Tax Rates and Information
The state sales tax and use tax rates in Colorado are 2.9 percent. See our Use Tax page for more details. However, city and county sales and use tax rates vary. These local taxes are in addition to the 2.9 percent state sales and use tax. There are also certain special district taxes that may apply and these taxes are reported and remitted to the Colorado Department of Revenue.
For a complete listing of city and county sales taxes and all special district taxes and tax rates see the department's publication Colorado Sales/Use Tax Rates (DR 1002) or online in
the Local Sales Tax Rate System or the Local Taxes by Address System.
The Colorado Department of Revenue does not collect tax for Home Rule cities and does not collect county tax for Denver and Broomfield counties. Home Rule cities and counties operate independently from the Colorado Department of Revenue. If you have a business inside a Home Rule jurisdiction, please contact that jurisdiction directly for their sales tax requirements. To determine if you are located in a Home Rule jurisdiction and for contact information for all Home Rule cities and counties please see the publication Colorado Sales/Use Tax Rates (DR 1002) .
The most common special district taxes are:
Regional Transportation District (RTD) - The Regional Transportation District levies a sales/use tax and includes the counties of Denver, Boulder, Broomfield (except certain areas immediately adjacent to I-25 and Highway 7 interchange and other areas in northeast Broomfield), Jefferson, Adams (west of Box Elder Creek), Arapahoe (roughly, one mile east of Gun Club Road and south of Quincy including Arapahoe Park), and Douglas (northeast portion plus Highlands Ranch). If you are unsure if you are in the RTD area, you can contact RTD at (303) 299-2484. If you do not know what county you are in, you can look up your address jurisdictions by using our City and County Local Tax Rate System or the Local Taxes by Address System.
Football Stadium District (FD or FTBL) - This is a sales/use tax for the Football Stadium District and applies to all sales that are subject to the RTD tax and additional portions of Douglas County and Park Meadows Mall.
Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (CD) - This is a sales/use tax for the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District and applies to all sales that are also subject to the RTD tax, plus the remainder of Adams and Arapahoe, as well as all of Douglas County except the towns of Castle Rock and Larkspur.
Local Improvement District (LID) - This is a sales tax within designated areas. Exemptions include utilities, and telephone and telegraph services.
Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) - The Roaring Fork RTA district includes Basalt, Glenwood Springs, Carbondale and New Castle. The Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority includes the cities of Colorado Springs, Green Mountain Falls, Manitou Springs and all of unincorporated El Paso County.
These special district taxes are reported on the Colorado Sales Tax Return (DR 0100)under Special Districts, which is the third column on the form.