What the Colorado TABOR Refund Is and How Much Denver Residents Get in 2026
Whether you get a check depends almost entirely on one thing: whether you filed a Colorado income tax return.
Whether you get a check depends almost entirely on one thing: whether you filed a Colorado income tax return.
Colorado is legally required to send money back to taxpayers when state revenues exceed a constitutional ceiling. That ceiling has been breached every year since FY2021 — five straight years. Whether that’s a sign of a strong state economy or evidence that the cap itself is overdue for a harder look is a genuine policy debate, but it’s not the one that affects your bank account. What affects your bank account: if you live in Denver and filed a 2025 Colorado return, a refund is coming. If you didn’t file, you have options, but the deadline is closer than most people think.
This piece covers the 2026 TABOR refund from the ground up: how much, who qualifies, what the delivery looks like, what part-year residents and late filers should do, and where Denver residents can get free help before the window closes.
Editor’s note before publication: The FY2025 surplus amount and per-filer credit figures are not yet publicly confirmed. Verify all dollar amounts against the Colorado Legislative Council’s December 2025 or January 2026 revenue forecast and CDOR’s DR 0104 instructions for tax year 2025 before this runs. Do not publish placeholder figures. Sources: leg.colorado.gov and tax.colorado.gov.
Why Colorado Is Writing Refund Checks Again
TABOR — the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution — caps how much revenue the state can keep in any fiscal year. Voters passed it in 1992. The cap is recalculated annually using a formula tied to inflation and population growth. When actual tax collections come in above that ceiling, the state can’t just keep the surplus. It has to return it.
There’s no application process, no appropriation vote, no negotiation. The math either clears the cap or it doesn’t. Colorado has issued refunds every year since FY2021. If the FY2025 surplus is confirmed by the Colorado Legislative Council’s official revenue forecast, the refund mechanism will be active for the 2026 filing season — when Denver residents file their 2025 Colorado income tax returns.
One terminology note worth making clearly, because news coverage consistently blurs it: the “2026 TABOR refund” means the surplus generated in FY2025, returned through returns filed in calendar year 2026. When you see a headline this fall announcing a dollar figure, that’s the FY2025 surplus — the number that will show up on your 2025 DR 0104.
How Much Is the 2026 TABOR Refund Per Person
Editor’s note before publication: The per-tier dollar amounts require confirmation from the Colorado Legislative Council and the Office of State Planning and Budgeting. The prior-year figures below are historical context only. Do not publish 2026 amounts until verified against CDOR’s DR 0104 instructions for tax year 2025 and the Legislative Council’s December 2025 or January 2026 revenue forecast.
Colorado’s TABOR refund isn’t a flat check. The amount varies by income bracket — a tiered credit applied on your state return. Lower-income filers get a higher flat credit; higher-income filers get a lower one. For historical context: in the 2024 filing season (the FY2023 surplus), the credits ranged from roughly $800 to more than $1,600 depending on filing status and income tier. The 2026 figures will reflect the FY2025 surplus once confirmed.
For Denver readers, the practical point: your income bracket here is your Colorado adjusted gross income on the DR 0104 — not your federal AGI, not your Denver municipal taxable income. Check before you assume which tier you’re in. For a fuller look at how this refund fits into your overall state tax picture, see how the Colorado TABOR refund works and what residents are actually getting in 2026.
You Don’t Apply, But It’s Not Automatic Either
The most common misconception about the TABOR refund is that it just shows up. Many people assume the state has their address and will mail them something. That’s not how it works.
The refund is a credit on your Colorado state income tax return, Form DR 0104. Filing that return is the one required action. No separate application, no portal, no opt-in. File a Colorado return for tax year 2025 and the credit is there. Don’t file, and you get nothing.
Here’s the mechanics: the TABOR credit applies against your Colorado income tax liability. If the credit exceeds what you owe — which it will for many lower-income filers who owe little or nothing in state tax — CDOR pays the difference as a refund. Even if you had very low income and owe zero in state taxes, you’re still entitled to the credit. The excess becomes a payment to you.
One clarification for Denver residents: Denver’s Occupational Privilege Tax and any other city-level taxes have no bearing on TABOR eligibility. This is a state mechanism entirely. The relevant filing is the Colorado state return, full stop.
How the payment actually arrives is worth watching. Colorado has usually delivered TABOR refunds as an income-tax credit embedded in the DR 0104, but the General Assembly has occasionally changed the mechanism. In 2022, under SB 22-233, the state sent separate checks instead — which created real confusion about what was arriving in the mail and why. Whether the 2026 refund arrives as a credit, a mailed check, or direct deposit through a separate channel will be determined by the 2025 legislative session. Check CDOR’s DR 0104 instructions for tax year 2025 at tax.colorado.gov before you file.
When Will It Actually Arrive
Colorado state returns for tax year 2025 are due April 15, 2026. E-file with direct deposit and CDOR typically processes your return in about two weeks. Paper filers should budget six to eight weeks — and that’s if nothing goes wrong.
File early. If you need more time, Colorado grants an automatic six-month extension to October 15, 2026. That extension covers the time to file, not the time to pay. If you owe Colorado taxes, payment is still due April 15 to avoid penalty and interest. Filing by October 15 preserves your right to claim the TABOR credit.
Part-Year Residents, Denver Transplants, Students, and Recent Arrivals
If you moved to Colorado during 2025 — for work, school, or any other reason — you may still qualify for the TABOR refund, but your situation has more moving parts.
