Frisco, CO Sales Tax: Rate Breakdown, Licenses, and Filing

The Frisco, CO sales tax rate is 8.375 percent on most retail sales within town limits. That total combines state, county, town, and special district levies. Because Frisco is a home-rule municipality under Article XX of the Colorado Constitution, the town administers and collects its own 2.0 percent portion directly, which means businesses deal with separate licensing, portals, and deadlines from what the state requires.

How the 8.375 Percent Breaks Down

Five separate taxes make up the combined rate:

Colorado state sales tax: 2.9 percent, set by C.R.S. § 39-26-106.¹
Summit County sales tax: 2.0 percent.
Town of Frisco sales tax: 2.0 percent, under Frisco Town Code § 160-8.7.²
Summit County mass transit tax: 0.75 percent, funding the Summit Stage bus system.
Summit Combined Housing Authority tax: 0.725 percent, supporting workforce and affordable housing.³

Only the 2.0 percent town tax goes directly to Frisco. The other 6.375 percent is remitted to the State of Colorado under jurisdiction code 610007, which distributes the county and special district shares.³

What’s Taxable and What’s Exempt

Most tangible personal property sold in Frisco is subject to the full 8.375 percent rate: clothing, electronics, furniture, household goods. Sales of business assets other than inventory, such as computers, desks, and equipment, also trigger the tax.³

Groceries are the trickiest category. Colorado exempts food purchased for home consumption from its 2.9 percent state tax.⁴ But Colorado lets cities and counties tax food at their own local rates, and Summit County applies its taxes to all goods including food.⁵ Expect local and county tax on your grocery receipt even though the state portion drops off.

Frisco’s exempt sales affidavit lists several categories free from the town’s 2.0 percent tax:⁶

Purchases for resale or wholesale.
Sales to federal, state, or local government entities.
Purchases by qualifying charitable organizations.
Sales to schools not operated for private profit.
Construction materials used in public works or by qualifying charities and schools.

One important boundary: the state’s medical exemption for prescription drugs and certain medical supplies does not automatically apply to home-rule cities like Frisco.⁷ Whether a given medical purchase is exempt in Frisco depends on Chapter 160 of the town code. For a specific item, call the Frisco Finance Department at 970-668-5276.

Lodging and Short-Term Rental Rates

Rentals of 29 days or fewer carry additional taxes on top of the base rate. Hotels, motels, inns, and bed-and-breakfasts owe 10.725 percent total: the 8.375 percent sales tax plus a 2.35 percent town lodging tax.³

Short-term vacation rentals pay 15.725 percent. That’s the 8.375 percent sales tax, the 2.35 percent lodging tax, and a 5 percent STR excise tax approved by Frisco voters in April 2022, with the excise revenue going to workforce housing.⁸

The town’s sales, lodging, and STR excise portions are bundled and remitted to Frisco through the Govos/MuniRevs portal. State, county, and special district portions go separately on a state return.⁸

Licenses You Need Before Selling

Two licenses are required before your first sale. Start with a Colorado sales tax license from the Department of Revenue, available through MyBizColorado or by submitting form CR 0100.⁹

Then apply for a Town of Frisco business license. The town requires one for anyone operating a business within town limits, including businesses that deliver into Frisco from outside the corporate boundaries.¹⁰ The annual fee is $75, with a separate non-refundable application fee prorated by month: apply in January and the application fee is $100; apply in July and it’s $50. Starting between October and December covers the rest of the current year plus the following year. Remote sellers with no physical presence in Frisco who ship exclusively through carriers like UPS, FedEx, or USPS are exempt from the $75 annual fee.¹¹

Filing Returns and Paying the Tax

Frisco participates in the state’s Sales & Use Tax System (SUTS), so one portal handles both state-administered and Frisco taxes.¹² You can start a new license application through SUTS if you don’t have a Colorado account number yet.¹³ Paper returns with checks can also be mailed to the Frisco Finance Department at PO Box 4100, Frisco, CO 80443.

Returns are due by the 20th of the month following each reporting period. Frisco assigns your filing frequency (monthly, quarterly, or annually) based on expected sales volume.⁸ On the state side, the Department of Revenue uses a $600-per-month threshold: $600 or more means monthly filing, less may file quarterly.¹⁴ Mailed returns must be postmarked by the 20th to count as timely.¹⁵

Late Penalties and Interest

Missing the 20th triggers both a penalty and interest on any unpaid tax:¹⁵

Interest of 1.5 percent of the unpaid tax, per late period.
A flat $15 penalty when the tax due is $150 or less.
A 10 percent penalty when the tax due is over $150.

Transient and temporary vendors face a sharper risk. The town requires a minimum $100 cash deposit before selling, and failing to file a return within ten days of your final sale date forfeits the deposit entirely.²

Remote Sellers and Marketplace Facilitators

Out-of-state sellers aren’t exempt. Colorado requires remote sellers to register and collect once gross sales into the state exceed $100,000 in the current or previous calendar year. There is no separate transaction-count threshold. Once you cross it, you have 90 days to register and must begin collecting on the first day of the first month that begins at least 90 days after the threshold is met.¹⁶

Because Frisco participates in SUTS, remote sellers who register through the state can report Frisco tax on the same return. Those with no physical presence in town are also exempt from the $75 annual business license fee, though registration is still required.¹¹

Marketplace facilitators such as Amazon, Etsy, and eBay collect and remit applicable state and state-administered local sales taxes on behalf of their third-party sellers.¹⁷ If you sell exclusively through a facilitator that handles tax, you generally don’t collect yourself, but verify your situation with Frisco’s Finance Department because home-rule jurisdictions can set their own rules.

Use Tax on Items Brought Into Town

If you buy tangible personal property outside Frisco and bring it into town for use, storage, or consumption, you owe use tax. It exists to prevent businesses from avoiding local sales tax by buying from out-of-state vendors that don’t collect Frisco’s 2.0 percent. The use tax rate matches the sales tax rate, so you pay the same amount you would have paid locally. Report use tax on the same return as sales tax, with the same deadlines and penalties.

1
FindLaw. Colorado Code 39-26-106 – Schedule of Sales Tax
2
Municode Library. Frisco Code of Ordinances – Chapter 160 Taxation
3
Frisco Town Government. Sales & Lodging Tax
4
Colorado Department of Revenue. FYI Sales 4 – Taxable and Tax Exempt Sales of Food and Related Items
5
Summit County, CO – Official Website. Sales Tax
6
Town of Frisco. Standard Municipal Home Rule Affidavit of Exempt Sale
7
Colorado Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax Topics – Medical Exemptions
8
Frisco Town Government. Short-Term Rental Taxes & Payments
9
Department of Revenue – Taxation. How to Apply for a Colorado Sales Tax License
10
Frisco Town Government. Business Licenses
11
Town of Frisco. Town of Frisco Business License Information
12
Department of Revenue – Taxation. SUTS Participating Jurisdictions
13
Colorado Department of Revenue. Colorado Sales and Use Tax System
14
Department of Revenue – Taxation. Sales Tax Filing Information
15
Frisco Town Government. Sales-Lodging Tax Return Instructions
16
Department of Revenue – Taxation. Out-of-State Businesses
17
Colorado Department of Revenue – Taxation. Marketplace Facilitators