The base sales tax rate in Colorado is 2.9%, but this does not universally apply to the whole state of Colorado, in fact, there are a variety of different sales tax rates depending on the county you are in. So, the way in which Colorado’s sales tax is calculated is the base rate of 2.9% tax throughout the whole state plus the additional percentage rate each county charges, equals the total Colorado sales tax rate you will pay or have to collect from your customers if you are a business.
Any retail, gas station/convenience store, or restaurant-related business you visit in Colorado should charge you the prevailing rate of the Colorado sales tax according to the county they are located in, and this also includes accommodations such as hotels and motels. While paying sales tax is mostly applicable to the sale of products, it may also apply to some service-related businesses such as hotels, taxi and limo services, sale of admissions, and charges for participation in games and amusement activities. If you are unsure whether your business should collect Colorado sales tax, you may want to visit the Colorado Department of Revenue (Taxation Division) website.
Paying Colorado’s sales tax as a consumer is a seamless process that you do not need to worry too much about when doing things like visiting a restaurant or retail store, booking a hotel, or taking your car in for a service. On the other hand, as a business owner or someone looking to start a business in Colorado, it is a whole different matter.
If you are responsible for collecting sales tax from your customers, you need to know exactly what your responsibilities are, and you need to follow the rules of Colorado sales tax collection, making sure you pay the State of Colorado each month for the total amount of Colorado sales tax you collect. In some instances, this may apply to online businesses, and if you participate in the Amazon FBA program, or simply have an e-commerce business selling a large volume of products to customers in Colorado, you may be subject to sales tax collection depending on where your products are warehoused and the volume of transactions each month/year.
Colorado Sales Tax Rate
The base rate of sales tax in Colorado is 2.9%, but the average range of Colorado sales tax, including the county sales tax rate, is 2.9%-11.2%. For your convenience, we have included a table below that lists the Colorado sales tax rate for each county within the state. The table combines the base Colorado sales tax rate of 2.9% and the local county rates to give you a total tax rate for each county.
Colorado has many different counties, 64 in total. The Colorado sales tax rate for most counties is 2%, which means that most counties, when combined with the Colorado sales tax rate, charge, on average, about 4.6%-4.9% sales tax.
What you will find in the U.S., which is different from some other countries, is that when you see the price of a product such as a t-shirt in a retail store, or food on a menu in a restaurant, it is usually plus state and county sales tax.
So, when you checkout your items in a store or request the bill (check) at a restaurant, you will likely pay the price you saw on the label or on the menu + state and county sales tax. This often takes foreigners and those not used to this system by surprise because, in many other countries, the price you see is the price you pay, and the price quoted includes any sales tax or value-added tax (VAT).
Colorado Sales Tax Online
To get a basic understanding of how Colorado imposes a state sales and use tax on most products and some services purchased in the state you can make a quick calculation of the amount of Colorado sales tax online that you will pay based on the product price and sales tax rate charged within the county you are purchasing from.
So, if you are paying Boulder County sales tax, the rate would be 4.99%. A $200 product/purchase would cost you $209.98 in total.
State of Colorado Sales Tax for Businesses
There is specific terminology surrounding whether, as a business, you need to collect Colorado sales tax. This is called “Sales Tax Nexus.” It basically means, does your business have a “significant presence” in the state.
Colorado considers a seller to have sales tax nexus if you have any of the following in the state:
- If your place of business is one of the following; an office, distributing house, salesroom, house, warehouse, or another place of business.
- You qualify for sales tax nexus in Colorado if you have independent contractors or other representatives in Colorado soliciting business.
- It is becoming normality for online retailers to be using Fulfillment by Amazon to sell their products. According to the Colorado nexus rules, a seller who stores items in a physical location, this includes an Amazon Fulfillment Center, must collect sales tax from Colorado buyers.
- Since 2018, Colorado has been considering vendors who make over $100,000 in sales per year in the state qualify for economic nexus, meaning that they must collect sales tax from buyers within Colorado.
To learn exactly what the Colorado Department of Revenue – Taxation determines to be sales tax nexus in Colorado, head over to their specific web page PDF, and see what businesses this applies to and what you are expected to collect from your customers via the regulations set by Colorado.
Sales Tax in Colorado by County
The table below lists the 64 Colorado counties that charge sales tax within the state. Colorado’s sales tax is based on the base rate plus the county rate and any other special exceptions, so the rates below are indicative of the total Colorado sales tax you will pay or have to collect from your customers.
Colorado, unlike most other states, has adopted a unique way of determining its sales tax rates within the state. Most states will have a base sales tax rate, and then each county within the state will then charge additional sales tax, which added to the base state sales tax rate will equal the rate within that specific area (county or city).
However, it doesn’t work exactly like this in Colorado, the sales tax is more confusing due to Colorado sales tax being imposed at either city/county/school/transportation and SPD (special purpose district) levels. This means that the variations of Sales tax in Colorado range further than just the state sales tax and then individual county sales tax added together, there is a lot more to consider when working out what the correct sales tax is for your business within a certain area or industry within the state.
