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Sales & Use Tax System (SUTS) | Frequently Asked Questions

Sales & Use Tax System (SUTS) Remittance Portal Questions

State-collected sales taxes can be filed and paid online using the Revenue Online (ROL) customer portal or the Sales & Use Tax System (SUTS) filing platform.

  • Please note that Revenue Online is an administrative portal. A Revenue Online account is required to manage a sales tax account to perform actions such as renewing a sales tax license, updating a business name or address, adding physical and nonphysical locations, amending returns, closing an account, and sending secure messages. 
  • Revenue Online is also used to remit all other state-administered and collected taxes and fees such as Special Event Sales Tax, Consumer Use Tax, Lodging taxes and the Retail Delivery Fee.
     

SUTS is the Department’s optional online sales tax filing platform. SUTS allows taxpayers to submit a single consolidated return and payment to both the state of Colorado for state-collected sales taxes and, to local participating home-rule self-collecting cities for city-collected sales and use taxes. 

It’s the original version of SUTS and will be temporarily available as the Department of Revenue makes major updates to the application. 

SUTS 2.0 is the new and improved version of SUTS. It has a much more streamlined and simplified design to easily navigate and understand SUTS. Additionally, SUTS 2.0 users will be able to:

  • Enter data directly into SUTS in addition to uploading a simple spreadsheet.
  • Add home-rule city taxing jurisdiction locations in SUTS.
  • Review and modify an uploaded Excel Spreadsheet Filing.
  • Determine sales tax jurisdictions and rates for thousands of addresses at a time for all taxing entities associated with a valid Colorado address.

SUTS 2.0 will be available to start using on Monday, January 6th, 2025.

After SUTS 2.0 is implemented, you can continue to use the SUTS Legacy system for up to three months. This allows taxpayers to familiarize themselves with the new version of SUTS 2.0. After three months has lapsed, SUTS Legacy will become obsolete, replaced entirely by SUTS 2.0. In SUTS 2.0 there will be an option to switch between the two different versions of SUTS. Once you login to your SUTS account, from your SUTS dashboard you can:

  • Select “Try New Design” to use the new and improved SUTS 2.0.
  • Select “Use Previous Layout” to continue using SUTS Legacy.
     

No. There are other electronic filing options available to remit sales taxes to the state of Colorado, and to home-rule self-collecting cities. SUTS is a one-stop online sales and use tax filing platform that allows businesses to submit a single consolidated tax return and payment for both state-collected and most home-rule city-collected sales taxes.

Yes. Every business will need to have a Colorado State Sale Tax License. If you do not have a State Sales Tax License, an application can be submitted through the SUTS System during the SUTS registration process.  A sales tax license application can also be submitted through Revenue Online.  

The Colorado Department of Revenue is the single state authority to administer (register, collect, distribute and audit) sales taxes for all state-collected jurisdictions in the state of Colorado. The Colorado Department of Revenue does not require retailers to register separately with state-collected local jurisdictions to collect local sales taxes. Some local jurisdictions may have a separate requirement for retailers doing business in their jurisdictions to register with them for a business license, but that has no impact on the administration of sales tax. The Colorado Department of Revenue does not require any local registration to collect state-collected local jurisdiction sales taxes.

The Colorado Department of Revenue collects sales taxes for the State, all statutory jurisdictions (those that have not elected to go to home rule and to self-collect), plus the sales taxes for all special districts that assess a sales tax. 
 

  • Any self-collecting jurisdiction may opt-in to have the Colorado Department of Revenue administer, collect and audit sales tax for it. In order to be state-collected the jurisdiction must conform to a prescribed list of exemption elections and conform to the State's tax base. There may be local ordinance changes required, or other conforming actions necessary before the self-collected jurisdiction can qualify for the Colorado Department of Revenue to administer, collect and audit as a state-collected jurisdiction. Home-rule cities that collect their own local sales and use taxes may have different guidelines and must be contacted directly. Please reference the Colorado sales/use tax rates form DR 1002 for more information and contact information for home-rule self-collecting cities.

