Colorado voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday to extend residential property tax relief to thousands more disabled veterans.

Amendment Gtargeted for balloting by the state Legislature in 2023, had 73% of the vote as of 8:40 p.m. when The Associated Press called the race. It needed 55% of the votes to pass.

Under this amendment, veterans deemed unemployable due to their disability will be eligible for the state property exemption beginning in the 2025 property tax year, for taxes paid in 2026.

Nearly 300,000 households are seeking the homestead exemption, a popular tax break on primary residences that Colorado voters added to the state constitution in 2000. It exempts 50 percent of the value of a property from taxes. a home for up to $200,000, reducing the tax bill by an average of $590. for the middle house. Local tax rates vary greatly depending on where you live.

Only senior citizens, certain disabled veterans and surviving spouses of U.S. service members killed in the line of duty are eligible for this tax break.

Previously, the disabled veterans exemption was limited to those whose disability was classified as “100% permanent and total” by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The designation of “permanent and total” disability is a medical determination, unrelated to an individual’s employability.

With the passage of Amendment G, the tax break will be extended to those who meet the VA’s criteria for a “total individual employment disability” rating, or TDIU, meaning they are unable to have a stable job that supports them financially.

Legislative analysts expect about 3,700 additional veterans to be eligible for the tax break as a result of this change.