El Paso County, CO Property Tax Appeals: CBOE (2026)

El Paso County, Colorado property owners can challenge their assessor's valuation first with the Assessor's Office directly, then with the County Board of Equalization (CBOE), and beyond that with the state Board of Assessment Appeals, district court, or binding arbitration. Colorado reassesses real property only in odd-numbered years, and the county confirms that "2025 values will be in effect for tax year 2026" — so 2026 is an intervening year in which only properties with a documented change (new construction, a permit, or previously omitted property) receive a new Notice of Valuation and appeal rights. For 2026, the residential assessment rate the county applies to convert market value into taxable assessed value is 6.8%, and the county's own protest window for the current cycle has already closed, with the next full reappraisal due in 2027. Appeals require documentation submitted at the time of filing — the Assessor's Office is explicit that "all documentation must be surrendered at the time you file your appeal."

How assessments work in El Paso County

Colorado reassesses real property on a two-year cycle: odd-numbered years (2023, 2025, 2027) are full reappraisal years, and the following even-numbered year — like 2026 — is an intervening year where, per the Assessor's Office, "the value remains the same unless a change has been made affecting the value or use of the property." The county confirms directly that "2025 values will be in effect for tax year 2026," and for intervening years, "only properties that have experienced a change will receive a[n NOV]." Under Colorado Statute § 39-1-104(12.3)(a), the data used to set those 2025/2026 values comes from an 18-month sales study running from January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024, with a 2023 base year. As of 2023, the county reported 283,492 active real property parcels.

Colorado doesn't tax the full market value of a property. Instead, actual value is multiplied by a state-set assessment rate to produce the taxable assessed value, and that assessed value is what taxing authorities apply their mill levies against. The El Paso County Assessor's Office states plainly: "For 2026, the assessment rate for residential is 6.8%, commercial is 25% and vacant land is 26%." A mill levy then converts assessed value into a tax bill — "one mill equals $1 in tax for every $1,000 of assessed property value," per the County Treasurer. For tax year 2025 (billed in 2026), the Treasurer's mill-levy table lists El Paso County government itself at 6.857 mills, the City of Colorado Springs at 3.009 mills, Colorado Springs School District 11 at 37.695 mills, and the Pikes Peak Library District at 2.938 mills — a combined 50.499 mills from just those four entities. Using that partial total, a $50,000 reduction in a property's actual value works out to a $3,400 reduction in assessed value (at the 6.8% residential rate), which against those four levies alone is roughly $3,400 × 50.499 ÷ 1,000 = about $172 per year — before adding any fire, water, sanitation, or other special-district levies that may also apply to a specific parcel. Because El Paso County has many overlapping taxing districts, look up your own parcel's full combined levy through the Treasurer's mill-levy table or your tax bill before estimating savings.

Whether you should appeal

An appeal challenges the Assessor's determination of actual value, not the tax bill itself, and the county wants documentation up front: file supporting evidence such as "a recent appraisal, photographs, comparable sales, or a written description of the condition of the property," and note that "all documentation must be surrendered at the time you file your appeal" — there's no separate window to add evidence later in the initial round. The Assessor's Office also recommends pulling information on similar, recently sold properties in your neighborhood as part of building a comparable-sales case.

Because 2026 is an intervening year, most El Paso County property owners won't receive a new Notice of Valuation or have appeal rights this year — only parcels where something changed (new construction, a permit, previously omitted property, or a correction) get a 2026 notice and a matching appeal window. If your 2025 value is what's currently on your bill and you believe it was wrong, ask the Assessor's Office whether a separate abatement process is available for a prior tax year rather than waiting for the next reappraisal notice.

Step-by-step how to file

1. Confirm whether you have a live appeal right. In an intervening year like 2026, only property owners who receive a Notice of Valuation — because something about the property changed — have a fresh appeal window; check your notice or call (719) 520-6600 to confirm your status.
2. File with the Assessor's Office. You can appeal online through the Property Record Search tool at assessor.elpasoco.com using your 10-digit parcel number, in writing on the back of your NOV, or in person, by phone, or by fax.
3. Submit all your evidence at once. Include a recent appraisal, photographs, comparable sales, or a written condition description with your filing — the office requires all documentation be turned in when you file, not added later.
4. Watch for the Assessor's written response. The Assessor responds with a Notice of Determination (NOD) on or before August 15.
5. Escalate within 30 days if you disagree. You have 30 days after receiving the NOD to continue your appeal to the County Board of Equalization (CBOE).
6. Consider further appeal routes after the CBOE. If you disagree with the CBOE's ruling, you can continue to the state Board of Assessment Appeals, district court, or ask the Board of County Commissioners for binding arbitration — arbitration decisions are final and not subject to further review.

What happens after you file

Once you've filed, the Assessor's Office reviews your evidence and mails a Notice of Determination by August 15. If you escalate to the CBOE, that board is a distinct, county-level review body separate from the Assessor — its role is to reconsider the valuation independently. From there, Colorado gives you three further paths if you're still unsatisfied: the state Board of Assessment Appeals, district court, or binding arbitration through the Board of County Commissioners. The county is direct about that last option: "decisions reached through binding arbitration are final and not subject to review," so it trades further appeal rights for a faster, final resolution.

If you missed the window

Property owners who don't have a live 2026 appeal right, or who want to challenge taxes already billed for a prior year, have a separate option under Colorado law: a Petition for Abatement or Refund of Taxes. The El Paso County Assessor's forms page links directly to the state's instructions and form through the Colorado Division of Property Taxation at dpt.colorado.gov. Start this process through the El Paso County Assessor's Office at (719) 520-6600 rather than through the CBOE appeal steps described above, since it runs on a separate track.

Local tips

• El Paso County Assessor's Office: 1675 W. Garden of the Gods Road, Suite 2300, Colorado Springs, CO 80907; (719) 520-6600; asrweb@elpasoco.com; Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
• Because 2026 is an intervening (non-reappraisal) year, don't assume you have an appeal right just because you think your value is high — check whether the county actually mailed you a 2026 Notice of Valuation first.
• Gather every piece of evidence before you file; the county's rule that documentation "must be surrendered at the time you file" means there's no informal grace period to add a missing comparable sale after submission.
• The 6.8% residential assessment rate only converts actual value into assessed value — your real savings depend on the total mill levy for your specific tax area, which can include county, city, school, library, fire, water, and other special districts stacked on top of the 50.499-mill total shown above for just four of them.
• If binding arbitration sounds attractive because it's faster, remember the county's own language: those decisions are final and not subject to review, so it isn't the right route if you want to preserve further appeal options.