Category Archives: Did you know?

Aug 06

TABOR Refund for Seniors-What You Should Know

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TABOR Refund for Seniors
Refunds & Benefits

TABOR Refund for Seniors-What You Should Know

ByTeam Admin

The TABOR refund for seniors in Colorado is a vital financial benefit under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), ensuring eligible residents, particularly those aged 65 and older, receive a portion of surplus state revenue. For 2023, single filers can claim an $800 refund, while joint filers may receive $1,600, with additional benefits like the Property Tax/Rent/Heat (PTC) Rebate for low-income seniors. This guide provides a detailed, step-by-step roadmap to maximize your refund, including eligibility criteria, filing requirements, and free tax assistance options, optimized for seniors navigating Colorado’s tax system in 2025.

Understanding the TABOR refund process can feel daunting, but it’s a straightforward opportunity to boost your finances. Whether you’re a retiree living on Social Security or a senior with modest income, this article breaks down everything you need to know in clear lists and tables. From filing deadlines to income thresholds, we’ll ensure you’re equipped to claim your refund confidently. Let’s dive into the specifics to help you secure your Colorado TABOR refund without stress.

Table of Contents

What Is the TABOR Refund for Seniors in Colorado?

The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, enacted in 1992, mandates that Colorado refunds excess state revenue to taxpayers when collections exceed a constitutional cap. For seniors, this refund is particularly significant, as many rely on fixed incomes. In 2023, the state simplified the process with the DR0104EZ form for those with minimal income, making it easier for older adults to claim their share. Additionally, seniors aged 65 or older with low income may qualify for the PTC Rebate, enhancing their financial relief.

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Aug 06

Colorado’s TABOR-exempt revenue has increased nearly 30% since 1996, study finds

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Colorado’s TABOR-exempt revenue has increased nearly 30% since 1996, study finds

CSI enterprises.jpg
Amount of state revenue subject to TABOR and exempt from TABOR since 1996. Graph courtesy Common Sense Institute.

State spending that is exempt from Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights has increased by nearly 30% over the past 30 years, according to a report by the public policy think tank Common Sense Institute.

While TABOR places a limit on how much revenue the state can retain each fiscal year, certain sources — such as voter-approved changes, federal funds, and state enterprises — are exempt.

According to the Bell Policy Center, enterprise funds are state-owned “businesses” that provide goods or services in exchange for revenue. Examples include the state lottery and the Colorado Healthcare Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise (CHASE).

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Aug 06

State’s unfunded mandates leave local taxpayers holding the bill

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State’s unfunded mandates leave local taxpayers holding the bill

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Bobbie Daniel

Mesa County is proud of how we’ve managed our local budget. We’ve kept spending in check, rebuilt our reserves since the Great Recession and honored the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) by refunding tens of millions of dollars back to the people who earned it.

Just last December, we returned $11.5 million to Mesa County taxpayers. A few years earlier, it was $12 million. That’s money staying right here in our local economy, funding family businesses, school clothes and food on the table instead of disappearing into bigger bureaucracies.

When the property tax crisis hit last year, Mesa County was also one of the few local governments in Colorado that actually lowered its mill levy, deliberately reducing taxes for our residents at a time when they needed relief most. That’s a concrete example of how we put taxpayers first and honor the spirit of TABOR, while still balancing our budget and funding essential services.

But even as we work diligently to protect your dollars, there’s a troubling dynamic unfolding that every taxpayer in Colorado should understand. Local governments across our state, from Mesa County to the Eastern Plains, are being forced to shoulder more and more costs from mandates dreamed up in Denver, while the state quietly walks away from the bill.

During just the past two years, Mesa County identified nearly $10 million annually in unfunded mandates from the state. That’s money redirected from public safety, roads and essential community services.

It’s like the state government going out for a lavish dinner, ordering everything on the menu, and then slipping out the back door, leaving counties and local taxpayers stuck picking up the tab.

And these costs keep piling up. Each new layer of rule making and regulation becomes another invoice sent straight to local communities.

The most glaring example right now is Rule 31, which imposes sweeping new methane rules on landfills. Mesa County already complies with rigorous federal standards on methane. Yet this new state rule would force us to spend $9 million up front, plus another $1 million every single year after, to fix a problem we’ve already solved. Only the state could figure out how to “fix” what’s already fixed — and still send you the invoice.

It’s the same story with the sudden law requiring all landfills to install new liners, forcing us to shell out $2 million on infrastructure we didn’t even need.

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Aug 06

Colorado’s budget gap means more money in taxpayers’ pockets

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Colorado’s budget gap means more money in taxpayers’ pockets

Have Colorado lawmakers cried wolf about the state’s budget too many times? 

The state legislature, after recently reconciling a billion-dollar “budget shortfall” due mostly to a relentless overspending habit, is now back in the barber chair for yet another fiscal haircut.  

And while legislators are still overspending and overpromising, state revenue reductions from taxpayer-friendly policy changes in the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) are now in play as well. This means politicians have less to spend, while Colorado taxpayers keep more money in their own pockets.

Crying wolf

Beginning at the end of 2024, legislators began sounding the alarm over a $1.2 billion budget hole for fiscal year 2025-26.  

What was termed a “shortfall” was actually a combination of cooling inflation, the depletion of one-time COVID-19 relief funds, a slew of new special interest tax breaks, and ballooning healthcare costs, all running smack into Colorado’s constitutionally guaranteed taxpayer protections.  

