Colorado Releases Its Digital Map of State Property Taxes

A new digital map from Colorado paints a picture for users of aggregated data on property tax rates and jurisdictions in the state.

Effective data use can help governments drive their decision-making processes and can play an important role in telling a story and improving transparency and understanding for those who use it.

The Colorado Property Tax Map was launched Tuesday as a pilot, by the state Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), the Governor’s Office of Information Technology and Gov. Jared Polis. Notably, the map’s release comes almost a year after a property tax deal passed through House Bill 1001 in the last legislative session, to help save constituents money on property taxes. The new tool aims to build on improving the property tax process for Coloradans by adding context and clarity regarding historical tax income parcel, and levy information.

The new tool aims to “take the stress out of taxes by offering a user-friendly map to remove the guesswork for Coloradans,” the governor said in a statement.

The map can be viewed from any Internet-enabled device without creating an account. As Colorado CIO David Edinger emphasized in a statement, the map puts geographic information systems’ power in the hands of the people in the state — namely, property owners and other parties with vested interest.

A state news release did not specify the term of the pilot. The map’s data will be refreshed on an annual basis, and updates can be expected to occur during March. The state also created a guide to inform the use of the new tool.

An important piece of the new map is that it is accessible, something that has been a priority for the state of Colorado for years, both as a best practice and in accordance with a state mandate requiring it. This has been a key focus for Edinger since his November 2023 appointment as CIO.

In April, Colorado expanded digital access to a resource for those who use American Sign Language, and last year, the state took action to improve accessibility within its Division of Motor Vehicles services.

If Coloradans have additional questions about their property taxes, the map’s landing page recommends contacting the county assessor for the area in which a property is located; property tax questions can be answered by a county treasurer. Other questions can be directed to the DOLA team.