Colorado charges sales and use tax of 2.9% at the state level, and local jurisdictions add their own, which brings a typical vehicle to about 7.4%. A trade-in does reduce the taxable price, which is real money on the deal.
Type your own numbers and see the same car priced as cash and as a loan, with the taxes and state fees for Colorado. Nothing you type leaves this page.
To see a lease, pick a vehicle. A lease is priced on one car: what it is expected to be worth at the end (its residual) and the leasing company's money factor change by model and by month.
An estimate on the numbers you type, not an offer of credit or a quote from any dealership. Starting loan rates are Rateous's rates for each credit range and term; they are not an offer from any lender. The documentary fee starts at an example figure, the state's legal cap where it has one or $599 where it does not, not any dealership's fee; each dealership sets its own. Taxes and state fees are estimates for Colorado; the dealership's paperwork and your motor vehicle agency have the final numbers. Nothing you type is sent, saved, or used to check your credit.
State rate 2.9% plus the state-collected and home-rule local taxes of the address where the vehicle will be registered (city, county, RTD/CD and other special districts). Denver residents pay 8.81% combined (local 5.91%); many Front Range addresses fall between 7.5% and 8.9%. Resort towns exceed 11% combined, so the local share can reach about 8.4%.
Colorado taxes the full purchase price including manufacturer rebates and incentives (DOR Sales & Use Tax Topics: Motor Vehicle Sales); only the trade-in is excluded.
Dealers collect only the local taxes common to both the dealer's location and the buyer's registration address; the county collects the remaining use tax at registration, so the buyer ends up at the registration-address rate.
On a $35,000 new car with a $37,000 sticker, registered in Denver, no trade-in: the same figures the calculator above uses. The dealership's documentary fee is its own and is not included.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Title fee | $7.20 |
| Registration (est., mixed based) | $800.00 |
| Road Safety Surcharge (FASTER) (annual, 2,001-5,000 lb vehicles (approximate; see DMV table)) | $19.00 |
| In all | $826.20 |
Colorado taxes a lease one payment at a time: the tax is added to each monthly payment, so you pay it as you go.
Pick your city for the exact combined rate where you register, plus what title and registration run there.
Colorado charges 2.9% at the state level and local jurisdictions add more, so a typical combined rate on a vehicle is about 7.4% and can reach 11.3% at the high end. The rate is set by the address you register the car to, so pick your city above for the exact figure.
Fair market value of a vehicle traded in on the purchase of another motor vehicle is excluded from the taxable price (C.R.S. 39-26-104(1)(a)).
On a $35,000 new car with a $37,000 sticker, registered in Denver: Title fee $7.20, Registration (est., mixed based) $800.00, Road Safety Surcharge (FASTER) (annual, 2,001-5,000 lb vehicles (approximate; see DMV table)) $19.00, about $826.20 in all. First-year cost for a $40,000, 3,500 lb car is dominated by Specific Ownership Tax: taxable value = 85% of MSRP ($34,000) x 2.10% in year 1 = $714. Add the weight-based registration fee, Road Safety Surcharge ($19.xx for 2,001-5,000 lbs through Aug 2027), Bridge Safety Surcharge, clerk hire fee, emissions and plate fees (roughly $80-100 combined). SOT falls to 1.5% in year 2, 1.2% year 3, 0.9% year 4, 0.45% years 5-9, then $3.
No. Colorado sets no statutory cap. Each dealership sets its own documentary fee (not a government fee), and each car shows its dealership's fee.
Colorado taxes a lease one payment at a time: the tax is added to each monthly payment, so you pay it as you go.