The Department’s filing frequencies are determined by the amount of sales tax collected monthly. There are three filing frequencies based on the amount of sales taxes collected monthly: monthly, quarterly and annually. For more information on Department sales tax filing frequencies, please visit our website at Tax.Colorado.gov/sales-tax-filing-information.

  • Please note that filing frequency thresholds will be changing effective January 1st, 2025. 
  • Sign up for email alerts to get the latest news.
  • Also note, when filing using SUTS, home-rule cities participating in SUTS must conform to the business’s Colorado Department of Revenue sales tax filing frequency.
     

Taxpayers will be able to report use tax to self-collecting home-rule municipalities that utilize a combined sales and use tax return, but will not be able to file consumer’s use tax returns (forms DR 0251 and DR 0252) for the state or any state-administered jurisdictions through SUTS. 

Currently, SUTS is only set up to collect sales and use taxes.
 

  • Other home-rule self-collected city taxes must be remitted directly to home-rule, self-collecting tax jurisdictions. A list of home-rule cities and contact information can be found in DR 1002.
  • Other state-collected state and state-administered jurisdiction taxes and fees can be filed and paid online using Revenue Online.

SUTS does not currently support amended returns. Amendments are processed outside of the SUTS portal, either directly with the Colorado Department of Revenue Taxpayer Services division for state collected taxes or the Local Home-Rule Jurisdiction for locally collected taxes.
 

  • To amend a sales tax return for a participating home rule self-collecting tax jurisdiction, please contact the home rule city directly. For a list of home rule cities participating in SUTS, please visit our website at Tax.Colorado.gov/SUTS-Jurisdictions. A list of home-rule cities and contact information can be found in DR 1002.
  • To amend a sales tax return for state and state-administered jurisdictions, please visit our website at Tax.Colorado.gov/sales-tax-filing-information.

 

As a reminder, SUTS is an online sales tax filing and remittance portal only. To manage your sales tax account, please visit Revenue Online. To close a state sales tax account, please complete the Department’s Business Tax Account Closure Form DR 1108.

Yes, SUTS is designed to provide businesses with flexible sales tax filing options depending on what works best for each business. State-collected sales taxes can be filed and paid using either SUTS or ROL. Home-rule self-collected city sales and use taxes, can be filed and paid using SUTS, or directly to the home-rule city. For example, a business could file and pay all state-collected sales taxes using Revenue Online, then use SUTS to file and pay home-rule self-collected city taxes to participating home rule-cities. 

Yes. Revenue Online and SUTS are two separate online filing platforms. So, if you plan to use SUTS to file sales and use taxes to the Colorado Department of Revenue and/or to home-rule self-collecting cities, you will need to sign up for a SUTS user account. 

Please visit our website at Tax.Colorado.gov/training/online-services. Select “Log In” from the Sales & Use Tax System (SUTS) menu tile to be re-directed to the SUTS website. From the SUTS homepage, select “Sign Up.” Follow the prompts to complete a login. Please note, to successfully complete a SUTS user account, you MUST verify your email address.

From the SUTS Log In webpage, click the "Forgot your password" link and follow the instructions that will be emailed to the User's registered email address.

If you have been locked out of your SUTS account, please contact the Colorado Department of Revenue.
SUTS Support Helpline:(720)795-7759
SUTS Support Email: DOR_SUTS_Help@state.co.us

A SUTS registration is required for all businesses to obtain a SUTS account number and activation code, regardless of whether the business has an existing sales tax license and account.

  • For businesses with an existing sales tax license, you will be prompted during the SUTS registration process to link your existing sales tax account to you SUTS account by providing the business’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) or Social Security Number (SSN), and the established eight-digit Colorado Account Number (CAN).
  • For businesses that do not yet have an existing sales tax license, a sales tax application can be submitted during the SUTS registration process.
     

When a business registers for a SUTS account, a SUTS account number and activation code will be assigned to the business. The business’s SUTS account number and activation code can be shared by the business with other SUTS users to connect to their business.

