Colorado State Tax Rulings
Free plain-English summaries of state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued in Colorado, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Are the materials and components of orthodontic braces subject to Colorado sales tax?
It depends on where the material ends up. Orthodontic materials a licensed provider furnishes to the patient — that leave with the patient or are consumed by the patient at the office (like the braces…
Are fluoride varnish and oral-health kits sold to dental and medical providers exempt from Colorado sales tax?
Likely yes — but not as a prescription drug. The FDA classifies fluoride varnish as a Class II medical device, not a drug, so it doesn't qualify for Colorado's prescription-drug exemption. It does, ho…
Are custom herbal formulas that a licensed acupuncturist prepares and sells to clients exempt from Colorado sales tax as prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, or materials furnished by a licensed provider?
They're taxable. Custom herbal formulas an acupuncturist prepares and sells do NOT qualify for Colorado's medical exemptions for prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, or materials furnished by a …
Is a permanent transprostatic implant sold to hospitals exempt from Colorado sales tax as a prosthetic device or as material furnished by a provider?
Yes, it's exempt — on two independent grounds. The permanent transprostatic implant (which corrects BPH by reopening the urethra) qualifies as an exempt prosthetic device because it replaces the block…
Can a tissue-distribution business buy its surgical equipment and supplies tax-free as medical exemptions, and is the rent it charges for meeting space taxable?
Mostly taxable here. Colorado's medical-equipment and -supply exemptions apply only when the item is bought pursuant to a prescription or furnished by a licensed provider as part of professional servi…
Are replacement batteries for electric wheelchairs exempt from Colorado sales tax as repair/replacement parts for mobility enhancing equipment, and what documentation must the retailer keep?
Yes, with a prescription. A replacement battery for an electric wheelchair, motorized cart, or scooter is exempt as a component/replacement part of mobility enhancing equipment — but only when the equ…
Are walk-in bathtubs, in-home wheelchair lifts, and modular ramps exempt from Colorado sales tax as medical equipment?
It depends on the item — and all of them need a prescription. In-home wheelchair mobility lifts and modular ramps appear to qualify for Colorado's MOBILITY ENHANCING EQUIPMENT exemption, because they'…
Is the monthly rental of a prescription device that treats brain tumors with alternating electric fields subject to Colorado sales or use tax?
Exempt. The rental of this cancer-treatment therapy — a prescription device that delivers alternating electric fields through scalp electrodes to slow recurrent brain-tumor (GBM) cell division — is ex…
Does hemodialysis equipment qualify for Colorado's durable medical equipment or prosthetic device exemption?
Durable medical equipment — yes (apparently); prosthetic device — doubtful. Prescribed hemodialysis equipment appears to qualify for Colorado's durable medical equipment exemption: it withstands repea…
Is the sale of an infusion pump for at-home pain management subject to Colorado sales or use tax?
It's exempt — by either of two routes. An infusion pump that delivers medication is exempt from Colorado sales and use tax as a medical/disposable 'infusion' supply when dispensed pursuant to a prescr…
Are intrauterine devices (IUDs) subject to Colorado sales or use tax — hormonal versus copper?
Exempt, by two different routes. A hormone-releasing IUD is treated as a prescription drug, so it's exempt from Colorado sales and use tax when dispensed pursuant to a prescription by a licensed provi…
Are sutures and IV catheters used in a hospital procedure exempt from Colorado sales tax, and does it matter whether they leave with the patient?
It depends on whether the item leaves with the patient. Colorado exempts nonprescription drugs or materials furnished by a licensed provider as part of professional services to a patient (§ 39-26-717(…
Are tear/serum osmolarity testing modules exempt from Colorado sales tax as 'blood and urine testing kits and materials'?
No — they're taxable. Colorado exempts the sale of 'blood and urine' testing kits and materials (§ 39-26-717(d)), but the Department concluded that tear/serum osmolarity testing modules (such as TearL…
Are Braille devices, electronic magnifiers, adapted phones, and other products that help blind and legally blind people exempt from Colorado sales and use tax?
