If you are a retailer making purchases for resale, or need to make a purchase that is exempt from the Colorado sales tax, you need the appropriate Colorado sales tax exemption certificate before you can begin making tax-free purchases. This page explains how to make tax-free purchases in Colorado, and lists two Colorado sales tax exemption forms available for download.
We have two Colorado sales tax exemption forms available for you to print or save as a PDF file. If any of these links are broken, or you can't find the form you need, please let us know. You can find resale certificates for other states here.
Colorado allows the use of uniform sales tax exemption certificates, which are general exemption certificates that can be used across multiple states. You can find more info about these uniform certificates at the bottom of this page.
A sales tax exemption certificate is a form you can fill out yourself certifying that you meet the qualifications outlined for making sales-tax-free purchases. You will need to present this certificate to the vendor from whom you are making the exempt purchase - it is up to the vendor to verify that you are indeed qualified to make a tax-exempt purchase.
The state of Colorado provides several forms to be used when you wish to purchase tax exempt items.
The "Exemption Certificate" should only be utilized on behalf of a bona-fide charitable, religious, or government entity.
The "Multistate Exemption Certificate" is intended to be used when goods are being purchased specifically for resale.
These forms may be downloaded on this page.
To apply a certificate, the buyer must first present the seller with their written certificate, which legally documents the exemption. The certificate should include the date it was created, the signature of the buyer or an employee or agent who signed on behalf of the buyer, both the seller's and buyer's addresses and names, the legal basis of the exemption being utilized, the buyer's tax registration or business license number, and a description of the merchandise that the buyer wishes to purchase.
Exemption certificates intended for contractors expire when their job is complete, and charitable exemption certificates never expire. It must be noted that the certificates do not cover sales for resale of services seen as being taxable.
Colorado does permit the use of a blanket resale certificate, which means a single certificate on file with the vendor can be re-used for all exempt purchases made from that vendor. A new certificate does not need to be made for each transaction.
Colorado is a member of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, an interstate consortium with the goal of making compliance with sales taxes as simple as possible in member states.
Because Colorado is a member of this agreement, buyers can use the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) Uniform Sales Tax Certificate when making qualifying sales-tax-exempt purchases from vendors in Colorado.
The following guidelines are provided for the use of the MTC Uniform Sales Tax Certificate in Colorado:
Colorado does not permit the use of this certificate to claim a resale exemption for the purchase of a taxable service for resale.
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