Colorado Real Estate Transfer Tax: Documentary Fee and Exemptions

Colorado does not charge a traditional real estate transfer tax at the state level. What the state does collect is a documentary fee of one cent per $100 of the sale price, which comes out to $0.10 per $1,000. On a $500,000 sale, that is $50. The real cost to watch for is local: twelve resort and mountain towns collect their own transfer taxes of 1% to 4%, and those can add thousands or tens of thousands to a closing.

The Statewide Documentary Fee

Colorado Revised Statutes Section 39-13-102 sets the fee at one cent for each $100 of consideration, or any major fraction of $100.¹ A $750,000 sale generates a $75 fee. The fee only applies when the total consideration exceeds $500; anything at or below that owes nothing.

The statute imposes the fee on the person presenting the deed for recording, which is typically the buyer’s side. But the statute doesn’t dictate buyer versus seller. The purchase contract determines who actually pays, and by local custom the buyer usually does.

How Consideration Is Calculated

Consideration means the full economic value of the deal, not just cash at closing. It includes any existing liens or mortgages the buyer takes on, plus charges and expenses tied to the transfer.¹ If a buyer pays $300,000 in cash and assumes a $200,000 mortgage, the fee is calculated on $500,000.

For residential property, consideration is simply the total price. For commercial or industrial property, the full sales price counts as consideration unless the parties submit separate evidence that part of the price went to personal property like equipment or fixtures rather than the real estate.

Local Transfer Taxes in Resort Towns

The statewide documentary fee barely registers at closing. The surprise comes from local transfer taxes in certain home-rule municipalities. TABOR, the constitutional Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights adopted in 1992, prohibits new or increased real estate transfer taxes. Towns that already had them on the books kept them, and twelve currently collect these grandfathered taxes.

All are resort or mountain communities, and the rates run far above the state documentary fee:

Ophir: 4% of the purchase price
Crested Butte: 3%, split between the town’s capital fund and open space fund²
Telluride: 3%, dedicated to capital improvements, open space, and reserves³
Avon: 2%
Aspen: 1.5% total, made up of a 0.5% Wheeler Opera House tax and a 1% affordable housing tax, with the first $100,000 of consideration excluded from the housing portion⁴
Breckenridge, Frisco, Gypsum, Minturn, Snowmass Village, Vail, and Winter Park: 1% each⁵

The numbers get real quickly. A $1 million property in Crested Butte or Telluride owes $30,000 in local transfer tax alone. The same property in Aspen owes roughly $13,500 after the housing-portion exclusion. Who pays is set by the purchase contract, so both sides should read the sales agreement and the town’s ordinance before closing. Revenue typically funds parks, open space, affordable housing, and capital projects.⁵

Each town maintains its own exemption list. Aspen exempts government transfers, gifts without monetary consideration, deed-restricted affordable housing, transfers due to death, and security instruments.⁴ Telluride exempts gifts, government transfers, and transactions under $500.³ Check the local code; the specifics differ.

Exemptions From the Documentary Fee

Colorado Revised Statutes Section 39-13-104 lists the transactions that owe no documentary fee. You have to claim the exemption when you present the deed; the clerk will not apply it automatically.⁶ Exempt categories include:

Deeds where the United States, Colorado, or a political subdivision is buyer or seller. The government entity must still file an affidavit stating the consideration.
Deeds conveying property as a gift with no monetary consideration.
Public trustee deeds, treasurer’s deeds, and sheriff’s deeds from foreclosures and tax sales.
Correction deeds that confirm or fix a deed already on record.
Deeds conveying cemetery lots.
Contracts for sale lasting less than three years where the buyer takes possession without title.
Leases and assignments of leases.
Security instruments, including mortgages and deeds of trust.
Deeds conveying a future interest, which covers beneficiary and transfer-on-death deeds.
Court decrees or orders determining or vesting title, including quiet title, partition, and divorce decrees.
Documents transferring title as a result of death.
Easements and rights-of-way.

The gift exemption is what typically covers no-consideration transfers between spouses, parents, and children. It applies only to genuine gifts. If a parent sells a house to a child at a discounted family price, the actual consideration paid is what determines whether the fee applies and how much.⁶

Withholding for Out-of-State Sellers

If you live outside Colorado and sell Colorado real estate for more than $100,000, the title company or closing agent must withhold Colorado income tax from your proceeds. The amount is the lesser of 2% of the gross sales price or the net proceeds shown on the settlement statement.⁷ On a $500,000 sale, up to $10,000 goes straight to the Colorado Department of Revenue instead of to you.

This is not an extra tax. It is a prepayment against whatever Colorado income tax you owe on the gain. You claim the withheld amount as a credit when you file a Colorado return, and any excess comes back as a refund.

You can avoid withholding entirely in several situations. No withholding applies if the sale price is $100,000 or less, if the sale produces no net proceeds, or if the seller signs Form DR 1083 certifying one of these: the seller is a Colorado resident, the property was the seller’s principal residence qualifying for the federal gain exclusion, or the seller will owe no Colorado income tax on the sale.⁷ Colorado-based corporations, partnerships, and entities registered with the Secretary of State are also exempt.

Paperwork and Recording at Closing

Every property transfer requires a Real Property Transfer Declaration, Form TD-1000, filed with the county clerk and recorder at the same time as the deed. The county assessor uses it to track sale prices and update valuations. If the assessor requests the form and you fail to return it within 30 days, the penalty is $25 or 0.025% of the sale price, whichever is greater.⁸ On a $600,000 sale, that is $150. Title companies usually prepare the TD-1000 as part of the closing package, but the obligation falls on the parties.

Recording itself carries its own charge. As of July 1, 2025, Colorado standardized recording fees under HB 24-1269 at a flat $43 per document regardless of page count.⁹ The documentary fee is collected on top of that. If no documentary fee is due, the deed still has to say so on its face or in a cover letter, or the clerk will return it.¹⁰

In the twelve towns with their own transfer taxes, that obligation is handled through the town’s finance department rather than the county clerk. Closing agents need to coordinate with both offices when a property sits inside one of those municipalities.

1
Justia. Colorado Code 39-13-102 – Documentary Fee Imposed – Amount – to Whom Payable
2
Municode Library. Crested Butte Municipal Code Article 5 – Land Transfer Excise Tax and Real Estate Transfer Tax
3
Town of Telluride. Telluride Municipal Code 4-3-50 – Amount
4
City of Aspen. Real Estate Transfer Taxes
5
Town of Vail. Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT)
6
Justia. Colorado Code 39-13-104 – Exemptions
7
Colorado Department of Revenue. Information with Respect to a Conveyance of a Colorado Real Property Interest (DR 1083)
8
Colorado Division of Real Estate. Real Property Transfer Declaration (TD-1000)
9
Arapahoe County. Recording Fees
10
Mineral County Colorado. Recording Responsibilities of the County Clerk and Recorder