How Much Are Property Taxes on a $600,000 Home in Denver Colorado?

Colorado uses a two-step formula to calculate your property tax bill: the assessed value multiplied by the mill levy. Understanding both pieces is essential before you can answer how much property taxes are on a $600,000 home in Denver Colorado, because the state does not tax your full market value.

The Assessment Rate

Colorado assesses residential property at a fraction of its actual market value. Following the reforms enacted through Senate Bill 233 in 2023 and further adjustments in 2024, the residential assessment rate for the 2025 and 2026 tax years is set at 6.765 percent. That means a home the county values at $600,000 has an assessed value of roughly $40,590, not $600,000, for tax calculation purposes.

This low assessment rate is one reason Colorado's effective property tax rate ranks among the lowest in the nation, as noted by the National Association of Realtors. It does not mean your bill is negligible, but it does mean the math looks very different from states that tax at or near full market value.

The Mill Levy

A mill is one dollar of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. Your mill levy is the combined rate set by every taxing entity that has jurisdiction over your property: Denver City and County, Denver Public Schools, the Regional Transportation District, the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, and sometimes a special or metro district layered on top. In Denver, the total mill levy typically falls between 59 and 90 mills depending on location, with most properties inside city limits landing in the 59 to 75 mill range.

Putting It Together for a $600,000 Home

The formula is straightforward: market value multiplied by the assessment rate gives you the assessed value, and assessed value multiplied by the mill levy divided by 1,000 gives you the annual tax bill. For a $600,000 home assessed at 6.765 percent, the assessed value is $40,590. At a mill levy of 59, the annual bill is roughly $2,395. At a mill levy of 75, it rises to roughly $3,044. At 90 mills, which applies in some metro districts, the bill reaches about $3,653.

2. How Much Are Property Taxes on a $600,000 Home in Denver Colorado Right Now

In September 2026, the realistic annual property tax range for a $600,000 home in Denver is approximately $2,400 to $3,600, with most standard city-proper addresses landing closer to $2,400 to $3,050. Properties inside metro or special districts can push the bill higher. You can model your specific address using the Colorado Property Tax Calculator from SmartAsset, which lets you input your county and home value to get a localized estimate.

Denver's Current Mill Levy Range

Denver City and County operates as a single consolidated government, so there is no separate county mill levy layered on top of a city levy. The base combined levy for most Denver residential properties, covering city services, Denver Public Schools, RTD, and flood control, typically sits in the range of 59 to 68 mills. Neighborhoods or developments that fall inside a metro district, common in newer construction areas on the outskirts of the city, add 10 to 25 additional mills on top of that base.

A Real Dollar Example

Here is what the numbers look like at three common mill levy levels for a $600,000 Denver home in 2026, using the 6.765 percent assessment rate.

• At 59 mills (base city levy, no special district): $40,590 assessed value x 0.059 = approximately $2,395 per year, or about $200 per month.
• At 68 mills (mid-range, common in established neighborhoods): $40,590 x 0.068 = approximately $2,760 per year, or about $230 per month.
• At 85 mills (base plus a metro district): $40,590 x 0.085 = approximately $3,450 per year, or about $288 per month.
• At 90 mills (higher metro district overlay): $40,590 x 0.090 = approximately $3,653 per year, or about $304 per month.

How Denver Compares to the Colorado Average

Colorado's statewide effective property tax rate is roughly 0.48 to 0.55 percent of market value, one of the lowest in the country. Denver tracks closely to that range. On a $600,000 home, 0.48 percent works out to $2,880 per year and 0.55 percent works out to $3,300. Those figures align well with the mill levy math above, confirming that most Denver buyers should plan for $2,400 to $3,600 annually depending on their specific address and district.

3. What Changed After Colorado's Property Tax Reform

Colorado's property tax landscape shifted significantly between 2023 and 2026, and buyers purchasing a $600,000 home in Denver today are entering a market shaped by those changes. Understanding what happened helps you anticipate where bills may move next.

Proposition HH and Senate Bill 233

When Colorado's 2023 reassessment cycle produced dramatic increases in assessed values, driven by the surge in home prices between 2020 and 2022, the state legislature acted quickly. Senate Bill 233 passed in 2023 and temporarily reduced the residential assessment rate and capped assessed value growth at 10 percent for most properties over the 2023 to 2024 period. Proposition HH, which would have made broader long-term changes, failed at the ballot, but the legislature continued adjusting the framework through 2024 and into the 2025 and 2026 tax years. The result is the 6.765 percent rate currently in effect.

