Arapahoe County splits Tallyn's Reach into two tax area codes, 1035 and 1036. The two codes share the same school district, county, and City of Aurora levies, and they pay into the same Tallyn's Reach Authority, which runs the Homestead clubhouse, the pools, and the trails. For tax year 2025, homes in tax area 1035 carry a total of 85.588 mills, while homes in tax area 1036 carry 121.062 mills.
The whole gap of roughly 35 mills comes from the Tallyn's Reach metropolitan district line on the tax bill. Most of it pays off debt, and that debt is scheduled to be retired between 2033 and 2038. Two homes at the same price in this neighborhood can carry different yearly costs for years to come, depending on which district the address falls in.
Where the two tax areas split
Arapahoe County's Tax Year 2025 levy table, dated December 30, 2025, lists each taxing entity that applies to a tax area code. Lined up next to each other, the Tallyn's Reach codes match almost line for line.
| Levy, tax year 2025 | Tax area 1034 | Tax area 1035 | Tax area 1036 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry Creek School District 5 | 54.108 | 54.108 | 54.108 |
| Arapahoe County | 15.959 | 15.959 | 15.959 |
| City of Aurora | 7.087 | 7.087 | 7.087 |
| Developmental Disability | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
| Tallyn's Reach metro district | 0.000, dissolved District No. 1 | 5.984, District No. 2 | 41.458, District No. 3 |
| Total mills | 79.604 | 85.588 | 121.062 |
The smaller levies, including the Cherry Creek Basin Authority and urban drainage, are the same in all three codes. Tax area 1034 is the one where the dissolved Tallyn's Reach Metropolitan District No. 1 now levies zero, which makes it a baseline. On top of that baseline, District No. 2 adds about 6 mills and District No. 3 adds about 41.
Who collects what, and why there are two districts
The structure goes back to the original service plan. That plan made District No. 1 the "Operating District" and Districts No. 2 and No. 3 the "Taxing Districts," which were set up to fund building, running, and maintaining the neighborhood's public improvements. In 2018, Districts No. 2 and No. 3 formed Tallyn's Reach Authority to take over District No. 1's duties, and District No. 1 was later dissolved, according to the districts' 2025 annual report.
Operations are shared across the neighborhood. The Authority's 2026 budget pays for grounds and landscaping, the pool and clubhouse, utilities, and capital items such as streets, sidewalks, irrigation, trails, trees, and parks. It is funded by transfers from both taxing districts plus a home operations fee of $270 per lot each quarter. Separately, the district website lists the Master Association, the HOA, as its own entity apart from the Authority and the metro districts.
The two taxing districts split apart over debt. For the 2025 levy collected in 2026, District No. 2 certified 5.984 mills, all for general operations, and reported no outstanding debt. District No. 3 certified 41.458 mills. District No. 3's adopted 2026 budget puts 3.103 of those mills toward general purposes and 38.355 toward debt service. Arapahoe County's mill levy public information form divides the same 38.355 mills into 6.645 for debt service and 31.710 for a contractual obligation. Under either breakdown, about nine of every ten District No. 3 mills go to obligations beyond day-to-day operations.
The bigger district covers most of the neighborhood
District No. 3 is the larger of the two. For taxes collected in 2026, District No. 3 had $80,528,323 in taxable assessed value and District No. 2 had $24,442,130. The two districts together cover 943 acres. That puts roughly three-quarters of the neighborhood's taxable value in the higher-levy district.
The expected 2026 collections show the same imbalance. District No. 2 expected to collect $146,262 and District No. 3 expected $3,338,543. So when people talk about "Tallyn's Reach taxes," the higher figure fits most homes. A buyer who compares an asking price with tax history from a home in the other district is mixing the two tax areas.
What 35 mills means for one home
Colorado's Division of Property Taxation explains the formula on its property tax overview page. Actual value times an assessment rate gives assessed value, and assessed value times the mill levy gives the tax. One mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. When school levies and local government levies carry different assessment rates, the state figures each piece separately and adds the results. A metro district is a local government levy, so the gap between the two Tallyn's Reach tax areas can be calculated on its own. For collection year 2026, the districts' budget lists a single-family residential assessment rate of 6.25% under HB24B-1001.