To connect to a business’s SUTS account, each person using SUTS must first create a SUTS user account, and the business must have registered in SUTS and been assigned a SUTS account number.
 

  • SUTS users can use the “connect to a business” feature in SUTS and enter a business’s SUTS account number and activation code to connect to a business’s SUTS account. 
  • With proper verification, can call one of our Tax Examiners at (720) 795-7759 to request a SUTS users be added to the business’s SUTS account.
     

From the “My Locations” section of your SUTS 2.0 dashboard, locations will need to be refreshed and confirmed.

  • Refreshing a location updates the state-collected location data. This is especially important if you recently added new state-collected locations through Revenue Online. Revenue Online is the administration portal used to manage your sales tax account.
  • Confirming a location updates the home-rule self-collected city location data. This is especially important to update local account numbers.
  • Both the Colorado Department of Revenue and home rule self-collecting cities update state and local account information regularly. This is why we highly recommended you “refresh” and “confirm” your locations in SUTS 2.0 prior to each filing.
     

Currently, locations for state-collected sales taxes cannot be added using SUTS. You can add locations (sites) to your account by using your Revenue Online account (if you have set one up) or by emailing DOR_multilocations@state.co.us. 
 

There are three payment options. Payments can be made in SUTS using:

  • ACH Credit - There are no payment limits or processing fees. ACH credit payments require prior authorization and must be initiated by the taxpayer through their bank. The authorization form is located under the “Help” menu option when logged into your SUTS user account. Select “Quicklinks” from the dropdown menu then select the “FAQ and Guides Information HERE” link. Next, select the link “Click HERE for ACH Credit Payment Instructions.” 
  • E-Check - Effective January 1st, 2025, there will be no payment limit or processing fees. If the taxpayer has a debit block with their bank, the taxpayer must provide the SUTS Debit Block ID/Originator ID to their bank. The SUTS Debit Block ID is 9000020368.
  • Credit Card – Transactions are limited to a $5,000 maximum. Effective January 1st, 2025, credit card payments are subject to a 3.3% transaction fee.
    • Credit Card Refund Policy (as required by MC & Visa): It is the SUTS vendor’s standard policy not to issue refunds
       

Payments made through SUTS are deposited to the vendor’s bank, not to the Department’s bank. So, if there is a return payment fee, the SUTS vendor will send you a notice and any return payment fees will be assessed on your SUTS account.

  • Important note: If a payment is returned by your bank, the sales tax filing will also be rejected. In other words, the sales tax filing will be erased, and the business will need to start the tax filing over again for that filing period. 
  • For SUTS payment inquiries or discrepancies, please email blt.str.support@govos.com. 

Your return and payment will not show up on your Revenue Online account until the funds have cleared with SUTS, which is usually 7-10 business days from the date of the payment.

Local and special district sales tax due is generally based on the rates that apply for the destination address of the taxable good or service purchased. The Geographic Information System (GIS) enables businesses to look up the specific sales tax rate for an individual address or map location.

  • The GIS not only shows state sales tax information, but it also includes sales tax information for counties, municipalities, and special taxation districts. This system allows for a complete tax rate to be determined so the correct tax is collected from customers in real-time.
  • Also, if your internal point of sale system supports it, the GIS information can be accessed through an Application Programming Interface (API). This API can automatically reference current tax information directly from the CDOR. Please note that the Department will need to verify that you have registered for a SUTS account before using the API. For more information about the GIS, please visit our website at Tax.Colorado.gov/GIS-info. Please contact self-collecting jurisdictions directly for more information about their sales and use tax policies and procedures. A list of home-rule cities and contact information can be found in DR 1002.

There are three ways to file using SUTS 2.0:

  • Direct Data Entry Filing is for taxpayers or third-party representatives that opt to file and pay sales taxes for each business separately using a direct data entry approach. This is an entirely new feature in SUTS 2.0.
  • Excel Spreadsheet Filing is for taxpayers or third-party representatives that opt to file and pay sales taxes for each business separately using an Excel Filing Spreadsheet, similar to SUTS Legacy. A new feature in SUTS 2.0 for Excel Spreadsheet Filing is the ability to modify the tax filing after it has successfully uploaded to SUTS.
  • XML Bulk Filing is for third-party companies that opt to file and pay sales taxes on behalf of multiple businesses using a combined XML filing (EXtensible Markup Language).
     