State government was living beyond its means, but instead of facing reality, majority Democrats instead blamed the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) and the wealthy not paying their fair share. 

Contrary to the doomsaying by legislators, the budget was quietly reconciled, and without any significant cuts to healthcare, K-12 education, and higher education (which alone account for over 70 percent of General Fund appropriations). 

Beyond that, the state budget, prior to passage of OBBBA, was actually expected to grow by over 3.5 percent, or nearly $1.5 billion, hardly a crisis by conventional standards. 

The One Big Beautiful Bill 

On July 30, legislative leadership met with analysts from the governor’s office and Legislative Council Staff to learn more about the impacts of the OBBBA on the state budget. 

Despite slightly different estimates, both groups of analysts agreed that a significant budget deficit would emerge this year, due to the immediate impacts of the OBBBA on state tax collection. 

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Jul 30

Colo. Conservative Group Says New OT Law Violates TABOR

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Colorado’s new overtime law, which requires overtime deducted from federal gross income to be added back to a taxpayer’s federal taxable income for state income tax, violates TABOR….

To read the rest of this story, please click (HERE) to go to Law360.

 

Jul 25

Governor sued over state’s plan to keep tax on overtime

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LEGISLATURE

Governor sued over state’s plan to keep tax on overtime
Policymakers grapple with the effects of GOP’s federal tax law
By Seth Klamann
sklamann@denverpost.com

A conservative advocacy group and a state senator sued Gov. Jared Polis and the head of Colorado’s tax agency Thursday, alleging that recent legislation requiring the continued taxing of overtime pay — in the face of federal changes — violates the state constitution.

The lawsuit, filed in Denver District Court, argues that House Bill 1296 violates the state’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, which requires voter approval before the state can levy new taxes.

HB-1296, which Polis signed into law in May, requires the state to continue taxing overtime starting next year — and it was passed in anticipation of a provision in Congress’ tax law this month that temporarily will allow workers to deduct a large portion of overtime from their federal taxes.

Colorado’s law was drafted as federal debates about cutting taxes on overtime — a campaign promise by President Donald Trump — were developing. Now lawmakers are grappling with the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to state funding resulting from the final tax bill.

The new lawsuit, which Democrats dismissed as a political stunt, was filed by Advance Colorado and Republican Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, as well as by a Fremont County commissioner, Kevin Grantham — a former Senate president — and two Coloradans who receive overtime pay.

Income declared on earners’ state tax return typically is influenced by what is on their federal tax forms. The lawsuit alleges that restarting the overtime taxation at the state level constitutes the creation of new revenue, which would require voter approval, and it asks a judge to invalidate the law.

The state legislation didn’t necessarily create a new tax, although it changed the collection mechanism to ensure that tax on overtime still was collected regardless of federal changes. Functionally, it continues a tax on overtime income that the federal government now allows to be deducted to a significant degree — up to $12,500 annually — for the next four years.

Michael Fields, the president of Advance Colorado, accused Democratic lawmakers of trying to sidestep TABOR and voter approval.

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Step Up. Speak Out. Defend TABOR.

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The TABOR Foundation is looking to revive its’ speaker’s bureau.  Many of you will remember that we tried, with mixed results, to establish a speakers’ bureau to provide speakers for interested groups around the Denver metro area and across the state.  The goal, of course, is to educate people about the value of The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in limiting the state’s ability to tax its citizens.

 

In our past efforts to make the speakers’ bureau work, we had our ducks in a row—for the most part.  We have developed a PowerPoint presentation and have a laptop computer dedicated to that presentation.  We acquired a digital projector and a screen specifically for our speakers.  We also were able to tap into expert help with our messaging and for polishing our presenters’ skills.

 So, where’s the weak link?  Clearly, it’s in getting speaking engagements scheduled.  Doing so requires someone willing to make calls to groups that are looking for speakers for their (usually monthly) meetings.  To this point, we have had one person who committed to making calls to schedule speakers.

Let’s be honest.  There’s some tedium involved in scheduling these engagements.  The scheduler will typically need to contact the person in the organization who is responsible for the group’s programs.  There’s phone tag.  Or, you get to speak to the correct person only to find out that someone else has taken over the responsibility, and you’ll need to speak to him.

On the positive side, we plan to start approaching friendly groups—other like-minded organizations where members would be most receptive to our message.  Conversations tend to be easy.  Callers would likely find their calls to be well received.  It may take some patience to find a meeting time that matches our speaker’s schedule—a bit more tedium—but the person on the other end of the line will probably be helpful and cooperative.

Here’s the part where we want to improve on past efforts.  We’d like to find two volunteers who would commit to scheduling two speaking engagements per month.  Perhaps better still would be to find four callers, each of whom would commit to scheduling one engagement per month.  Assuming we can find multiple callers, we should probably plan on regular (monthly?) discussions to talk about how things are going and to address challenges people may be having.  I guess the bottom line is that we need volunteers who care about limited government and who want to contribute to the effort to rein in government excesses.

We’re asking for your help.  If you would be able to commit maybe a couple of hours per month to schedule engagements for us, I’d very much like to talk to you.  Or, if you might know of someone who would be willing to take on this role, I’d like to speak to you with the hope that you would make an introduction.

Bob Foland
Executive Director, The TABOR Foundation

TheTABORfoundation@gmail.com
Info@TheTABORcommittee.com