Marshall Fire Finances and Rebates

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Rebates, Discount and Incentives

View a list of rebates, discounts, and incentives for households rebuilding after the Marshall Fire.

Reduced Building Permit Fees

On December 6, 2022, the Board of County Commissioners modified the building permit fees for Cal-Wood and Marshall Fire rebuilds. The program recognizes the increases in construction costs and insufficient insurance coverage that many residents who were impacted by the Cal-Wood and Marshall Fires are experiencing.

The revised building permit fee program applies to Marshall Fire and Cal-Wood Fire-impacted residential properties in unincorporated Boulder County, not in the City of Louisville or the Town of Superior.

It is intended to assist property owners with rebuilding without drastically impacting the county’s permitting services, given the efficiencies gained by economies of scale. The approved program attempts to ease the financial issues residents are facing, while at the same time recognizing the resource needs related to processing building permits.

Eligibility for Reduced Building Permit Fees

On residential properties, the owner of the subject property on the event date is eligible. Complete Building Permit applications filed by the owner of record of a destroyed residential property due to either the Marshall Fire or Cal-Wood federal disasters (must have owned the property on December 30, 2021, or October 17, 2020, respectively). Property owners meeting the program criteria who have already paid their building permit fees will be refunded the difference.

The program period covers building permits that are filed within three years (by December 31, 2024 for Marshall Fire-impacted properties, and October 31, 2023 for Cal-Wood Fire-impacted properties). The discount is available retroactively for eligible properties that have already remitted their fees.

Reduced Fees for Eligible Properties

• Single-family rebuilds – $4,400 building permit fee reduction for new single-family homes.
• Accessory Structure rebuilds – 25% reduction of permit fees. Please note that the Sales and Use Taxes must be calculated on the total valuation but are eligible for the Federal Disaster Use Tax Rebate Program as approved.

For more information, email MarshallRebuilding@bouldercounty.org, or call 303-441-3926.

Use Tax Rebate Program

Everyone who lost a home in either the Marshall or Cal-Wood Fires and is rebuilding on their affected property qualifies for the county’s use tax rebate. On Jan. 3, the Board of County Commissioners increased the rebate from $3500 to $4200 to take into account the Jan. 1 increase in use tax resulting from November’s voter-approved ballot measures.

The county estimates that the rebate will cover all or most of the county’s use tax for the majority of affected residents. To claim the rebate, property owners must file building permits within three years of the fires (by December 31, 2024 for Marshall Fire-impacted properties, and October 31, 2023 for Cal-Wood Fire-impacted properties.)

Use tax is charged for construction and tallied and paid when the building permit is issued. It is based on the projected valuation of the project as submitted by the builder.

Fiscal stewardship, equity and precedent considerations, simplicity of rebate application, rebate amount, program length, and administrative implications are among the factors that were taken into consideration during program design.

Due to the structure of the county’s finances and bonds that have been issued, the use tax cannot be waived by the county, which means the rebate will be funded through an estimated $3.85 million from the county’s general fund revenues.

The program applies only to the county’s use tax on residential properties. The county is aware that both the City of Louisville and the Town of Superior have or may determine to offer their own use tax relief to impacted property owners in those communities.

More information about the Use Tax Rebate Program, including how to apply, will be available soon. Program details and application forms are being developed and finalized with plans to be posted in January. Outreach and information will be provided as the program is launched.

Louisville Construction Use Tax & Building Permit/Tap Fees Frequently Asked Questions

Superior Permit Fees and Tax Rebates

FEMA Assistance for Residents & Businesses

Contact FEMA: 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Special tax law provisions may help taxpayers and businesses recover financially from the impact of a disaster, especially when the federal government declares their location to be a major disaster area. Depending on the circumstances, the IRS may grant additional time to file returns and pay taxes. Both individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area can get a faster refund by claiming losses related to the disaster on the tax return for the previous year, usually by filing an amended return.

For more information from the IRS regarding assistance during a disaster, please visit IRS Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief for Individuals and Businesses.