  • From the “Activities” section of the business’s SUTS dashboard, select “File My Taxes.”
  • Select “Enter My Tax Data Online.”
  • Select the “Filing Period.” 
  • Select “Continue.”
  • Enter your applicable gross sales for the filing period into each state and home-rule self-collected location.
  • Enter all applicable “State Schedule A Deductions” and “State Schedule B Exemptions” for all state-collected locations.
  • Enter all applicable home-rule “Self-Collected” deductions and exemptions for all home-rule city locations.
  • Select “Continue” in SUTS to review, update and continue your tax filing and payment.

  • From the “Activities” section of the business’s SUTS dashboard, select “File My Taxes.”
  • Select “Enter My Tax Data in a Spreadsheet.”
  • Select the “Filing Period.” 
  • Select “Continue.”
  • Select “All Locations, State Locations Only or “Self-Collected Locations Only.”
  • Select “Download Template.”
  • Format, enter your tax data, then save the spreadsheet by following the “Upload Instructions” Excel tab of the downloaded “Filing Template.”
  • Select “Continue” in SUTS.
  • Select the hyperlink “Choose File” to attach your saved Excel Filing Template.
  • If applicable, correct any errors on the spreadsheet and reupload it. 
  • Select “Continue” in SUTS to review, update and continue your tax filing and payment.

  • From the “Preview” step of the tax filing, select the hyperlink for the “State” or “Self-Collected” location where you collected the excess tax.
  • Scroll down to the “Excess Taxes” section and enter the amount of sales tax that was over collected in the “Excess Tax Collected” field. 
  • Select “Save” to report the excess tax collected for that taxing jurisdiction location.

Penalties and interest are dealt with in different ways when remitting sales taxes using SUTS.

  • For the Colorado Department of Revenue, SUTS will not automatically calculate penalties and interest on a late filed state return and payment. Rather, the Department of Revenue will assess late penalties and interest once the return and payment have been received, then will notify the business in writing of any balance due. Written notices, balances due and other information can be viewed from your Revenue Online account. 
  • For self-collecting home rule cities, SUTS will automatically calculate penalties and interest on a late filed local return and payment. Home rule city-assessed penalties and interest must be paid to complete the sales tax filing. For more information on home rule city-assessed penalties and interest, or to request a waiver, you must contact the home rule city directly. A list of home-rule cities and contact information can be found in DR 1002.

SUTS Support Helpline: (720) 795-7759
SUTS Support Email: DOR_SUTS_Help@state.co.us

Frequently Asked Questions specific to home rule self-collecting tax jurisdictions

Visit the SUTS Participating Jurisdictions web page to see which jurisdictions are participating. 

No, participation in SUTS is voluntary for the home-rule, self-collecting jurisdictions. 

Some municipalities have elected a home rule designation which, among other features, gives them greater autonomy and control over the taxes within their jurisdictions.

  • Home rule jurisdictions, however, may choose to have the Department collect their taxes under certain conditions. The home rule jurisdictions that make this election are considered state-administered jurisdictions.
  • Home rule jurisdictions that do not make this election are considered self-collecting jurisdictions. A list of home-rule cities and contact information can be found in DR 1002.

Licenses issued by the Colorado Department of Revenue are valid for state sales taxes and all state-administered local sales taxes. Visit the Department's website for information on registering with the Department and adding locations.

Local sales tax and business licensing requirements vary. Whether a local license is required often depends upon factors such as the nature of your business, and whether you have locations or employees in the jurisdiction. You are responsible for determining whether your business activity in a local jurisdiction requires a local license or registration prior to engaging in that activity.


SUTS does not require you to obtain local licenses prior to filing. Local jurisdictions may contact you using information provided in SUTS regarding local licenses or other local requirements. If you have more questions, please feel free to Contact Us.
 

