Amendment G: Colorado voters pass property tax breaks for more disabled veterans

Colorado voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to extend a residential property tax break to thousands more disabled veterans.

Amendment G, referred to the ballot by the state legislature in 2023, had 73% of the vote at 8:40 p.m. when The Associated Press called the race. It needed 55% of the vote to pass.

Under the amendment, military veterans considered unemployable due to their disabilities will qualify for the state homestead exemption starting in the 2025 property tax year, for taxes paid in 2026.

Nearly 300,000 households claim the homestead exemption, a popular tax break on primary residences that Colorado voters added to the state constitution in 2000. It exempts 50% of up to $200,000 of a home’s value from taxation, cutting an average of $590 off the tax bill for the median home. Local tax rates vary greatly by where you live.

Only seniors, certain disabled veterans and the surviving spouses of U.S. military members killed in the line of duty qualify for the tax break.

Previously, the disabled veterans’ exemption was limited to those whose disability is classified as “100% permanent and total” by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The “permanent and total” disability designation is a medical determination, unrelated to whether a person is employable.

With Amendment G’s passage, the tax break will be expanded to those who meet the VA’s criteria for the “total disability individual unemployability” rating, or TDIU, which means they’re unable to work a steady job that supports them financially.

Legislative analysts expect around 3,700 more veterans will qualify for the tax break with the change.