Property tax in El Paso County, Colorado
In El Paso County, the property tax bill comes from the El Paso County Treasurer's Office. The 2026 taxes payable 2027 bill is paid in 3 installments, and the next one is due February 28, 2027. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from El Paso County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in El Paso County, Colorado is $1,874 a year, which is about 0.41% of the county's median home value of $461,000. That effective rate is higher than the typical Colorado county (0.39%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in El Paso County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the El Paso County Treasurer's Office. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Office of the El Paso County Assessor, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
Colorado property taxes are paid a year behind: the bill mailed in early 2027 is for 2026 taxes. One bill covers the county, the school district, your city or town, libraries and special districts, so there is no separate city property tax bill. The Assessor revalues property in odd-numbered years, so new values arrive with the notice of valuation mailed shortly after May 1, 2027. Online payments run through a separate payment site the Treasurer links to; card and electronic check processing fees are passed on to the payer. The Treasurer also offers monthly prepayment through a partner service, EscrowTaxes. The Treasurer's office is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
When are property taxes due in El Paso County?
For the 2026 taxes payable 2027 bill, El Paso County splits the bill into 3 payments, the first due February 28, 2027 and the last June 15, 2027. Late payments are charged interest of 1% a month under state law, with part of a month counted as a whole month: from March 1 on a late first half, from June 16 on a late second half, and from May 1 when the whole bill is paid in one payment after April 30. Delinquent notices are mailed in July, unpaid real estate taxes are advertised in September, and tax liens on unpaid real estate are sold at public auction in October. After September 30, the Treasurer accepts only cash or certified funds; personal checks and postmarks are no longer accepted.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First half (two-payment option) | February 28, 2027 | The first half is due on the last day of February. February 28, 2027 is a Sunday, and the county treats a payment as on time if it is received on the next business day when a due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, so the first half can be paid on Monday, March 1. A U.S. Postal Service postmark dated by the due date counts as on time; private postage meter marks do not. |
| Full payment (one-payment option) | April 30, 2027 | Instead of two halves, the whole bill can be paid in one payment by April 30. Partial payments are not accepted, and there is no grace period, because the dates are set by state law. |
| Second half (two-payment option) | June 15, 2027 | Unpaid taxes become delinquent after June 15. June 15, 2027 is a Tuesday. |
From El Paso County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in El Paso County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at El Paso County's average effective rate of 0.41% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $1,890 / year
Property tax in El Paso County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $1,874 |
| Median home value | $461,000 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.41% |
| Typical Colorado county rate | 0.39% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does El Paso County compare in Colorado?
Among Colorado's 64 counties, El Paso County has the 27th highest effective property-tax rate: 26 rank higher and 37 rank lower. That is near the middle for Colorado. Nationally, it ranks 2897th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Colorado county ranked.
How much do homeowners in El Paso County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across El Paso County's 192,232 owner-occupied homes, 24.3% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 44.3% pay at least $2,000, and 9.9% pay under $800. Another 2.6% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 19,043 | 9.9% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 49,499 | 25.7% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 33,481 | 17.4% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 38,456 | 20% |
| $3,000 or more | 46,678 | 24.3% |
| No property tax paid | 5,075 | 2.6% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,931 and owners without one pay $1,722. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.
How does the El Paso County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $1,874 is about 1.7% of the median income of El Paso County homeowner households, $112,487 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 66.2% of El Paso County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in El Paso County?
Yes. The median bill went from $1,283 in 2015-2019 to $1,874 in 2020-2024, a 46.1% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 67.6%, from $275,000 to $461,000. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to El Paso County
El Paso County borders 6 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas County, CO | 0.55% | $3,947 | $713,600 |
| Pueblo County, CO | 0.5% | $1,467 | $291,300 |
| Elbert County, CO | 0.45% | $3,214 | $709,800 |
| Lincoln County, CO | 0.44% | $1,092 | $246,500 |
| El Paso County, CO (this county) | 0.41% | $1,874 | $461,000 |
| Fremont County, CO | 0.36% | $1,175 | $324,000 |
| Teller County, CO | 0.35% | $1,672 | $479,900 |
How is a home assessed in El Paso County?
Colorado assesses homes at 6.8% of market value in every county, El Paso County included. How Colorado assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in El Paso County?
No. Colorado has no general homestead exemption; the closest broad relief is a 10% reduction on the first $700,000 of value for the local government portion, which applies to all residential property. That is the Colorado rule, and it applies in El Paso County. Colorado's exemptions and relief programs in full.
El Paso County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the Colorado ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your El Paso County property assessment
In El Paso County you appeal to the Office of the El Paso County Assessor. The deadline: File with the Assessor from May 1 through June 8; an objection must be postmarked, delivered or presented in person by June 8. The Assessor mails a written decision by the last working day of June. If you disagree with it, appeal to the El Paso County Board of Equalization through the Clerk to the Board by July 15; a postmark by July 15 counts as on time. A Board decision can be appealed within 30 days to the state Board of Assessment Appeals, to district court, or to binding arbitration. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Colorado's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Colorado rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Colorado page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with El Paso County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Colorado income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Colorado actually taxes.
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Sales tax in El Paso County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for El Paso County, Colorado: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.