Probably not exempt, though the Department made no determination. Three Colorado exemptions might seem to apply — optical sales, prosthetic devices, and durable medical equipment — but the optical exe…
Is a prescribed cold-therapy band/cuff that wraps around the body and is connected to a cooling device exempt from Colorado sales tax as durable medical equipment?
Maybe, but the Department wouldn't decide. A prescribed cold-therapy band — wrapped around an injured area and connected to a separate cooling device, used in orthopedic-surgery recovery — could be ex…
Is a custom 'bio-engineered' orthotic shoe insert exempt from Colorado sales and use tax as a prosthetic device or durable medical equipment?
The Department wouldn't decide, and it signaled skepticism. A custom 'bio-engineered' orthotic shoe insert might be exempt as a prosthetic device — an artificial device that aids or replaces a bodily …
Is a prescribed, at-home ophthalmic monitoring device — and the monitoring, data-processing, and call-center services that go with it — subject to Colorado sales tax?
No on both. A prescribed ophthalmic device a patient uses at home to monitor for eye disease appears to qualify as exempt durable medical equipment (it withstands repeated use, serves a medical purpos…
Is an injectable dermal filler used to smooth smile lines exempt from Colorado sales and use tax?
Yes—but on a narrow ground. In this amended letter (which reversed the Department's original 2008 conclusion that the product was taxable), the Department held the injectable dermal filler is EXEMPT b…
Are specialty therapy mattresses (low-air-loss, pressure-relieving, turning, bariatric), HI/LOW and bariatric bed frames, and wheelchairs subject to Colorado sales tax?
It depends on the item. Colorado taxes tangible personal property, but the medical exemption specifically covers wheelchairs and hospital beds. Therapeutic devices, appliances, and related accessories…
Are medical diagnostic test kits—a flu A+B test, an RSV test, and an hCG urine test—subject to Colorado sales or use tax?
The Department gave the framework, not a firm answer. Colorado taxes tangible personal property unless exempt (§39-26-104), and several medical exemptions can apply to diagnostic products—prescription…
Are orthopedic implants (screws and plates made in standard sizes, not fitted to one person) exempt from Colorado sales tax, even if they don't meet the 'prosthetic device' definition?
They may well be exempt, but through a different door than the company assumed. Rather than fighting over whether standard-size screws and plates are 'prosthetic devices' (which FYI Sales 68 defines a…
In Colorado, are dietary supplements, TENS units, and 'pads' subject to sales tax, or do they qualify as exempt food or exempt therapeutic devices?
Supplements are generally taxable—dietary supplements like vitamins and minerals are tangible personal property and don't qualify as exempt food (Regulation (39)-26-102.4.5(b)(8)/(9)) or, generally, a…
Are motorized scooters and orthopedic items like a walker boot, post-op soft shoe, and suspension boot exempt from Colorado sales tax?
No—all are taxable. Motorized scooters don't qualify for the wheelchair exemption: exemptions are narrowly construed, and these aren't commonly understood to be wheelchairs (even the makers don't call…
Are visco-elastic (memory-foam) mattresses, pillows, and cushions exempt from Colorado sales tax as therapeutic devices if a doctor prescribes them for pain management?
No, not on the facts shown. Visco-elastic memory-foam mattresses, pillows, and cushions don't qualify for Colorado's therapeutic-device exemption even with a doctor's prescription. Tax exemptions are …
Is a surgical laser used to create LASIK flaps, and its single-use interface (a milled glass part, like the blade in the traditional method), exempt from Colorado sales or use tax?
They're taxable. Colorado exempts drugs or materials a doctor furnishes to a patient (plus corrective eyeglasses, contacts, and hearing aids), but the rule turns on whether the item leaves with the pa…
Are external fixators and single-use surgical wire exempt from Colorado tax as therapeutic devices?
External fixators are exempt; the surgical wire is taxable. Colorado exempts therapeutic devices, equipment, and accessories that correct or treat a human physical disability. An adjustable external f…
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These are official tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued by Colorado's revenue authority in response to questions from specific taxpayers about how the tax law applies to their facts. A ruling is binding on the department only for the taxpayer who requested it and cannot be relied on by anyone else, but it is strong evidence of how the state reads the law. Every ruling above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original source.