Colorado Sales Tax

Colorado Sales Tax Guide (2026)

2.9% statewide, the lowest state rate in the country, but around 70 home-rule cities collect their own tax separately, which makes Colorado the hardest state in the US for local compliance.[1]

5 min read • Reviewed by Tax Advisory Team • Verified • Sources: CO DOR & CRS
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Quick Facts

Sales Tax at a Glance

State base rate
2.9% [1]
Combined rate range
2.9%–11.2% [2]
Denver combined rate
9.15% [2]
Self-collecting cities
About 70 [3]
Retail delivery fee
$0.31 per delivery [4]
Sourcing rule
Destination-based [1]
Economic nexus
$100k / year [5]
Physical nexus
Any CO presence [1]
Upcoming law change
HB 26-1223, 1/1/27 [6]
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Home rule is the compliance risk that catches sellers out

Around 70 Colorado municipalities administer, audit and enforce their own sales tax entirely separately from the state.[3] Filing the state return does not cover any of them:

Denver Boulder Colorado Springs Aurora Fort Collins Most mountain resort towns
What this means in practice: each self-collecting city sets its own base, exemptions, return and due dates, and usually requires its own licence. The state’s free SUTS portal centralises filing for jurisdictions that have joined, but any city that has not must be handled directly.[7]
Estimate

Colorado sales tax calculator

Colorado · state rate 2.9%
Presets are verified. For an exact address, choose Custom.
Rate applied–
Estimated sales tax–
Total with tax–

Estimate only, and it excludes the separate $0.31 retail delivery fee. Confirm your address with DOR’s DR 1002 rate tables[2] before filing, or let CrownGlobe handle it.

Rates & Registration

Colorado Sales Tax Rates, Nexus & the delivery fee

Rate components

State base rate2.9%
Combined range2.9%–11.2%
Economic nexus$100k / yr
Retail delivery fee$0.31 per order

Colorado publishes rates in DR 1002 twice a year, in January and July, and the delivery fee is re-indexed for inflation every July 1.[4]

Who must register

Either trigger applies: economic nexus ($100,000 of Colorado retail sales in the prior or current calendar year, with no transaction-count test), or physical presence such as an office, warehouse, inventory or an employee working from home in Colorado.[5]

The delivery fee is not sales tax: $0.31 applies per motor-vehicle delivery containing any taxable item, has its own return, and exempts retailers under $500,000 of prior-year sales.[8]

Compliance

Sales Tax Registration and Filing

The state licence does not register you with any home-rule city.

How to register

  • Confirm nexus→
  • Revenue Online→
  • Get state licence→
  • Check home-rule cities→
  • File via SUTS

The state licence costs $16 plus a refundable $50 deposit and renews every two years, expiring on December 31 of odd-numbered years.[9]

Filing & due dates

FrequencyMonthly tax collectedDue
Monthly$1,100 or more20th of next month
QuarterlyUnder $1,10020th after quarter
Annual$50 or lessJan 20

The state vendor service fee was abolished on January 1, 2026, so there is no longer a state discount for filing on time.[10] Late filing costs the greater of $15 or 10% plus 0.5% a month, capped at 18%.[11]

Pricing

Sales Tax & Nexus Pricing

Multi Tax Filing – $50 Per State/Month

ServiceWhat’s Included
Multi-state registrationNexus tracking, permit setup, and state agency coordination.
Monthly filingSales tax returns filed in every registered state.
Exemption & audit supportCertificate handling and notice response.
Get Started with Multi-State Filing
Taxability

Taxable vs. exempt

Colorado taxes tangible goods and digital goods but very few services, and home-rule cities can and do reach further.[12]

Generally taxable

  • Tangible retail goodsCRS 39-26-104
  • Digital goods, music, video & e-booksCRS 39-26-102
  • Candy & soft drinksCRS 39-26-707
  • Prepared food & restaurant mealsCRS 39-26-707
  • Prewritten software on physical mediaCRS 39-26-102
  • Short-term lodging under 30 daysCRS 39-26-104

Generally exempt

  • Unprepared grocery foodCRS 39-26-707
  • Prescription drugs & medical devicesCRS 39-26-717
  • Manufacturing machinery over $500CRS 39-26-709
  • Sales to exempt organisationsCRS 39-26-718
  • Cable & satellite televisionRule 39-26-102(23)
  • Downloaded software, until 12/31/2026Ends under HB 26-1223
Worth flagging: Denver already taxes SaaS under its own municipal code even though the state does not, and HB 26-1223 narrows the state exemption from January 1, 2027. Software taxability has to be checked city by city, not just at state level.[6]
Reference

Glossary of key terms

Nexus
The connection to a state substantial enough to require tax registration.
Home-rule city
A Colorado municipality that administers and audits its own sales tax independently of the state.
State-collected jurisdiction
A local area whose tax the state collects on one combined DR 0100 return.
SUTS
The state’s free portal for registering and filing with the state and participating local jurisdictions.
Retail delivery fee
A flat per-order fee on motor-vehicle deliveries containing taxable goods, separate from sales tax.
Resale certificate
A DR 5002 or MTC certificate letting a registered buyer purchase stock tax-free.
FAQ

Sales Tax FAQs

2.9% at state level, the lowest in the country. Combined rates run from 2.9% up to 11.2% in Winter Park once county, city and special-district taxes stack. Denver is 9.15%.

A municipality that administers, audits and enforces its own sales tax separately from the state. Around 70 self-collect, including Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs and most resort towns, and each generally needs its own licence and return.

$100,000 of Colorado retail sales in the prior or current calendar year. Colorado dropped its transaction-count test in 2019, so there is no 200-transaction alternative.

A flat $0.31 charge on each motor-vehicle delivery to a Colorado address containing at least one taxable item, current from July 1, 2026. It is re-indexed annually and retailers under $500,000 of prior-year sales are exempt.

Not at state level through December 31, 2026, but some home-rule cities including Denver already tax it under their own codes. HB 26-1223 narrows the state exemption from January 1, 2027.

By tax collected: monthly at $1,100 or more a month, quarterly below that, and annually at $50 or less a month. A return is required even for periods with no tax due.

Verification

Sources & methodology

  1. CO DOR – Sales Tax Guide
  2. CO DOR – DR 1002 Rate Tables (PDF)
  3. CO DOR – Local Government Sales Tax
  4. CO DOR – Retail Delivery Fee Rates
  5. CO General Assembly – HB 19-1240 (PDF)
  6. CO General Assembly – HB 26-1223 Fiscal Note
  7. CO DOR – SUTS Participating Jurisdictions
  8. CO DOR – Retail Delivery Fee Retailers
  9. CO DOR – Sales Tax Guide (PDF)
  10. CO DOR – Service Fee
  11. CO DOR – Penalties and Interest
  12. CO DOR – Computer Software Topics (PDF)
  13. CO DOR – Sales Tax Filing Information
  14. CO DOR – Marketplaces Topics (PDF)
Methodology: Every figure is checked against the Colorado Department of Revenue or the Colorado Revised Statutes directly, never copied from a third-party guide. Colorado republishes rates each January and July and re-indexes the delivery fee every July, so this page is reviewed twice a year.
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