Colorado Seniors Whose Property Tax, Rent and Heat Rebate Is Processed by Dec. 10 Get the Full Amount, Up to $1,178, on Jan. 5

Colorado usually pays its senior Property Tax/Rent/Heat rebate in pieces spread across the year. Applications processed by Dec. 10, 2026, are different: the full rebate, worth up to $1,178, goes out in a single payment, with direct deposits landing Jan. 5, 2027.

The rebate is for low-income Coloradans 65 and older, and for surviving spouses 58 and older, who paid property tax, rent or heating bills during 2025. Recipients can also get a small TABOR refund on top.

How the payment calendar works

The Colorado Department of Revenue’s PTC rebate page ties the payment method to the date an application is processed. For the 2025 claim year, the schedule is:

• Processed by March 10, 2026: four installments of one-quarter each, starting April 5.
• Processed by June 10, 2026: three installments of one-third each, starting July 5.
• Processed by Sept. 10, 2026: two installments of one-half each, starting Oct. 5.
• Processed by Dec. 10, 2026: the full rebate, by direct deposit on Jan. 5, 2027, or by paper check on Jan. 15, 2027.
• Processed by Dec. 31, 2027: the full rebate, about 10 weeks after the department receives it for direct deposit, or 12 weeks for a paper check.

In other words, a senior who files now and is processed in time gets everything at once, rather than waiting for a fraction now and more later. If a payment date lands on a weekend or holiday, the department moves it to the next business day.

The department recommends direct deposit for the fastest delivery. Paper checks under the Dec. 10 cutoff arrive 10 days later than electronic payments.

Who qualifies, and for how much

Eligibility comes down to age, residency, income and expenses. According to the department, an applicant must:

• Have lived in Colorado for all of 2025.
• Have been 65 or older, or a surviving spouse 58 or older, as of Dec. 31, 2025.
• Have paid property tax, rent or heating bills during the period.
• Not be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s federal return.
• Have total income from all sources under $19,094 for a single filer, or under $25,788 for a married couple.

The rebate can reach $1,178 a year, and applicants may also receive a TABOR refund of up to $38, or $19 for single filers. The exact amount depends on the applicant’s income and what they spent on property tax, rent and heat, according to the department’s DR 0104PTC booklet page.

The program is small but steady. The department said in a January release that the PTC rebate has helped an estimated 25,000 residents since 2019.

What changed for Coloradans with disabilities

Until this year, people with disabilities under 65 could also apply for the PTC rebate. That ended for the 2025 tax year under House Bill 24-1268, the Financial Assistance for Certain Low-Income Individuals Act, which was signed into law on June 6, 2024.

The law limited the PTC rebate to qualifying seniors and created a separate refundable income tax credit for people with disabilities. The Disability Assistance Credit ranges from $400 to $1,200 depending on income and filing status, with federal adjusted gross income limits of $20,000 for single filers and $32,000 for married couples filing jointly. It is claimed on a regular Colorado income tax return rather than the PTC form.

The credit steps down as income rises. Under the bill, a single filer with adjusted gross income up to $10,000 gets $1,200, and the amount falls in $200 steps to $400 at $17,501 to $20,000. For 2025, returns claiming it were due April 15, 2026, with an automatic extension to Oct. 15, 2026, though the department says some filers may still be able to file later.

“These updates maintain support for seniors while modernizing assistance for Coloradans with disabilities,” Brendon Reese, senior director of the Taxation Division, said in the department’s Jan. 28 announcement of the changes.

Anyone who qualifies both as a senior and as a person with a disability can claim only one of the two benefits in a tax year.

Filing the DR 0104PTC before Dec. 10

Seniors apply with Form DR 0104PTC. The department accepts it by mail, at Colorado Department of Revenue, Denver, CO 80261-0005, or in person at a Taxpayer Service Center. Mailing well ahead of Dec. 10 matters, since the cutoff is based on when the department finishes processing, not when the form is postmarked.

Community groups also help with the paperwork. Denver’s Mi Casa Resource Center hosted an application help session in July, and the department offers the PTC application in Spanish along with translation services through its call centers.

Seniors who miss the Dec. 10 processing date still get paid. Their full rebate simply arrives roughly 10 to 12 weeks after the department receives the application, and the department’s schedule runs through applications processed by Dec. 31, 2027.

Colorado’s rebate is one of several state payments reaching households this season. New York has been mailing $100 to $200 POWER energy rebate checks, and New Jersey’s ANCHOR program pays renters 65 and older $700.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons