What Is Sales Tax in Colorado Springs? Rates, Exemptions, and Fees

The sales tax in Colorado Springs is 8.2% on most purchases of physical goods and certain services within city limits.¹ That single rate on your receipt is actually four separate taxes stacked together, collected on behalf of the state, the county, the city, and a regional transportation authority.

How the 8.2% Breaks Down

Each taxable purchase funds four different government bodies:

State of Colorado: 2.9%²
El Paso County: 1.23%³
City of Colorado Springs: 3.07%¹
Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPRTA): 1.0%⁴

The state, county, and PPRTA portions are collected by the Colorado Department of Revenue. Colorado Springs is a home-rule municipality, so it collects its own 3.07% directly from retailers rather than routing it through the state.¹ That home-rule status is the reason some of the quirks below exist.

Within the city’s 3.07%, voters have earmarked slices for specific services: 2.00% for the general fund (which covers police, fire, and parks), 0.57% for road maintenance under the 2C road tax, 0.40% for additional public safety funding, and 0.10% for the Trails, Open Space, and Parks (TOPS) program.¹ The city cannot move money between those buckets.

What You Pay Tax On

The full 8.2% applies to most physical goods you buy in a store: clothing, electronics, furniture, appliances, building materials, vehicles, and similar items. Tax is calculated on the purchase price at the point of sale.¹

Some services are taxable too. Natural gas and electricity for residential or commercial use, along with telecommunications services including cell phone plans, are subject to the full combined rate.⁴

Digital Downloads

This is where the city and state part ways. Colorado’s state-level sales tax generally does not apply to software delivered electronically or to digital downloads.⁵ Colorado Springs, under its home-rule authority, does tax digital products — downloaded music, movies, e-books, and software included.⁶ Buy a digital album as a Colorado Springs resident and you owe the city’s 3.07% even when the state’s 2.9% does not apply.

Retail Delivery Fee

When taxable goods are shipped to any address in Colorado, a separate retail delivery fee of $0.28 per order applies through June 2026.⁷ It is not a sales tax. It is a flat per-order charge regardless of order size, listed separately on your receipt, and it funds state transportation, clean transit, air pollution mitigation, and community access programs.

What’s Exempt

Groceries

Food purchased for home consumption is exempt from the city’s 3.07%, and the state’s 2.9% also does not apply to most grocery items.¹ Prepared meals from restaurants, catering businesses, and deli counters remain fully taxable. The exemption covers unprepared food you take home to cook or eat.

Prescription Medications and Medical Equipment

Prescription drugs and certain medical supplies, such as prosthetic devices and oxygen equipment, are exempt from the full 8.2%.¹ Over-the-counter medications that do not require a prescription are generally still taxable.

Nonprofit Organizations

Charities with 501(c)(3) status can apply for a city sales tax exemption certificate for direct purchases the organization makes for its own use. The purchase must be billed to and paid from the organization’s own funds.⁸ Several limits apply:

Sales the organization makes to the public are not covered; those are taxable retail transactions, and the organization must collect the city’s tax.
Purchases for the personal use of employees or members are not covered.
Food, beverages, or lodging bought by the organization are not exempt if the recipient reimburses the cost through ticket sales, registration fees, or other payments.
Construction contractors working on projects for the organization cannot use the certificate.

Misusing an exemption certificate can result in revocation, fines, and prosecution.⁸

When the Seller Didn’t Charge City Tax

If you buy something from an out-of-state retailer, a catalog, or an online seller that did not collect the city’s portion, you owe use tax at the same 3.07% city rate.⁹ You owe either sales tax or use tax on a given item, never both.¹⁰

Residents get a modest break. Individual items of clothing, furniture, appliances, or household goods valued under $100 are exempt from the city’s use tax.⁹ Anything at or above $100 must be reported. The state also imposes its own 2.9% consumer use tax, filed separately through the Colorado Department of Revenue.¹¹

Online Orders and Marketplaces

Out-of-state retailers must collect Colorado sales tax once their annual sales into the state exceed $100,000 in either the current or previous calendar year.¹² Marketplace platforms like Amazon and Etsy are directly responsible for collecting and remitting state and state-administered local taxes on third-party sales made through them.¹³

Because Colorado Springs collects its own 3.07%, whether an online seller charges the city portion depends on whether the seller or marketplace participates in the state’s Sales and Use Tax System (SUTS), a one-stop filing portal for participating home-rule jurisdictions.¹⁴ If the seller does not participate and the city’s share is not on your receipt, you owe the 3.07% as use tax.

1
City of Colorado Springs. Sales Tax Information
2
Department of Revenue – Taxation. Sales Tax Rate Changes
3
El Paso County Administration. Sales Tax Information
4
City of Colorado Springs. General Sales Tax Information
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Colorado Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax Topics: Computer Software
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City of Colorado Springs. Digital Products Tax Guide No. 119
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Department of Revenue – Taxation. Retail Delivery Fee Rates
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City of Colorado Springs. Sales Tax Exemption Application
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City of Colorado Springs. Consumer Use Tax Return Information and Instructions
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City of Colorado Springs. Sales Tax FAQ
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Department of Revenue – Taxation. Consumer Use Tax for Businesses
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Department of Revenue – Taxation. Out-of-State Businesses
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Department of Revenue – Taxation. Sales Tax Responsibilities of Marketplace Facilitators
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Department of Revenue – Taxation. Sales and Use Tax System (SUTS)