I did a lot of research for last week’s column about property taxes in incorporated vs. unincorporated areas, but I should have done more research about sales taxes.
Instead of researching sales taxes in various counties, including Jefferson, I simply said that “I don’t know of” any county-wide sales taxes. Oops!
I am well aware of the 1/2 percent Jefferson County sales tax which has funded our wonderfully extensive open space parks.
A couple readers did some research for me, and I got the following list of sales taxes in other counties. I’m not including Denver and Broomfield counties because those are city sales taxes and there are no unincorporated areas (that I know of) in those two city/counties.
Reader Gary Justus wrote that all metro counties except one have a county-wide sales tax, according to https://colorado.ttr.services:
- Jefferson County – 0.50%
- Adams County – 0.75%.
- Douglas County – 1.00%
- Arapahoe County – 0.25%
- Boulder County – 0.985%
- Clear Creek County – 2.65%
- Elbert County – 1.00%
- Gilpin County (none)
Most counties beyond the metro area do, in fact, have sales taxes, some of them substantial, such at Pitkin County (3.6%), San Juan County (6.5%), and Jackson & Lake Counties (4% each).
Colorado Department of Revenue Publication 1002 spells out the sales taxes which it collects for local jurisdictions. Some, like Golden, aren’t listed, because they collect their own sales taxes.
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