Colorado

50 percent exemption on the first $200,000 of the actual value of the primary residence (effective exemption is up to $100,000 of value). Amendment G, approved in November 2024, extended eligibility to TDIU veterans beginning with the 2025 property tax year. Transfers to the unremarried surviving spouse.

Colorado does not tax VA disability compensation. Military retirement pay is partially exempt through Colorado's pension/annuity subtraction: up to $15,000 (under 55), $20,000 (ages 55-64), or $24,000 (65+); amounts above the cap are taxed.

Colorado issues a free first set of Disabled Veteran plates to veterans rated 50%+ (or with loss of use / blindness or a Purple Heart) and waives the specific ownership tax on one vehicle; DV and Purple Heart plates also get free year-round state-park entry.

Colorado adds 5 preference points for wartime/campaign veterans and eligible spouses, and 10 points for veterans receiving VA disability compensation, on state and merit-system local jobs (initial hiring, not promotions).

Under 38 USC 3679(c) (originally Section 702 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act), every public college that accepts Post-9/11 GI Bill or Montgomery GI Bill students must charge in state tuition to covered students using their GI Bill, regardless of state residency. The old requirement to enroll within 3 years of separation was removed by the Isakson and Roe Act effective August 1, 2021, so there is no longer a time limit after discharge. State specific extensions to this rule are noted below where applicable.

Colorado's Dependent Tuition Assistance Program (administered by the Colorado Department of Higher Education) pays in-state tuition at Colorado public institutions for qualifying dependents - including dependents of service members who are POW/MIA and of Colorado National Guard members killed or permanently disabled in the line of state duty. Dependents must enroll before age 24 and keep at least a 2.5 GPA.

Free lifetime fishing license and lifetime small-game-and-fishing combination license for Colorado-resident veterans with a VA service-connected disability of 50 percent or more (apply through CPW with proof of rating and residency).

The Independence Pass is a free annual pass to all Colorado State Parks for resident veterans with a permanent service-connected disability rated 50 percent or higher (Purple Heart recipients and veterans with qualifying loss of vision or limb also qualify). Apply through CPW with a VA disability award letter.

Colorado's Independence Pass is a free annual state-parks pass for resident veterans rated 50%+ permanent service-connected (Purple Heart or qualifying loss of vision/limb also qualify); residents with other qualifying permanent disabilities can buy the discounted Columbine Pass, and vehicles with Disabled Veteran or Purple Heart plates enter state parks free. CPW also admits military and veterans free every August.

Colorado maintains state veterans cemeteries (Veterans Memorial Cemetery of Western Colorado in Grand Junction and Homelake) with burial plots and headstones for eligible veterans and their families.