Here is an illustration using only the metro district gap. Take a home the county values at $600,000:
- $600,000 at 6.25% gives an assessed value of $37,500
- The gap between tax areas 1036 and 1035 is 35.474 mills
- $37,500 times 35.474 mills comes to about $1,330 a year
That is the difference between two homes with the same county valuation in the 2025 levy year, counting only the metro district line. The county's actual value is not the same as a list price or a contract price. Exemptions and other factors also change a real bill.
The rate is moving. The Division of Property Taxation's 2026 chart lists residential assessment rates of 6.8% for local government levies and 7.05% for school levies. At the same mill levies, a higher assessment rate on metro district levies would turn the same home value into a larger dollar gap. The mill levies for the next bill have not been set yet, though.
This is general information to help you read a tax bill. It is not tax, legal, or financial advice, so please confirm your own property's numbers with the county and a qualified professional.
The gap has a payoff schedule
As of December 31, 2025, District No. 3 had five refunding instruments outstanding, totaling $34,714,000. The district's 2025 audit, with an auditor's report dated July 27, 2026, lists their final maturities.
| Instrument | Balance, Dec. 31, 2025 | Final maturity |
|---|---|---|
| 2020A taxable refunding loan | $4,991,000 | 2033 |
| 2021A-2 tax-exempt refunding loan | $6,110,000 | 2035 |
| Series 2019 GO refunding bonds | $5,080,000 | 2036 |
| 2021A-1 tax-exempt refunding loan | $4,300,000 | 2037 |
| 2020B taxable refunding loan | $14,233,000 | 2038 |
Each of these is a refunding, which means it replaced earlier borrowing. The largest balance, the 2020B loan, runs the longest, to 2038. The levy behind the gap is tied to a debt that shrinks each year and is scheduled to be fully paid within roughly the next 12 years. For someone buying today with a long horizon, the extra cost of a District No. 3 address is real for now and set to end by a known date. The district boards set each year's levy, so the payoff schedule is a timeline for the debt and does not promise any particular future mill rate.
The next step is November 17
Each district's levy is normally certified to the county commissioners by December 15 and collected the following year. Taxes are due by April, or in two installments in February and June. The boards held a 2027 budget work session on October 21, 2026, where they reviewed draft budgets for District No. 2, District No. 3, and the Authority. Those budgets go to the full boards for final discussion and approval at the joint meetings on Tuesday, November 17, 2026. The District No. 2 and No. 3 boards meet at 5:30 p.m. and the Authority board meets at 6 p.m. Those meetings are where the next year's numbers get set, for buyers under contract this winter and for current owners.
Checking an address before you write an offer
Arapahoe County's mill levy page explains that each taxing entity's board sets its own levy and the assessor applies those levies to individual properties. Each tax bill combines the property's assessed value with the levies that apply to it. That makes the property's own county record the reliable source:
- Look up the parcel through the Arapahoe County Assessor and find its tax area code, then compare it with the codes in the county's levy table.
- Make sure the tax history you're comparing comes from the same tax area as the home you're considering.
- Add the $270 quarterly Authority operations fee, which applies to each lot, to the HOA dues you were already budgeting for.
- Read the districts' budgets, annual reports, and boundary map on the Tallyn's Reach district documents page.
Frequently asked questions
Does a District No. 3 address get different amenities? The Authority runs the Homestead clubhouse, pools, parks, and trails with transfers from both taxing districts. The extra mills in District No. 3 mainly go toward its debt and contractual obligations.
Is District No. 2 taking on new debt? As of December 31, 2025, District No. 2 reported no outstanding debt, and its entire 2025 levy went to general operations.
Where can residents follow the levy decision? The district documents page posts the boards' agendas and budgets, and the next joint meetings are on November 17, 2026.
Tallyn's Reach is one neighborhood with two tax areas, and the property record shows which one a home is in. If you're weighing homes here, or getting ready to sell one and want buyers to see the full monthly cost clearly, Dan Gerlock and our family team are happy to go through the tax area, the Authority fee, and the payoff timeline with you in a no-pressure consultation. If you already own here, you can also request a free home valuation.
