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Colorado sales tax, explained.

Thresholds, state and home-rule city rates, taxability, and filing schedules — everything a remote seller needs to know about Colorado, on one page.

Economic nexus threshold
$100,000
Statewide base rate
2.9%
Transaction threshold
None
DenverAuroraColorado SpringsBoulderFort Collins
Colorado · major filing jurisdictions
Nexus · Colorado

When you owe sales tax in Colorado.

Either kind of nexus creates the obligation to register, collect, and remit. Colorado measures sales only — there is no transaction-count test. Home-rule cities can impose their own, independent obligations on top of the state.

Economic nexus
Threshold
$100,000 in retail sales delivered into Colorado
Measurement type
Sales only — transaction count does not matter
Measurement period
Current or previous calendar year
Included
Retail sales of tangible personal property, commodities, and taxable services; resale sales are excluded
Marketplaces
Marketplace-facilitator sales are excluded from your threshold — the platform collects and remits Colorado tax on those transactions
Physical nexus
Employees / remote staffOffice or leased propertyInventory · 3PL · warehouseReps, agents, contractorsConstruction sites

Physical presence creates nexus with the state and with each home-rule city where that presence exists. Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs each have their own registration requirements — the state license does not cover them.

Rates · Colorado

What you'll collect, city by city.

The state rate is just 2.9% — one of the lowest in the country — but home-rule cities layer their own taxes on top. The combined rate and even what is taxable depend entirely on the delivery address.

JurisdictionCombined rateTangible propertyDigital goodsSaaSServices
ColoradoState rate2.9%2.9%2.9%0%0%
Denver9.15%9.15%9.15%Varies0%
Colorado Springs8.2%8.2%8.2%0%0%
Aurora8%8%8%0%0%
Boulder5.335%5.335%5.335%0%0%
Fort Collins3.95%3.95%3.95%0%0%

Colorado has roughly 70 home-rule cities that self-administer their own sales tax. The combined rates above reflect the state-administered engine for each ZIP code. Denver levies a separate municipal sales tax on certain digital goods and cloud services that is administered by Denver — not the state — and not reflected in the state-engine rate. Always verify taxability with the destination city's own published rules before collecting. Rates verified as of June 11, 2026.

Need the exact rate for one address or invoice? Our calculator returns the combined state, county, and local rate for any Colorado delivery address.

Open the sales tax calculator
Taxability · Colorado

Is your product taxable here?

Colorado's state-level rules are software-friendly, but home-rule cities can diverge — the same SaaS transaction can be exempt under state law and taxable in a home-rule city like Denver.

Product categoryStatusWhat to know
Tangible personal propertyTaxablePhysical goods delivered into Colorado are taxable at the combined state and local rate for the delivery address.
SaaS & cloud softwarePartialExempt at the Colorado state level for both B2B and B2C. However, certain home-rule cities administer their own rules — Denver, for example, taxes specified digital goods and services under its municipal code. Confirm the destination city's treatment before collecting.
Digital goods & downloadsTaxableThe state taxes digital products (downloaded software, digital audio, video, and similar electronic products) as tangible personal property. Home-rule cities follow their own definitions.
Professional servicesNot taxableConsulting, legal, design, and general professional services are exempt from Colorado state sales tax. Some home-rule cities impose their own service taxes — verify at the city level.
Bundled hardware + softwarePartialThe hardware portion is taxable; separately stated remotely-accessed software may be exempt at the state level. Itemize invoices to protect the software exemption.
Shipping & handlingPartialShipping charges are generally exempt when separately stated. If bundled into the sale price of a taxable item, the shipping amount may become taxable.
Filings · Colorado

Filing schedules and due dates.

Colorado DOR assigns your filing frequency at registration based on expected tax liability. Home-rule cities file separately — through their own portals on their own schedules.

FrequencyReturnDue dateWho it applies to
MonthlyMost commonDR 0100, Colorado Retail Sales Tax Return20th of the month following the reporting periodSellers with larger monthly Colorado tax liability, as assigned by the Department of Revenue
QuarterlyDR 0100, Colorado Retail Sales Tax Return20th of the month following the end of the quarterSmaller sellers, as assigned; quarters end March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31
AnnualDR 0100, Colorado Retail Sales Tax ReturnJanuary 20 for the prior calendar yearVery low-volume sellers with minimal annual tax liability, as assigned
Home-rule city returnsVaries by city — Denver uses its own portal; many cities participate in the state SUTS systemTypically the 20th of the month following the period, but verify with each cityAny seller with nexus in a self-administering home-rule city; due separately from the state return

Crossed the threshold, or about to?

