Colorado has a flat 4.40 percent individual income tax rate. Colorado has a flat 4.40 percent corporate income tax rate, a 2.90 percent state sales tax rate, and an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 7.89 percent. Colorado has a 0.50 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value. Colorado does not have an estate tax or inheritance tax. Colorado’s gas tax is 29.18 cents per gallon and its cigarette excise tax is $2.24 per pack of 20 cigarettes.
Colorado raises tax revenue primarily through property taxes (32.9 percent of total state and local tax revenue), general sales taxes (29.7 percent), and individual income taxes (17.0 percent). Colorado collects $6,780 in state and local tax collections per capita, carries $13,133 in state and local debt per capita, and has a 78 percent funded ratio of public pension plans. Colorado’s tax system ranks 33rd overall on the 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index.
Each state’s tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and Colorado is no exception. Use the tabs below to compare Colorado taxes with other states and to see how Colorado raises tax revenue. You can also browse our tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures 2026: How Does Your State Compare?
Get facts about taxes in your state and around the US
The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
122 min read
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
9 min read
Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for nearly a quarter of combined state and local tax collections.
18 min read
Forty-four states levy a corporate income tax, with top rates ranging from a 2 percent flat rate in North Carolina to an 11.5 percent top marginal rate in New Jersey. Four states—Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania—reduced their corporate income tax rates effective January 1, 2026.
5 min read
Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments. While no taxpayers in high-tax jurisdictions will be celebrating their yearly payments, property taxes are largely rooted in the benefit principle of taxation: the people paying the property tax bills are most often the ones benefiting from the services.
9 min read
Although the majority of state tax changes take effect at the start of the calendar year, some are implemented at the beginning of the fiscal year. Fourteen states have notable tax changes taking effect on July 1.
7 min read
The Kansas experience is so infamous that “what about Kansas?” is almost guaranteed to be a question—sometimes as a retort, but often a genuine expression of concern—any time any state explores tax relief. But what about the other two dozen states that have cut their income taxes since then?
6 min read
Which states have the highest property taxes in 2022? See how your state compares in property taxes across the United States
5 min read
The sales tax is too important a part of states’ revenue toolkits to be permitted further erosion, making sales tax modernization a vital project of the 2020s.
17 min read
Ranking unemployment insurance tax codes on the 2022 State Business Tax Climate Index. Learn more about state unemployment insurance tax code and systems.
4 min read
Tax burdens rose across the country as pandemic-era economic changes caused taxable income, activities, and property values to rise faster than net national product. Tax burdens in 2020, 2021, and 2022 are all higher than in any other year since 1978.
24 min read
Lawmakers in Colorado, and in the several other states considering flavor bans, should think twice before following in the footsteps of Massachusetts. A statewide ban on flavored tobacco products is more than likely to costs millions of dollars, increase smuggling, and have a negligible effect on public health.
5 min read
After a whirlwind of cuts and reforms in 2021, it looks like 2022 might be an even bigger year for state tax codes. Republican and Democratic governors alike used their annual State of the State addresses to call for tax reform, and there is already serious momentum from state lawmakers nationwide to get the job done.
3 min read
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
