Colorado taxpayers would receive a refund check of roughly $650 or $1,300 next year from the state under a last-minute bill introduced Saturday by Democrats in the legislature.

The measure deviates from the current plan to distribute about $2 billion in Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds in checks based on taxpayers’ income level, with more money being sent to higher earners. Instead, the legislation, House Bill 1311, would make refunds the same for all taxpayers. 

Single filers would receive roughly $650, while joint tax filers would receive $1,300. The checks would be mailed to taxpayers next year after they submit their tax return.

The change would mean the lowest income Coloradans receive nearly $200 more than they were projected to get under the default system, while the state’s highest earners would get hundreds — if not more than 1,500 — dollars less.

The one-year course correction, which hinges on voters approving a separate property tax relief measure poised to be on the November ballot, comes with three days left in the 2023 legislative session and as state lawmakers are racing to work through dozens of other bills. 

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