The City of Lakewood levies a sales tax on tangible personal property or taxable services which are purchased, sold, leased or rented in the city, including items delivered to the purchaser within city limits. Sales tax is a transaction tax that is collected and remitted by a retailer. Lakewood is a home-rule city, therefore taxable transactions may differ from the State of Colorado.
The tax rate for most of Lakewood is 7.5%. Businesses located in Belmar or the Marston Park and Belleview Shores districts have different sales tax rates. The City portion (3%) must be remitted directly to the City of Lakewood. The remainder of the taxes should be remitted to the State of Colorado.
| Tax Authority |
Lakewood Tax Rate |
Belmar 3 Tax Rate |
Marston Park & Belleview Shores 2 Tax Rate |
| City of Lakewood |
3.0% |
1.0% |
3.0% |
| State of Colorado 1 |
4.5% |
4.5% |
4.93% |
| Combined Total 4 |
7.5% |
5.5% |
7.93% |
- Taxes that must be remitted to the State of Colorado include: State (2.9%), Jefferson County (0.5%), RTD (1.0%), Cultural (0.1%) and other special district taxes.
- Businesses in Marston Park and Belleview Shores shopping centers must collect and remit to the State of Colorado an additional 0.43% for the Southeast Jefferson County Road Improvement District.
- Sales shipped into Belmar are subject to the standard 3% Lakewood sales tax rate (7.5% Combined Total).
- Public Improvement Fees (PIF) may also be imposed in certain areas of the city; PIF is not a tax of the City.
Use tax is due when a city sales tax has not been paid on the purchase, rental, or lease of tangible personal property that is stored, used, or consumed in the City of Lakewood. Use tax applies to every business located in Lakewood that makes purchases other than inventory.
For Lakewood, the use tax rate is 3.0%.
The City of Lakewood spans multiple zip codes, many of which are shared with other municipalities. For information on verifying addresses using currently certified database providers, visit the Colorado Department of Revenue.
The Lakewood Municipal Code is written broadly with the intent of imposing tax upon the vast majority of transactions. Taxation is the rule and exemption is the rare exception. Exemptions from sales tax are specifically identified in the code and may not be increased by implication or similarity. In other words, transactions and items are subject to tax unless explicitly exempted.
Purchasers eligible to make tax exempt transactions should provide an Exemption Affidavit(PDF, 158KB) along with the appropriate proof of exemption. By providing the essential documentation, retailers will be able to more quickly verify that a purchase qualifies for an exemption of sales tax. Retailers must retain proper documentation to support the exemption of a transaction. While this Affidavit is standard across the State, each municipality may establish their own qualifications and instructions for the Affidavit and supporting documentation. Watch a brief video on tax exempt transactions, or review additional training materials(PDF, 203KB) specific to Lakewood.