What Is the El Paso County Sales Tax Rate?

The El Paso County sales tax rate ranges from 4.13% to 9.03% depending on where the sale takes place. Every location pays Colorado’s 2.9% state tax and the county’s 1.23% tax. Most of the county also pays a 1% Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPRTA) tax, and cities add their own rates on top. Manitou Springs sits at the top of the range at 9.03%; unincorporated areas outside the PPRTA footprint sit at the bottom at 4.13%.

How the Rate Is Built

Three layers apply before any city tax enters the picture. Colorado’s state sales tax is 2.9% on most tangible goods and certain services.¹² El Paso County adds 1.23%, bringing the combined state-and-county figure to 4.13%.

A third 1% goes to the PPRTA, which funds road projects, maintenance, and transit. Voters in Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Green Mountain Falls, Ramah, Calhan, and unincorporated El Paso County approved it.³ Inside those jurisdictions, the baseline before any city tax is 5.13%. Outside them, it stays at 4.13%.

Combined Rates by City

Cities and towns set their own rates on top of the three baseline layers. Here is what the combined rate looks like in the county’s main municipalities:

Colorado Springs charges 3.07% in city tax for a combined rate of 8.20%. The city portion funds the General Fund (2.00%), Trails, Open Space, and Parks (0.10%), public safety (0.40%), and road improvements (0.57%).⁴
Fountain charges 3.40% in city tax for a combined rate of 7.53%. Fountain sits outside the PPRTA boundary, which is why the total comes in lower than Colorado Springs despite the higher city rate.⁵
Monument charges 3.50% in city tax. The total is 8.63% in PPRTA areas and 7.63% outside.⁶
Manitou Springs charges 3.90% in city tax, including dedicated funds for open space and community improvements, for a combined rate of 9.03%, the highest in the county.⁷

Unincorporated areas carry no city tax at all. Inside the PPRTA boundary, the total is 5.13%. Outside it, 4.13%.²

Groceries, Prescriptions, and Prepared Food

The combined rate does not apply uniformly to everything. Colorado exempts groceries for home consumption from the 2.9% state tax, but cities and counties can choose whether to tax food at the local level, so the same item may be state-tax-free while still carrying a city or county tax depending on where you buy it.⁸ The Colorado Department of Revenue’s DR 1002 publication lists these local exemptions by jurisdiction.

Prescription drugs are exempt from Colorado sales tax across the board. Over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and supplements are generally taxable.⁸

Prepared food and drinks sold by restaurants, snack bars, and caterers are fully taxable at every level: state, county, PPRTA, and city. Alcoholic beverages carry the full combined rate with no exemptions.⁸

Retail Delivery Fee

Deliveries of taxable goods to a Colorado address carry a flat state fee on top of sales tax. For July 2025 through June 2026, the fee is $0.28 per delivery.⁹ It applies per delivery rather than per item, so a single order containing multiple products triggers one $0.28 charge. The fee is not subject to state or state-administered local sales taxes, though self-collecting home-rule cities may treat it differently.

For Businesses Collecting the Tax

Not every piece of the El Paso County rate flows through the same collection system. Colorado Springs is a home-rule, self-collecting city, meaning it administers its own 3.07% separately from the state system.⁴ A retailer there files one return with the Colorado Department of Revenue for the state, county, and PPRTA portions and a separate return with the city for its share.

Fountain, Calhan, and Green Mountain Falls are also home-rule self-collecting jurisdictions. If they do not participate in the state’s Sales and Use Tax System (SUTS), businesses must contact those cities directly and remit on each city’s own schedule.¹⁰ Colorado Springs has joined SUTS while keeping its home-rule status, which smooths the process somewhat. Retailers should confirm filing requirements with every jurisdiction where they make sales.

The Colorado Department of Revenue collects the state, county, and PPRTA portions together, with returns typically filed monthly.¹¹

1
Colorado Department of Revenue. Sales Tax Rate Changes
2
El Paso County Administration. Sales Tax Information
3
Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority. 2025 Adopted Budget – Section 1 Summary Comments
4
City of Colorado Springs. General Sales Tax Information
5
City of Fountain. City Taxes
6
Town of Monument. Taxation
7
City of Manitou Springs. Finance
8
Colorado Department of Revenue. Taxable and Tax Exempt Sales of Food and Related Items
9
Colorado Department of Revenue. Retail Delivery Fee Rates
10
Colorado Department of Revenue. SUTS Participating Jurisdictions
11
Colorado Department of Revenue. Sales Tax Guide