A Commenda expert will review your Colorado exposure — state and home-rule city — register you with the Colorado Department of Revenue and the relevant municipalities, and take over the filing calendar.

The state authority

Colorado DOR — and the home-rule cities.

The Colorado Department of Revenue administers state sales tax through the Revenue Online portal. The SUTS (Sales and Use Tax System) covers many state-administered local jurisdictions in a single return — but approximately 70 self-administering home-rule cities run their own portals with their own rules, and cannot be filed through the state system.

tax.colorado.gov

State registration requires a Tax Portal username and password; your State Tax ID (format XXXXXXXXX-XXX-SLS) is assigned on approval. Home-rule cities require separate licenses.

About 70 Colorado home-rule cities self-administer their own sales tax — including Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs. Each requires its own license, files its own returns through its own portal, and may apply taxability rules that differ from the state. State registration and SUTS filing do not satisfy home-rule obligations.

What you can do there
  • Register for a sales tax license

    State license via Revenue Online or MyBizColorado; each home-rule city requires a separate municipal license.

  • File state returns and pay

    Revenue Online and SUTS cover state-administered jurisdictions; home-rule cities require filing through their own portals.

  • Look up the rate for any address

    The Colorado GIS sales tax lookup returns the combined rate for any address and identifies whether the city self-administers.

  • Verify an exemption certificate

    Confirm a buyer's Colorado license or exemption certificate is active before honoring a resale or exempt claim.

Exposure & exemptions · Colorado

If you're behind, or your buyers are exempt.

Back-period exposure & voluntary disclosure

Colorado offers a voluntary disclosure program through the Department of Revenue for out-of-state sellers who come forward before the state contacts them.

Lookback
3 years under a VDA — versus a longer exposure window if the state initiates contact first
Penalties
Waived under the program
Interest
Still owed on back tax — no automatic relief
Home-rule cities
Each self-administering city negotiates its own voluntary disclosure separately; the state VDA does not cover them

Exemption certificates accepted

Collect a valid certificate at the time of sale and retain it — Colorado places the burden of proof on the seller to demonstrate a sale was exempt.

Resale
DR 0563 Colorado Sales Tax Exemption Certificate, or the buyer's Colorado sales tax account number
Multi-state
MTC Uniform Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate accepted at the state level; Colorado is not an SST member state
Charitable / nonprofit
Qualifying organizations may hold a Colorado charitable exemption certificate; verify the certificate is current before honoring
Home-rule city exemptions
Self-administering cities issue their own exemption certificates and may not honor the state certificate — check each city's requirements separately

FAQ · Colorado

Colorado questions, answered.

The questions remote sellers ask us most about Colorado sales tax.
Read our FAQ library

Colorado requires registration once you exceed $100,000 in retail sales delivered into the state in the current or previous calendar year. There is no transaction-count test — Colorado uses a sales-only threshold.

No. Colorado excludes marketplace-facilitator transactions from your direct threshold. When a registered marketplace facilitator collects and remits Colorado tax on your behalf, those sales do not count toward your $100,000 threshold.

Not at the state level — both B2B and B2C remotely-accessed software is exempt from Colorado state sales tax. However, Colorado has roughly 70 self-administering home-rule cities that set their own taxability rules. Denver, for example, levies its own municipal sales tax on certain digital goods and services under its city code. The answer depends on the delivery address, so always verify at the city level.

Home-rule cities in Colorado have constitutional authority to administer their own sales tax entirely outside the state system. They issue separate licenses, accept only their own exemption certificates, run their own filing portals, and determine independently what is taxable. Registering with Colorado DOR and filing through SUTS does not satisfy obligations in a self-administering city like Denver, Boulder, or Colorado Springs.

Yes, if you have nexus with Denver. Denver is a self-administering home-rule city and requires its own business license and sales tax registration, separate from the Colorado state license. Denver tax returns are filed through Denver's own portal, not through Revenue Online or SUTS.

Yes. Colorado taxes downloaded digital products — software, digital audio, video, e-books, and similar electronic products — as tangible personal property at the state level. Home-rule cities apply their own rules on top, which can result in a higher combined rate.

Colorado imposes a Retail Delivery Fee on deliveries of tangible goods by motor vehicle to a Colorado address. Remote sellers with $500,000 or more in annual Colorado sales are required to collect the fee. The fee rate is adjusted periodically by the state; check tax.colorado.gov for the current amount.

Yes. Commenda monitors your Colorado exposure, registers you with the Department of Revenue and the relevant home-rule cities, calculates the correct rate and taxability on every transaction, and files each return on the assigned schedule. Book a call to see it on your own data.

United States

Sales tax, state by state.

* No state-level sales tax. Alaska's local jurisdictions still enforce economic nexus through the ARSSTC.