No. You do not need a local account number before filing a tax return to a self-collected jurisdiction using SUTS. Once a home-rule self-collected jurisdiction receives your first filing, a local account number will be assigned to the business, and the home-rule jurisdiction will then update the local account number for the business’s SUTS. This is why it is very important to continuously “Confirm” your locations in SUTS before each filing.

Yes. From the “My Locations” section of the business’s SUTS dashboard:

  • Select “Add Location.”
  • Select the self-collected “City.”
  • Enter the “Local Account Number.”
  • Select “Save.”
     

No. In fact, adding a local account number to your spreadsheet that has not yet been confirmed in SUTS, will result in an upload error. If a local account number has not yet been assigned by the self-collected jurisdiction, please leave the Excel cell blank for the “Account Number” row in column A of the Excel Filing Template. Once a home-rule self-collected jurisdiction receives your first filing, a local account number will be assigned to the business, and the home-rule jurisdiction will then update the local account number for the business’s SUTS. This is why it is very important to continuously “Confirm” your locations in SUTS before each filing.

Please reach out to the home-rule jurisdiction directly with licensing requirement questions. Each self-collecting home-rule jurisdiction establishes their own tax laws, rules and regulations. 

Local and special district sales tax due is generally based on the rates that apply for the destination address of the taxable good or service purchased. The Colorado Sales/Use Tax Rates Form (DR 1002) lists taxation jurisdictions that are collected by the state and the jurisdictions that are self-collecting, along with their contact information. Please contact self-collecting jurisdictions directly for more information about their sales and use tax policies and procedures.

If a Jurisdiction requires that a taxpayer file a "Zero Return" for periods where no sales tax is due, the use of SUTS does not affect this requirement. Please contact the Home Rule Jurisdiction directly with any questions about your businesses liability to report zero sales. Instructions for filing a zero return can be found on the first tab of the Excel Upload Template.

  • From the “Preview” step of the tax filing, select the hyperlink for the “Self-Collected” location to report sales subject to use tax. Note that consumer use tax for state-collected taxes cannot be filed or paid in SUTS. Please refer to forms DR 0251 and DR 0252 from the “Forms” menu of the Department’s website, Tax.Colorado.gov to report consumer use taxes to the Colorado Department of Revenue.
  • Scroll down to the “Other Taxes” section and enter the Amount in the Amount Subject to Use Tax” field.  Select “Save” to report the excess tax collected for that taxing jurisdiction location. 
     

Some Home-Rule municipalities impose a special tax rate for certain categories of sales, such as food, marijuana, etc. Sales in these alternate rate categories cannot be reported using SUTS. SUTS only calculates the general Sales Tax rate for each municipality. Please contact the municipality directly to remit taxes using these special rates.

Geographic Information System (GIS) Questions

SUTS (Sales and Use Tax System) is the name for the combination of the GIS (Geographic Information System) and the new Sales Tax Remittance Portal. For more information on these systems, visit the SUTS Information web page. 

The Geographic Information System (GIS) allows businesses to look up the specific sales tax rate for an individual address. The GIS not only shows state sales tax information, but it also includes sales tax information for counties, municipalities, and special taxation districts. This system allows for a complete tax rate to be determined so the correct tax is collected from customers in real-time. 

Also, if your internal point of sale system supports it, the GIS information can be accessed through an Application Programming Interface (API). This API can automatically reference current tax information directly from the CDOR. Please note that the Department will need to verify that you have registered for an account for the Remittance Portal before using the API. Additionally, in some instances, the base map from Google cannot resolve some queries where, for example, “county road” is abbreviated as C.R. This issue is being investigated by Google Maps staff and should be resolved shortly.

The new GIS includes an API, which is short for "application programming interface," which is a software intermediary that allows two systems to talk to one another. An API assists you in automating your point of sale (POS) system. The API automatically retrieves sales tax rate calculation information from the GIS database. It can also help integrate GIS database information into your online ordering and point of sale systems. For more information on the GIS API integration, visit our GIS API webpage.