Part-year residents file the DR 0104 along with the Part-Year Resident/Nonresident Tax Calculation Schedule (DR 0104PN). Whether you receive the full credit or a prorated amount depends on how the General Assembly structures the 2026 distribution. In some prior years, part-year residents received a prorated credit based on their Colorado residency period; in others, they received the full per-tier amount. The DR 0104 instructions for tax year 2025 will specify. File the return regardless. The worst outcome is a prorated credit. The outcome if you don’t file is nothing.
College students: if you’re claimed as a dependent on a parent’s or guardian’s Colorado return, you’re not eligible for the TABOR credit on your own return. The credit goes to the filer who isn’t claimed as a dependent. This applies to CU Denver and Metro State students and is worth knowing before you file independently expecting a credit that won’t be there. If you’re unsure of your dependency status, check with whoever claims you before filing.
What If You Didn’t File a Colorado Return
If you skipped filing a Colorado return for 2024 — and you had Colorado-source income or were a Colorado resident that year — you may still be able to recover last year’s TABOR credit. For 2025, you have until April 15, 2026, or October 15 with an extension.
Colorado allows late filing within a four-year statute of limitations on refund claims. A Denver resident who didn’t file for tax years 2021, 2022, or 2023 may still file those returns and claim the TABOR credits from those years. Prior-year forms are at tax.colorado.gov.
This matters most for the people most likely to have skipped filing: gig workers who didn’t realize Colorado requires a state return even when federal self-employment income is modest; renters who assumed filing wasn’t necessary because they don’t own property; lower-income residents who didn’t owe any state tax and figured there was no point. None of those assumptions disqualify you. You just have to file to collect. For related context on state-level financial rights that Denver residents often overlook, our legal & finance coverage tracks these issues year-round.
One thing to know: if you have outstanding Colorado state tax debt, CDOR may apply your TABOR credit against that balance before issuing any payment. This is standard offset policy. If that’s your situation, confirm the current policy with CDOR before assuming you’ll receive a check.
The Property Tax, Rent, and Heat (PTC) Rebate is a separate program for low-income seniors and residents with disabilities, claimed on Form DR 0104PTC. It runs parallel to the TABOR return and doesn’t compete with it.
Is the TABOR Refund Taxable on Your Federal Return
In February 2023, the IRS ruled that Colorado’s TABOR refund is a return of taxes previously paid, not new income — which meant Colorado residents didn’t have to report their 2022 TABOR payment as federal taxable income. The same logic carries forward: subsequent TABOR refunds are over-collected state taxes being returned, not a government benefit. For the 2025 tax year refund, the treatment should be consistent with that ruling. Confirm current IRS guidance on state tax refund taxability at irs.gov, or ask a preparer, if you want certainty for your specific situation.
Where to Get Free Help Filing in Denver
If you need to file a Colorado return but can’t afford a preparer, Denver’s options are better than most people realize.
Mile High United Way runs the largest free-tax-filing operation in the Denver metro through its VITA program — IRS-certified volunteers, multiple Denver-area sites, and an online filing option. The 2026 filing season typically opens in late January. Call 2-1-1 or search “Mile High United Way VITA” to find the nearest site and confirm hours and income eligibility before you go.
Confirm current VITA site locations, income thresholds, and open dates directly with Mile High United Way before publication.
Several Denver Public Library branches host VITA preparers during tax season, generally late January through mid-April. Call your branch directly to confirm whether a preparer will be on site in 2026 and what to bring.
Confirm participating branches with Denver Public Library before publication.
Denver Human Services connects low-income residents with tax preparation and financial coaching, including VITA access. For in-person questions about Colorado-specific tax issues — TABOR eligibility, prior-year filings, account problems — the Colorado Department of Revenue maintains a taxpayer assistance office at 1375 Sherman Street, Denver, CO 80261.
Confirm CDOR office hours at tax.colorado.gov before publication.
2026 TABOR Refund at a Glance
Amounts below require confirmation from CDOR or Colorado Legislative Council before publication.
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| FY2025 surplus (to be confirmed) | TK — verify with Legislative Council |
| Per-filer credit, lowest tier | TK — verify with CDOR DR 0104 instructions |
| Per-filer credit, highest tier | TK — verify with CDOR DR 0104 instructions |
| Colorado return due date | April 15, 2026 |
| Extension deadline | October 15, 2026 |
| E-file + direct deposit window | ~2 weeks after CDOR acceptance |
| Paper filing window | ~6–8 weeks after receipt |
| CDOR website | tax.colorado.gov |
| Denver VITA opening (estimated) | Late January 2026 |
| CDOR Denver office | 1375 Sherman St., Denver, CO 80261 |
| Prior-year late filing window | Within 4 years of original due date |
The path to this money is one document: the Colorado DR 0104 for tax year 2025. File it by April 15. File it electronically with direct deposit if you want the money quickly. If you missed prior years and think you left TABOR credits uncollected, the four-year statute of limitations means you may still have time — check the prior-year forms on the CDOR site and consider a VITA appointment. The state is not going to prompt you. It’s not going to send a notice asking why you didn’t file. You either claim the credit or you don’t.
This article will be updated when CDOR publishes final DR 0104 instructions for tax year 2025, including confirmed per-tier credit amounts and the delivery mechanism. Check tax.colorado.gov for current figures.