What the 2025 Reassessment Means for 2026 Bills

Colorado reassesses property values every two years, and the 2025 reassessment cycle set the values used for the 2026 and 2027 tax bills. For most Denver homeowners, 2025 assessed values were modestly higher than 2023 values, reflecting continued price appreciation in the metro area, though the pace was slower than the dramatic run-up seen between 2020 and 2022. The 2026 bills that Denver residents are paying right now reflect those 2025 assessed values. The next change will come with the 2027 reassessment, which will set values based on market conditions through June 2026.

Rising Values Across Denver

National data from ATTOM shows that property tax bills rose 2.7 percent on average in the most recent reporting period, a trend that played out in Denver as well. You can read more about that national context in HousingWire's coverage of the ATTOM property tax report. In Denver specifically, neighborhoods like Capitol Hill, Berkeley, and Sunnyside saw assessed values climb as buyer demand kept prices elevated through 2024 and into 2025. If you purchased a home in Denver in the last two to three years, your 2026 tax bill likely reflects a higher assessed value than the previous owner paid.

If you want context on where Denver home prices currently stand and how that feeds into assessed values, the article What Is the Average Home Price in Denver Colorado Right Now in September 2026 walks through current market conditions in detail.

4. Exemptions and Credits That Lower Your Denver Property Tax Bill

Several exemptions can meaningfully reduce the property tax bill on a $600,000 Denver home. These are not automatic. You must apply, and the deadlines matter.

The Senior Homestead Exemption

Colorado's Senior Homestead Exemption exempts 50 percent of the first $200,000 of a home's actual value from property taxes, which translates to a $100,000 reduction in the taxable value. To qualify, you must be 65 or older, have owned and lived in the property as your primary residence for at least 10 consecutive years, and apply through the Denver Assessor's Office. For a $600,000 home, this exemption reduces the assessed value from $40,590 to approximately $33,825, saving roughly $400 to $600 per year depending on your mill levy.

The Owner-Occupied Exemption

Colorado also offers a primary residence exemption that reduces the assessed value by exempting 50 percent of the first $15,000 of actual value, which is a smaller benefit but still worth claiming. This exemption is separate from the senior exemption and applies to any owner-occupant. It does not require a minimum age or years of ownership. The savings are modest, typically $30 to $50 per year, but there is no reason to leave it unclaimed.

How to Apply

Both exemptions are administered through the Denver Assessor's Office. Applications for the senior exemption are due July 15 of the tax year. You can apply online through the Denver Assessor's portal or submit a paper form. Once approved, the exemption renews automatically as long as you remain eligible. New buyers should apply in the first year they qualify rather than waiting, since the exemption does not apply retroactively.

5. What Else Affects Your Total Tax Bill in Denver

The assessed value and the base mill levy are not the only variables. Two additional factors can shift your annual bill by hundreds of dollars. Buyers should investigate both before making an offer.

Special Districts and Metro Districts

Metro districts are the single biggest wildcard in Denver property taxes. Developers use them to finance infrastructure, parks, and amenities in newer communities, and the debt service is passed on to homeowners through an additional mill levy. Newer construction areas, particularly in the Stapleton redevelopment area (now called Central Park), Green Valley Ranch, and parts of Montbello, often carry metro district levies of 10 to 30 mills on top of the base city levy. On a $600,000 home, an extra 20 mills adds roughly $812 per year to the tax bill.

Older, established neighborhoods closer to downtown, such as Congress Park, Hilltop, Platt Park, and the Highlands, typically do not carry metro district levies, so the tax bill on a $600,000 home there stays closer to the base range of $2,400 to $2,800. If you are exploring neighborhoods like Wash Park, you can get a sense of the area's housing stock and price points in the article What Is It Actually Like to Live in the Wash Park Neighborhood in Denver? which covers the physical character of that part of the city.

How Neighborhood Location Shifts the Number

Because the mill levy varies by location within Denver, two $600,000 homes on opposite sides of the city can have meaningfully different tax bills. The Denver Assessor's Office publishes the full levy breakdown for every parcel online. Before you make an offer on a property, look up the parcel ID and confirm the exact mill levy. Your buyer's agent can pull this from the public records as part of due diligence, and it should be part of any conversation about the true monthly cost of ownership.

Budgeting Property Taxes Into Your Monthly Payment

Most lenders escrow property taxes as part of your monthly mortgage payment, so the annual bill gets divided into 12 equal installments. On a $600,000 Denver home with a $2,760 annual tax bill, that adds $230 per month to your payment. At $3,450 per year, it is $288 per month. When you are comparing homes at different price points or in different parts of the city, factoring in the actual tax bill rather than using a generic estimate can shift your monthly payment by $50 to $100 or more.

If you want a broader picture of what buying in Denver looks like right now, including price trends across different neighborhoods and property types, the guide Homes for Sale in Denver: What Buyers Need to Know Right Now covers current inventory and what to expect in the buying process.