Durango’s annual food tax rebate and utility refund returns money to some of the lowest income earners in the city, and applications for the 2025 program opened on Monday.
City spokesman Tom Sluis said the rebate and refund is only open to Durango residents who earn 50% of the area median income or less. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development set the income threshold for eligibility based on family size:
- Families of four or more household members who earn up to $55,250 are eligible for the programs. Their food tax rebate is valued at $149.
- Households of three earning up to $49,750 are eligible for a rebate of $280.
- Households of two are eligible if they earn up to $44,200 and they can receive a $316 rebate.
- Households of one individual are eligible if they earn up to $38,700 and will receive a $378 rebate.
A city news release said residents must have lived within city limits for the full 12 months of 2024 to qualify for the food tax rebate, and residents must have owned and occupied a home within city limits and received city utility services on Dec. 31 and for 10 months prior to the end of December.
For both programs, an applicant must apply for all family members in his or her household, according to the city.
Residents can acquire applications at Durango City Hall at 949 East Second Ave., the Durango Transit Center at 250 W. Eighth St. and the La Plata Senior Center at 2424 Main Ave., or online. Applications must be submitted to the city by July 7.
Sluis said the city received 209 applications for rebates and refunds in 2024, and the city paid out $40,385 through both programs.
He said the rebate and refund programs are targeted at the people who need assistance the most.
According to 2022 U.S. census date, La Plata County had a population of 56,000 people with a median household income of $81,936.
Sluis said households statistically have about 2.1 to 2.3 people living in them. The households earning at or below 50% area median income are bringing in below $20,000 annually per person, which is hovering right above the poverty line.
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the 2025 poverty lines in America are $32,150 for a household of four people, $21,150 for a household of two and $15,650 for a household of one person.
cburney@durangoherald.com
