DENVER (KDVR) — While more than half of Colorado taxpayers receiving TABOR checks in the mail have cashed in $750 as part of an expedited refund, taxpayers could see hundreds more, but will have to wait to cash that in.
When Colorado brings in more money than it is allowed to spend, it is required to refund that money back to taxpayers in the state under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, but a new law tweaked that allocation to make it even across income brackets.
Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill that tweaks this year’s TABOR refund, which creates an even amount for every taxpayer instead of a proportional refund and sends that refund out earlier than the spring of 2023 when Coloradans would have seen refunds baked into their state tax return.
Because the Colorado Cash Back bill required the Department of Revenue to send the checks out early, the total TABOR calculation for taxpayer refunds hadn’t been finalized, according to chief economist with the nonpartisan Colorado Legislative Counsel Greg Sobetski.
Sobetski said the bill essentially puts out 85-87% of the state’s total TABOR refund since it was not clear what the final revenue was going to be for June by the deadline for accelerated refunds.
That means taxpayers can expect the rest of the total refund when they file state tax returns in 2023. While the $750 checks per individual filer were evened out, the rest of the refunds will be proportional.
To find out how much additional money taxpayers are expected to see in state tax returns, check out our breakdown by income bracket.