Cigarettes are taxed differently from other tangible personal property/products purchased and sold in Colorado. Cigarettes are subject to both excise and sales tax. An excise cigarette tax return must be filed monthly, even if there is no tax due. For more information on sales tax, visit Sales & Use Tax.
The table below displays the applicable tax rates during each reporting period:
The tax is represented by a Colorado cigarette tax stamp. Every pack of cigarettes sold to consumers in Colorado must have a Colorado cigarette tax stamp affixed to the bottom of the pack. This includes cigarettes ordered by telephone, mail or online. For more information, visit the Cigarette Stamps page.
Cigarettes stamped on or before December 31, 2020 with the 84¢ stamp for a pack of 20 cigarettes or with the $1.05 stamp for a pack of 25 cigarettes, may be sold until the inventory is depleted at the 4.2¢ per cigarette tax rate without any additional cigarette inventory or cigarette floor tax.
Roll-Your-Own Cigarette Making Machine
Due to the passage of the 2012 federal highway bill (MAP-21), any person who makes available to consumers a machine capable of making tobacco products such as cigarettes is considered a manufacturer on the Federal level and must be licensed by the Tobacco and Trade Bureau. Once federal requirements have been met, the owner must certify the product through the Colorado Attorney General's Office.
For more information, see the Colorado Cigarette Tax Guide Publication.