Eastern Plains
Lincoln County
Property taxes, marriage licenses, vehicle services, and many public records run through Lincoln County. Permits and local rules may sit with a town or city instead, so match the office to the exact address.
Official county shortcuts
Take the task to the office that handles it
These links go straight to the official county or regional office shown. Check that page for current documents, hours, appointments, fees, and address-specific instructions. A city may run its own permit office.
Property tax snapshot
Typical property tax in Lincoln County
The average total mill levy across Lincoln County was about 70.3 mills for tax year 2023 — below the statewide average of about 81 mills. On a $500,000 home, that comes to roughly $2,280 a year, using Colorado's 2026 residential rules: 7.05% on school mills, and 6.8% on the rest after the local actual-value adjustment.
This is the county average across all tax areas. Your parcel's actual mill levy depends on its exact tax area — a metro or special district can add many mills on top — so confirm the real number with the county assessor.
Sales tax: the state charges 2.9% and Lincoln County adds 2%, for 4.9% before any city or special district. See Colorado sales tax rates ->
Source: Colorado Division of Property Taxation, 53rd Annual Report (2023) — Average Levies by County.
Incorporated places in this county
These cities and towns touch Lincoln County. Some cross a county line. Every name opens a direct place page, and selected places include a fuller local guide.
Get to know Lincoln County
The history, land, and character behind the place.
Water and land
Parts of Lincoln County sit in designated groundwater basins
Lincoln County overlaps Colorado's Northern High Plains and Upper Big Sandy designated groundwater basins, where wells are administered differently than wells in the rest of the state.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Hugo State Wildlife Area is for hunting and fishing, not a city park
The Hugo State Wildlife Area south of Hugo is managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and visitors 16 or older need a license or a pass to be there.
Read note ->History and culture
Hugo grew up around the railroad, and a roundhouse still tells that story
Hugo began as a railroad town on the Kansas Pacific line, and its surviving Union Pacific roundhouse is a window into why the town is here.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Karval hosts a spring festival built around the mountain plover
The tiny community of Karval holds an annual springtime Mountain Plover Festival that draws birders to one of the bird's important prairie nesting areas.
Read note ->Money and taxes (5)
Money and taxes
Why two Lincoln County properties can have very different tax bills
A property tax bill in Lincoln County reflects which overlapping local districts a parcel sits inside, not just the home's value.
Read note ->Money and taxes
Lincoln County's wind farms are a real part of the local tax base
Large wind projects in and around Lincoln County, with names such as Limon, Rush Creek, and Cedar Point, are a visible feature of the plains and contribute to local property tax revenue.
Read note ->Home and property (11)
Home and property
Lincoln County building permits start with the Land Use Office
The Lincoln County Land Use Office handles building permits across the unincorporated county, including Karval and rural Limon.
Read note ->Home and property
A manufactured home in Lincoln County still starts with land use
A new manufactured home in unincorporated Lincoln County still needs land-use and building permits, with or without a foundation.
Read note ->Water and land (3)
Water and land
Lincoln building permits ask for the sewage disposal plan
A Lincoln County building permit needs the sewage disposal type and permit number, since many rural parcels have no town sewer.
Read note ->Water and land
Lincoln building permits ask how the home will get water
A Lincoln County building permit needs proof of water supply, from a well permit to a cistern receipt and fill-provider affidavit.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire (3)
Browse 2 more outdoors and wildfire notesCars and driving (1)
Local rules (1)
History and culture (6)
History and culture
Hugo is the county seat, where Lincoln County's offices and court sit
Lincoln County was created in 1889 with Hugo as its county seat, and the county's main government offices and courthouse are still in Hugo today.
Read note ->History and culture
Limon is the 'Hub City' because the roads and rails all meet there
Limon earned its 'Hub City' name because Interstate 70 and several U.S. and state highways come together where rail lines once met on the plains.
Read note ->Nearby counties
Other Eastern Plains counties — rules, rates, and districts shift across county lines.