If you are a business owner in Denver, the City and County of Denver has a number of different types of taxes that can be assessed by the treasury division and may apply to your business. The article below has been prepared by a tax attorney from The McGuire Law Firm to provide additional information regarding some of these taxes. Please remember to always contact your tax attorney regarding your specific circumstances. You can speak with a Denver tax attorney by contacting The McGuire Law Firm.
Denver has an occupational privilege tax (OPT), which may also be referred to a head tax. The OPT is made up of two parts or portions, those being the employee occupational privilege tax and the business occupational privilege tax. The OPT is imposed on businesses that operating in the city of Denver and on individuals who perform sufficient services within Denver and thus receive compensation from an employer of at least $500 for a calendar month. Every employee that is taxable (responsible) for the OPT is taxed at a rate of $5.75 which is withheld from the employee’s paycheck. The employer is also responsible to pay the business portion of the OPT, which is $4.00 per month for each taxable employee. These figures could be subject to change, please check for current tax amounts and thresholds. The business is also responsible to pay $4.00 per month for any partner, owner or manager that is engaged in business in Denver. The payment for a partner is due regardless of how much the individual is paid.
The city of Denver also imposes a sales tax through the Denver Revised Municipal Code (DRMC) of 3.62% on the purchase price paid or charged on retail sales, rentals of tangible personal property, leases and on other certain services. An example of a taxable service would be the sale or furnishing of telephone and other telecommunication services. There are other special taxes for the retail sales of food and beverages, aviation fuel, auto rentals and recreational marijuana.
A lodging tax applies for overnight hotel, inn or motel accommodations of 10.75%. The definition of overnight lodging is relatively broad and would include an apartment, motor house, trailer and other forms of accommodations.
A consumer use tax is imposed on tangible personal property. Tangible personal property could generally be defined as furniture, equipment, fixtures and supplies (but not inventory) that would be used, consumed or stored within Denver whereby local sales tax equal to or greater than the rate of Denver’s use tax has not been paid by the taxpayer. Thus, a taxpayer may be credited for paying other use tax.
The city of Denver has a seat tax of 10%, which is imposed on the admission to any entertainment, amusement or athletic event that is held or conducted on any city owned property.
If you have any tax questions relating to the operation of your business, speak with a Denver tax attorney at The McGuire Law Firm. You can schedule a free consultation with a tax attorney to discuss your questions and issues.