of taxes due lists every taxing entity on a parcel. If a resale home sits in an older metro district, ask the listing agent for the district's name and look up its levy the same way.

How it fits with down payment help

Most CHFA programs have no price limit, so a new build is fine. The tax affects whether you qualify, not whether the home is allowed. Higher taxes take up room under CHFA's 50% or 55% debt-to-income limit. If a metro district home stretches the numbers, compare it with an older home outside a district at the same price.

Schools To Home's shared appreciation is based on sale price, so a high tax bill does not change that math. It can, however, affect how fast homes in the area resell.

Your next three moves

1. Ask the builder for the metro district disclosure packet at your first visit.
2. Hand the dollar estimate to your lender and ask for a payment quote using it.
3. Compare one non-district home at the same price.

Then check your eligibility to see how much payment room you have.

Questions

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