A claim for refund form needs to be filled out along with documentation as to the reason for the refund. Refunds will only be paid to the person who remitted the tax.

The statue of limitations for refunds varies depending upon the circumstances of the sale; typically a refund cannot be issued three years after tax was originally paid.

Refunds cannot be taken on future return filings unless the refund has been approved by the sales tax department.

No, the City does not require a license to have a garage sale and sales tax is not collected on garage sale items.

A max of three garage sales are allowed per address per calendar year.

Notify the sales tax office in writing and file a final return even if there are zero sales to report, the sales office must still receive this final return.

If you are selling your business, the City of Loveland requires that a 3% sales tax be remitted for tangible personal property assets acquired with the purchase or transfer of possession of the business based on the purchase price paid, within (20) days of purchase.  For more information, go to the Sale of Business Assets and/or Equipment page.

Prior to January 1, 2024 food for home consumption was taxed at 3%.

By a substantial margin, Loveland voters approved ballot measure 300, a proposal to eliminate food for home consumption from the City's sales tax collections. This exemption will start January 1, 2024.

The January 2024 return that is due February 20, 2024 will be the first return to have this deduction.

The City of Loveland will adopt the Colorado Department of Revenue’s food for home consumption exemption as it is currently written. Please review Colorado’s C.R.S 39-26-707 and FYI Sales 4 for detailed information.

Yes, the State requires a license for each physical location. Please contact the Department of Revenue directly or visit their website at www.taxcolorado.com.

The City of Loveland requires that any entity doing business within the city limits obtain a City of Loveland sales tax license. This includes businesses making retail sales, leases, or rentals of tangible personal property. A business with more than one location needs to obtain a separate sales tax license for each entity.

You are considered engaged in business if you:

• Directly, indirectly or by a subsidiary maintain a building, store, office, salesroom, warehouse or other place of business within the City of Loveland.
• Send one or more employees, agents or commissioned sales persons into the City of Loveland to solicit business or to install, assemble, repair, service or assist in the use of it’s products, or for demonstration purposes.
• Maintains one or more employees, agents or commissioned sales person on duty at a location within the City of Loveland.
• Own, lease, rent or otherwise exercises control over real or personal property within the City of Loveland.
• Makes a delivery into the City of Loveland.

There are two possible rates, depending on the location of the sale:

6.70% for all locations that are not located in the Promenade Shops at Centerra, Centerra Metropolitan District or the Centerra Motorplex.

City of Loveland 3.0%
State of Colorado 2.9%
Larimer County 0.80%
Total 6.70%

7.823% for sales only made in (brick and mortar store) the Promenade Shops at Centerra, Centerra Metropolitan District and the Centerra Motorplex.

Purchase Price 00.00
PIF 0.0125000
RSF 0.0100000
Subtotal 00.00
City of Loveland 1.75%
State of Colorado 2.9%
Larimer County 0.80%
Total 7.823%

Because the PIF and RSF are taxable they become a part of the purchase price and cannot be added in to the tax rates which results in a formula of 7.823%.

If an error on a previous return was made, file an amended return for that period. Clearly state the date of the return you are amending on the top of the return you are filing. Fill out the return with the correct figures for that period.

If the amended return results in an overpayment, you will need to fill out a claim for refund form. 

If you did not pay enough for the period, the additional taxes must be remitted on the amended return.  Penalties and  interest may apply.

Companies that have independent distributors may elect to collect and remit sales tax on the individual distributor’s behalf. If this is the case, individual distributors are not required to have a sales tax license. If the company has not elected to collect and remit sales taxes, each individual distributor must obtain a city sales tax license, collect and remit all applicable sales taxes. Contact your company to determine the tax method that was chosen.

If your business is seasonal and you make retail sales during only part of each year, you must obtain a standard sales tax license.  Examples of seasonal businesses are fruit stands, firework stands, and Christmas tree stands. When you apply for your license, indicate on the sales tax application which months of the year your retail business will be active. The City will expect you to file returns only for those months during which you do business. The return is due on the 20th of the month following the reporting month. If your seasonal business is conducted in several locations, you must have a separate license for each location.

How often you are required to file a sales tax return (monthly, quarterly or annually) depends on your sales volume. If you anticipate having sales of $10,000 or more in a month, you must register to file your sales tax return monthly.  If you anticipate having sales of $1,677-$9,999 per month, you may file quarterly. If you anticipate having sales of $1,666 or less per month, you may file annually.

Monthly returns are due by the 20th of the month following the reporting month. For example, the June return is due July 20th. Quarterly returns are due the 20th of the month following the reporting quarter. For example, the first quarter (January-March) is due April 20th. Annual returns are due January 20th. If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the return is due on the next business day.

If you use an accounting period other than a calendar month, such as a 13-month filer, you can request permission to file differently than a calendar basis. For permission write to the City of Loveland Sales Tax Office, supplying your filing period beginning and ending dates. After you receive written authorization, the payment and return will be due 20 days after the end of your filing period.