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Colorado鈥檚 deferral program has traditionally helped seniors and active military personnel, but it was expanded last year to provide relief to homeowners affected by increased property taxes for the tax years including and between 2020 to 2023. Homeowners who aren鈥檛 seniors or active military can apply under different criteria 鈥� they鈥檙e eligible if their property taxes increased above what the program calls a 鈥済rowth cap.鈥� Given the headline-grabbing spikes in property values 鈥� as calculated for tax purposes 鈥� last year in the Front Range and other parts of the state, many homeowners will likely qualify for the program because of how much their home鈥檚 property tax bill has increased.

After his Democrats' tax relief plan failed this week, Gov. Jared Polis wants lawmakers to come up with a plan to avert next year鈥檚 sharp property tax increases, but they only have a few weeks to figure it out.

The Colorado General Assembly will meet in a special session to address soaring home values and the consequent spikes in property taxes. The legislative session, which Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced Thursday, follows a resounding defeat for a ballot measure in Tuesday's election that attempted to address the problem over the next decade.

Despite seeing home values soar by double digits, Colorado voters have rejected lowering their property tax bills by eating into special state tax refunds 鈥� which returned $750 to each taxpayer last year.

A record number of Colorado homeowners appealed their property valuations this year. Much of that increase was due to a hot housing market. But homeowners in rural, mountain regions have more reason than most to question their property valuations.