TABOR refund checks in 2026 will be a lot smaller than in recent years
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This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org.
DENVER — A tank of gas, a couple of movie tickets or a low-cost meal out. That’s about how far you’ll be able to stretch your TABOR refund check next year.
After a string of comparatively large TABOR refund checks, next year’s rebate to Colorado taxpayers will be much more modest, and state economists now predict no refunds at all the year after.
Colorado’s constitution caps how much tax and fee revenue the state is allowed to keep and spend each year. Money that comes in over that limit has to go back to residents.
Official numbers are in for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025, and the final surplus total is $296 million. That amount (minus $2.7 million to cover an accidental overpayment the prior year) will go back to taxpayers in two different ways. Homestead Property Tax refunds, which reduce taxes for older homeowners, disabled veterans, gold star spouses and others, will take up almost two thirds of the surplus.
The rest will be divvied up in refund checks based on income. The scale ranges from a $20 payment for single filers who make up to $56,000, up to $62 for filers making at least $329,001 (amounts are doubled for joint filers). The payments are considered a sales tax refund, with larger amounts for higher income earners based on the idea that wealthier people have likely paid more absolute dollars in sales tax through the year.
The rest will be divvied up in refund checks based on income. The scale ranges from a $20 payment for single filers who make up to $56,000, up to $62 for filers making at least $329,001 (amounts are doubled for joint filers). The payments are considered a sales tax refund, with larger amounts for higher income earners based on the idea that wealthier people have likely paid more absolute dollars in sales tax through the year.
Some households will see bigger refunds from the state though. Last year lawmakers expanded Colorado’s version of the Earned Income Tax Credit for lower wage workers and created a new Family Affordability Tax Credit for families. Both of those benefits are on tap to be paid out to tax filers in 2026.
The new tax credits are part of why general TABOR refunds will be smaller next year and going forward; the money paid out through the EITC and FATC means there’s less left over for general refunds. TABOR refunds paid out this year ranged from $177 to $565 for single filers.
State economists predict Colorado will stay below the TABOR cap next fiscal year, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, before returning to surpluses in 2027.
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.