Check out the Avalara website that gives you the specific breakdown of various Colorado’s sales tax rates, not just for counties, but for cities and towns in Colorado. The rates you see below will often be higher than the flat-rate sales tax charges per county because each city and town charges more which drives up the overall Colorado sales tax based on the zip code you are located in.
| Colorado Sales Tax Rates by County | Total Colorado Sales Tax Rate | Colorado State Sales Tax Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Adams County Sales Tax | 4.75% | 2.9% |
| Alamosa County Sales Tax | 5.9% | 2.9% |
| Arapahoe County Sales Tax | 4.25% | 2.9% |
| Archuleta County Sales Tax | 6.9% | 2.9% |
| Baca County Sales Tax | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| Bent County Sales Tax | 3.9% | 2.9% |
| Boulder County Sales Tax | 4.99% | 2.9% |
| Broomfield County Sales Tax | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| Chaffee County Sales Tax | 5.65% | 2.9% |
| Cheyenne County Sales Tax | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| Clear Creek County Sales Tax | 4.55% | 2.9% |
| Conejos County Sales Tax | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| Costilla County Sales Tax | 3.9% | 2.9% |
| Crowley County Sales Tax | 4.9% | 2.9% |
| Custer County Sales Tax | 4.9% | 2.9% |
| Delta County Sales Tax | 4.9% | 2.9% |
| Denver County Sales Tax | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| Dolores County Sales Tax | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| Douglas County Sales Tax | 4.5% | 2.9% |
| Eagle County Sales Tax | 4.4% | 2.9% |
| El Paso County Sales Tax | 5.13% | 2.9% |
| Elbert County Sales Tax | 3.9% | 2.9% |
| Fremont County Sales Tax | 5.4% | 2.9% |
| Garfield County Sales Tax | 3.9% | 2.9% |
| Gilpin County Sales Tax | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| Grand County Sales Tax | 4.2% | 2.9% |
| Gunnison County Sales Tax | 4.9% | 2.9% |
| Hinsdale County Sales Tax | 7.9% | 2.9% |
| Huerfano County Sales Tax | 5.9% | 2.9% |
| Jackson County Sales Tax | 6.9% | 2.9% |
| Jefferson County Sales Tax | 4.5% | 2.9% |
| Kiowa County Sales Tax | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| Kit Carson County Sales Tax | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| La Plata County Sales Tax | 4.9% | 2.9% |
| Lake County Sales Tax | 6.9% | 2.9% |
| Larimer County Sales Tax | 3.7% | 2.9% |
| Las Animas County Sales Tax | 4.4% | 2.9% |
| Lincoln County Sales Tax | 4.9% | 2.9% |
| Logan County Sales Tax | 3.9% | 2.9% |
| Mesa County Sales Tax | 5.27% | 2.9% |
| Mineral County Sales Tax | 5.5% | 2.9% |
| Moffat County Sales Tax | 4.9% | 2.9% |
| Montezuma County Sales Tax | 3.3% | 2.9% |
| Montrose County Sales Tax | 4.65% | 2.9% |
| Morgan County Sales Tax | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| Otero County Sales Tax | 3.9% | 2.9% |
| Ouray County Sales Tax | 5.45% | 2.9% |
| Park County Sales Tax | 3.9% | 2.9% |
| Phillips County Sales Tax | 3.9% | 2.9% |
| Pitkin County Sales Tax | 6.9% | 2.9% |
| Prowers County Sales Tax | 3.9% | 2.9% |
| Pueblo County Sales Tax | 3.9% | 2.9% |
| Rio Blanco County Sales Tax | 6.5% | 2.9% |
| Rio Grande County Sales Tax | 5.5% | 2.9% |
| Routt County Sales Tax | 3.9% | 2.9% |
| Saguache County Sales Tax | 5.4% | 2.9% |
| San Juan County Sales Tax | 9.4% | 2.9% |
| San Miguel County Sales Tax | 3.9% | 2.9% |
| Sedgwick County Sales Tax | 5.9% | 2.9% |
| Summit County Sales Tax | 6.38 | 2.9% |
| Teller County Sales Tax | 4.4% | 2.9% |
| Washington County Sales Tax | 4.4% | 2.9% |
| Weld County Sales Tax | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| Yuma County Sales Tax | 2.9% | 2.9% |
Colorado Department of Revenue – Taxation Contact Details
Most communication with the Colorado Department of Revenue – Taxation can be conducted easily through their online services which are available 24/7, or via telephone which is possible between the hours of 8:00 am – 4:30 am (mountain time) Monday through to Friday (with the exception of national and state holidays). Here are the main contact methods:
Here is the main address for the Colorado Department of Revenue – Taxation:
3030 S College Ave
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Telephone: (303) 238-7378 (after you ring this number you will be directed to the specific Colorado sales tax section).
Website: https://www.colorado.gov/tax
Here is the mailing address for the Colorado Department of Revenue – Taxation:
U.S. Postal Service
Colorado Department of Revenue
[Section or Employee Name and Room Number]
P.O. Box 17087
Denver, CO 80217-0087
Express Mail Delivery (DHL, FedEx, UPS and more)
Colorado Department of Revenue
[Section or Employee Name and Room Number]
1375 Sherman Street
Denver, CO 80203
Various online services are available 24/7 on the website, including electronically filing a return, making a payment, setting up payment plans, checking the status of a refund, or making a general inquiry on your account. To email the Colorado Dept of Revenue, visit this page and select the appropriate email address according to your specific need.
