Colorado § 39-1-108 - Payment of taxes - grantor and grantee.

§ 39-1-108. Payment of taxes - grantor and grantee.

As between the grantor and grantee of property other than property described in section 39-5-104.5, when the instrument of conveyance does not contain an express agreement as to which party shall pay the taxes that may be levied on the property conveyed in the year in which conveyed, if such conveyance is made after the thirty-first day of December and before the first day of July next following, the grantee shall pay such taxes; but if the conveyance is made after the thirtieth day of June and before the first day of January next following, the grantor shall pay such taxes.

Source: L. 64: R&RE, p. 677, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 137-1-8. L. 2020: Entire section amended, (HB 20-1077), ch. 80, p. 324, § 6, effective September 14.

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. The following annotations include cases decided under this section as it existed prior to its 1964 repeal and reenactment.

"Taxes" not limited to general property taxes. If it had been the intention of the general assembly to limit application of this section to general property taxes, it is reasonable to believe that the general assembly would have so indicated by apt language. McCord Mercantile Co. v. McIntyre, 25 Colo. App. 376, 138 P. 59 (1914).

Section applies to irrigation district taxes. McCord Mercantile Co. v. McIntyre, 25 Colo. App. 376, 138 P. 59 (1914).

Tax liability even where assessment not yet completed. One conveying lands in September is liable for tax of the same year even though, at the date of the conveyance, the assessment had not been completed nor become a lien on the lands. Rambo v. Armstrong, 45 Colo. 124, 100 P. 586 (1909).

Tax liability for successive conveyances in last half of year. Where, at the end of the year, grantee, who purchased property in the last half of the year, has parted with title to that property and a third party owns it, there can be no recovery by grantee in first deed against his grantor for tax assessed against the property in the absence of allegations and proof that, in the course of the subsequent change in ownership, the grantee in the first deed either has obligated himself to his grantee to pay the taxes or otherwise sustained an equivalent loss. W. Dev. & Realization Corp. v. Hext, 108 Colo. 312, 117 P.2d 313 (1941).

Grantee in last half of year indemnified by implied contract. Contract implied by this section is to indemnify grantee of a conveyance in the last half of the year against loss for the payment of taxes on property which he owned and of which he had the use for less than half a year. W. Dev. & Realization Corp. v. Hext, 108 Colo. 312, 117 P.2d 313 (1941).

Section is not applicable where property is taken by condemnation proceedings. Fishel v. City & County of Denver, 106 Colo. 576, 108 P.2d 236 (1940).