The Colorado retail delivery fee is a flat $0.28 charge added to any delivery of taxable goods sent by motor vehicle to an address in Colorado. It’s not a sales tax on the items themselves. It’s a separate per-order charge, collected by the retailer or marketplace facilitator at checkout and sent to the Colorado Department of Revenue. The rate runs from July 2025 through June 2026 and is adjusted each July for inflation.1Department of Revenue – Taxation. Retail Delivery Fee Rates
When the Fee Applies
The fee attaches whenever a retailer or marketplace facilitator delivers tangible personal property by motor vehicle to a Colorado location, and at least one item in the order is subject to state sales or use tax. It doesn’t matter whether the seller is based in Colorado or somewhere else, and business-to-business orders count.
One order equals one fee. If you buy five items and they arrive in three boxes on three different days, you still pay $0.28 for the transaction, not $0.28 per box.2Department of Revenue – Taxation. Retail Delivery Fee Deliveries
Pickup orders are outside the fee. Buy online, pick up in store and curbside pickup don’t trigger it, because no delivery has taken place.2Department of Revenue – Taxation. Retail Delivery Fee Deliveries
What’s Exempt
Several situations take an order out of the fee’s reach:
- Orders where every item is exempt from Colorado state sales tax, such as most grocery food and prescription medications.
- Deliveries to purchasers who are themselves exempt from state sales tax, including government agencies and qualifying charities.
- Retailers whose total Colorado retail sales were $500,000 or less in the prior calendar year. New businesses qualify until they cross that threshold.3Department of Revenue – Taxation. Retail Delivery Fee Retailers
- In-store and curbside pickup, as noted above.
One detail catches people out: a single taxable item in an otherwise exempt cart pulls the whole delivery back into the fee. Order five grocery items plus one taxable cleaning product in the same shipment, and the $0.28 applies.
Returns Don’t Refund the Fee
Return the item and you get back the purchase price and sales tax, but not the $0.28 delivery fee.4Department of Revenue – Taxation. Retail Delivery Fee Refunds
There is one narrow exception on the retailer’s side. If the sale is canceled before the item ships and the retailer refunds the purchase price, the delivery fee, and any sales tax to the buyer, the retailer can claim a credit for the fee on a later return. Once the package is in transit or has arrived, the fee is locked in. A return shipment back to the seller doesn’t create a new fee, because there’s no new sale.4Department of Revenue – Taxation. Retail Delivery Fee Refunds
Who Collects and Remits
The fee is legally imposed on the purchaser, but the retailer or marketplace facilitator collecting the sales or use tax on the transaction is the party responsible for collecting the delivery fee and sending it to the state.5Department of Revenue – Taxation. Retail Delivery Fee For third-party sales on platforms like Amazon or Etsy, that means the marketplace, not the individual seller. Retailers can also choose to absorb the fee rather than pass it to customers, but they still owe it to the Department of Revenue either way.
Retailer Filing Requirements
Retailers required to collect the fee have to register a separate Retail Delivery Fee account with the Department of Revenue. It’s a distinct registration from the standard sales tax account.6Department of Revenue – Taxation. Retail Delivery Fee Accounts
The fee must appear as a separate line on the receipt or invoice, labeled “retail delivery fees.” Filing is done on Form DR 1786, and the schedule matches the retailer’s sales tax filing schedule, whether monthly, quarterly, or annually. Returns are due by the 20th of the month after the reporting period. Once you file a first return, you owe one every period until you close the account, even if you had zero deliveries.7Department of Revenue – Taxation. Retail Delivery Fee Reporting and Payment
Penalties for Late Filing or Nonpayment
A missed filing or payment carries a penalty equal to the greater of $15 or 10% of the fee owed, plus 0.5% for each month the balance remains unpaid, capped at a combined 18%. Interest also accrues on the unpaid balance. Retailers can request a waiver for good cause.8Department of Revenue – Taxation. Penalties and Interest
A Possible Repeal in 2026
HB26-1266, introduced in the 2026 legislative session, would eliminate the fee. If the bill passes without a safety clause and the General Assembly adjourns on May 13, 2026, the repeal would take effect on August 12, 2026.9Colorado General Assembly. HB26-1266 Repeal Retail Delivery Fees The bill is still under consideration. Until it becomes law, retailers should keep collecting and remitting the $0.28.