Sales tax · Colorado · rates effective July 1, 2026
Chaffee County Sales Tax Rate: 5.65%
Buy something in Chaffee County and 5.65% is added at the register. Of that, 2.9% goes to the state and 2.75% to local governments. Enter a purchase amount to see the dollars each authority gets.
On a $100.00 purchase in Chaffee County you pay $5.65 in sales tax, 5.65% in all, for a total of $105.65. Here is who gets each part.
| Levied by | Rate | Tax on $100.00 | In effect since |
|---|---|---|---|
| State of Colorado · state | 2.9% | $2.90 | 2026-07-01 |
| Chaffee County · county | 2.75% | $2.75 | 2026-07-01 |
| Combined rate | 5.65% | $5.65 |
Note. State and county portions only; special districts (RTD, cultural, health, transit) vary by location within the county and are shown on each city's page.
Cities in Chaffee County
Inside a city the city's own tax applies on top of the county's. Outside any city, the county rate above applies.
| City | Combined rate |
|---|---|
| Buena Vista | 8.15% |
| Poncha Springs | 7.65% |
| Salida | 8.65% |
Methodology
How the combined rate is built
A sales tax rate is a sum. The state sets one rate for every sale in the state; the county, the city and any special district (transit authority, hospital district, improvement district) the address sits in each add their own. The combined rate is those components added together, and the page lists every one with the authority that levies it and the date it took effect, so the total can be checked line by line.
Combined rate = state rate + county rate + city rate + district rates Tax = purchase amount × combined rate ÷ 100
Source and effective date
Every rate on this page comes from the Colorado Department of Revenue, Jurisdiction Codes & Sales/Use Tax Rates (DR 1002), the file dated July 1, 2026 with rates effective July 1, 2026, read on October 8, 2026. The file states one effective date for the whole table and none per jurisdiction, so every component is dated by it. Sales tax rates are not tax-year figures: they change on the first day of a quarter, most often January, April, July and October 1. The snapshot behind these pages is rebuilt from the DOR file on the fifth of those months.
- Self-collected home-rule cities (about 70, including Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs) set and administer their own sales tax outside CDOR's system; CDOR's file flags them and lists the city rate as reported. Their pages say so.
- CDOR reissues the spreadsheet on January 1 and July 1; components are dated by that issue date because the file carries no per-jurisdiction dates.
Limitations
- General merchandise only. Groceries, prepared food, lodging, motor vehicles, fuel, alcohol and services are taxed at different rates or not at all, and that differs by state and within Chaffee County.
- A ZIP code is not a jurisdiction. ZIP codes cross county, city and district lines, so a receipt's ZIP does not set the rate; the taxing jurisdictions the address sits in do. That is why there are no ZIP pages here.
- Where the rate is measured. Colorado is a destination-based state: the rate at the address the goods are delivered to applies.
- Home rule. Colorado's self-collected home-rule cities (about 70, including Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs) set, administer and collect their own city sales tax outside the Department of Revenue's system. The Department's file flags them and lists the city rate as reported to it; those pages say so, and the city's own exemptions and rules may differ from the state's.
- Special districts that cover part of a jurisdiction (an address-range improvement district, a transit area that stops at a road) are listed under "other rate areas" where the DOR lists them and left out where it lists them only by address.
- Caps and thresholds (a surtax that applies only to the first $5,000 of an item, a maximum tax per sale) are not modeled; the split assumes the full rate on the full amount.
Last reviewed: October 2026. The state table was checked against each revenue department's page on October 8, 2026; the local snapshots are refreshed from the DOR files every quarter and checked by scripts/check-sales-tax.mjs before each deploy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the sales tax rate in Chaffee County?
5.65% on general merchandise, as published by the Colorado Department of Revenue, Jurisdiction Codes & Sales/Use Tax Rates (DR 1002) for rates effective July 1, 2026. It is the sum of 2.9% (State of Colorado), 2.75% (Chaffee County).
How much sales tax is that on a $100 purchase in Chaffee County?
$5.65 on a $100 purchase, for a total of $105.65. The calculator above splits any amount by the authority that receives each part.
Does the ZIP code on my receipt set the Chaffee County rate?
No. Sales tax is set by the taxing jurisdictions the address sits in (state, county, city and any special district), and ZIP codes routinely cross those lines. A Colorado address in the same ZIP but outside the county can carry a different rate.
Does the 5.65% rate apply to groceries, restaurant meals, hotels and cars in Chaffee County?
Not necessarily. The rate here is the general merchandise rate. Colorado, like most states, taxes some of those differently: groceries may be exempt or reduced, prepared food, lodging and vehicles often carry their own rates, and many services are untaxed. Check the Colorado Department of Revenue, Jurisdiction Codes & Sales/Use Tax Rates (DR 1002) for the category.
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