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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Does a company have to charge Colorado sales tax on DNA-based ancestry and health reports and the saliva kits it sends customers — and does the company owe use tax on those kits itself?
Two answers. The DNA ancestry and health-history reports — and the saliva collection kits sold to customers to produce them — are NOT subject to Colorado sales tax, because the customer's 'true object…
Are guided walking tours subject to Colorado sales tax, and what happens when food or drinks at a tour stop are included in the price?
It depends on whether food and drink are included. A guided walking tour by itself is a nontaxable service — it's not on Colorado's list of taxed services. But if the price includes food or beverages …
Does a cable TV company owe Colorado sales tax on its basic and premium channel packages, sports packages, pay-per-view events, and video-on-demand?
No. A cable company's sales of basic and premium channel packages, sports packages, pay-per-view events, and video-on-demand are not subject to Colorado state or state-administered local sales tax, be…
For a company selling EV charging stations, must it collect sales tax on (1) the station, (2) an annual network fee, and (3) maintenance contracts?
A general overview, no binding determination. (1) Selling the charging station is a taxable retail sale of tangible personal property (and use tax can apply to its use). (2) The annual network fee is …
Does a billing-services company owe Colorado sales tax on the printed bills it produces, or on the separately stated postage it charges to mail them?
No to both. A company that turns clients' raw financial data into printed bills and statements is selling a nontaxable service, not taxable goods — the paper the bills are printed on is incidental to …
Which of a software company's products and services — licenses, SaaS, support, training, hardware — are subject to Colorado sales tax?
Mostly not taxable, with hardware the main exception. Electronically delivered software, SaaS/hosting, accounting, conversion, training, consulting, and travel reimbursements are not subject to Colora…
Is a company's monthly fee for medical credentialing services — collecting documentation, preparing applications, and obtaining insurer credentials for a provider's billing staff using cloud-based software — subject to Colorado sales tax?
No, on these facts. Medical credentialing — collecting documentation, creating profiles, preparing applications, and obtaining the credentials a provider's billing staff need to bill insurers — appear…
Does Colorado sales tax apply to charges for a live web seminar, a pre-recorded webinar, and a self-study course delivered over the web?
It splits three ways by how 'live' the instruction is. A charge to attend a LIVE web seminar is NOT taxable — it's a service, because a live instructor is providing educational services. A charge to w…
Is the 'into-plane fee' for transporting aviation fuel from the airport fuel farm to a customer's aircraft subject to Colorado sales tax when the customer buys the fuel from one company but contracts separately with a different fixed-base operator for the fueling service?
No, on these facts. The 'into-plane' fee — for moving fuel from the airport fuel farm into the customer's aircraft — is a nontaxable service here, because the customer buys the taxable fuel from one c…
Are a company's medical-records services — coding, abstraction, and secure online storage — subject to Colorado sales or use tax?
No. The Department reaffirmed its earlier PLR 13-005 view that retrieving and copying medical records is a service, not a sale of tangible personal property. So coding, abstraction, and secure online …
Is contract manufacturing (making goods from a customer's own raw materials) a non-taxable service, and does doing some of it cost a manufacturer the machinery exemption under § 39-26-709?
When a manufacturer makes goods entirely from the customer's own raw materials, there's no transfer of property, so it's a non-taxable service, not a sale. And the manufacturing-machinery exemption (§…
Is a company that maintains a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) database and prepares regulatory compliance reports, permits, and transport documents making taxable sales of tangible personal property, or providing nontaxable services?
The Department couldn't decide. A digital Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is tangible personal property — like a digital reference manual — and is taxable if the customer is really just buying acces…
Was a monthly server-support/maintenance fee covering free Microsoft patches and upgrades taxable under Colorado's 2010–2012 software rules?
Probably not taxable — though the Department gave only general guidance. The question covered the window from March 1, 2010 to June 30, 2012, when 'standardized' (prewritten) software was taxable no m…
Does a full-service truck wash owe Colorado sales tax on the wash, and use tax on the soaps, wax, water, electricity, gas, and equipment it uses?
Likely a non-taxable service — but with use tax on the supplies. A full-service wash where the company's own employees run the equipment is treated as a non-taxable service, not a taxable equipment re…
Is the product delivered by an Application Service Provider (ASP) — such as an electronic sales-tax-rate lookup accessed over the internet — subject to Colorado sales and use tax?
Generally not taxable software, but the Department didn't decide this specific product. Colorado taxes tangible personal property, and effective July 1, 2012, computer software is taxable only if it i…
Is a web-based subscription service for sending, receiving, and tracking large digital files subject to Colorado sales or use tax, or is it a non-taxable service?
It's a non-taxable service. A web-based subscription for sending, receiving, and tracking large digital files is a service — not a rental of software or servers — so it is not subject to Colorado sale…
Are a seller's charges for installation, troubleshooting, removal, reinstallation, and trip fees on equipment subject to Colorado sales tax?
It depends on how the labor is sold. Charges for services are generally not subject to Colorado sales tax, but a charge for maintenance or a service warranty made in connection with the sale or lease …
Are pet microchips, scanners, and ID tags taxable, and how are bundled pet-recovery services and 'free' chips treated under Colorado sales tax?
Goods taxable, services not. Pet microchips, scanners, and ID collar tags are tangible personal property, so their sale is subject to Colorado sales/use tax; no exemption applies (the livestock-drug e…
Are a company's print-and-mail service and its electronic data services (file transfer, address correction, database search) subject to Colorado sales tax?
Mostly non-taxable services, but the Department made no specific determination. A company's electronic data services—automated file transfers (VPN/SSL), USPS address corrections, and database-search/u…
Are a web-hosted exemption-certificate portal and an online sales/use tax-return preparation service subject to Colorado sales or use tax?
Not taxable. Two web-hosted products—an online portal where customers fill out, print, and submit sales-tax exemption certificates, and a service that prepares and files a client's sales/use tax retur…
Are optional, separately stated clothing alterations (hemming, shortening, taking in) ordered at the time you buy the garment subject to Colorado sales tax?
No. Optional, separately stated alteration services—shortening, hemming, taking in—that a customer orders from the retailer at the time of buying the clothing are NOT subject to Colorado sales or use …
Does Colorado sales tax apply to a company that only provides labor—merchandising, hanging signage, and assembling fixtures—for retail-store customers who own all the goods?
No. A company that provides only labor—stocking and arranging merchandise, hanging the store's signs, and assembling the store's display fixtures—is performing nontaxable services and owes no Colorado…
Does Colorado sales or use tax apply to custom software, standalone services, installation, repairs, freight, and training sold with telecommunications equipment?
Mostly no, with one big 'it depends.' Custom software, standalone services, repair labor, and training are generally not subject to Colorado sales tax. Freight/transportation is generally not taxable …
Are outsourced call-center / contact-center services subject to Colorado sales tax?
No. Outsourced call-center / contact-center services aren't subject to Colorado sales tax. Colorado generally doesn't tax services, and although it does tax telephone service, the call-center company …
Is crime-scene / biohazard property remediation (chemical wipe-downs, flooring removal, odor thermo-fogging) a taxable sale of property or a nontaxable service in Colorado?
It's a nontaxable service. Under Colorado's 'true object' test, crime-scene and biohazard remediation (chemical wipe-downs, removing flooring, thermo-fogging out odors) is primarily a service, not a s…
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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.