Colorado State Tax Guide

State tax registration guide for Colorado.

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Need to register taxes in another state? Review the State Tax Guide section in our Tax Services Toolkit. 

 

REQUIRED REGISTRATION

  • Unemployment Insurance: Colorado Secretary of State

  • Income Tax Withholding: Colorado Secretary of State

 

REQUIRED INFORMATION

  • SIT ID # (format: XXXXXXXX)

  • SIT payment frequency

  • SIT EFT Credit ID # (format: XXXXXXXXXX, instructions here)

  • SUI ID # (format: XXXXXX.XX-X, instructions here)

  • Current year SUI rate

Required Client Information for Localities in Colorado:

  • Aurora OPT ID # (format: XXXXXXXXXXXOPT)

  • Aurora OPT TPA Agent authorization (instructions here)

  • Denver OPT ID # (format: XXXXXX-XXXXXX)

  • Greenwood Village OPT ID # (format: XXXXXX)

Note: Glendale and Sheridan OPT ID # have no known format; use FEIN. 

TIP:

You will need to complete the Colorado SIT TPA Authorization if Namely needs to resolve tax notice issues for you.

 

REGISTERING FOR STATE UNEMPLOYMENT AND INCOME TAX

To register for both unemployment insurance and income tax withholding within the state, Colorado required you to have:

  • a registered agent

  • a Secretary of State (SOS) number

  • a Withholding Account number

  • an Unemployment Insurance (UI) number

Any business in Colorado with employees is required to have a registered agent on file. If your main location is in-state, this will be your business location. If your main business location is out of state, the registered agent will serve as your de facto location in Colorado to receive official state notices and legal documentation. A registered agent can be:

  • An employee, as long as they are 18 years of age or older and have residence in Colorado

  • A registered agent service

TIP:

Future-date registration is possible for this state's unemployment insurance and income tax withholding!

Once you have your registered agent in order, you must apply for a Secretary of State (“SOS”) number

Once you have a registered agent and SOS number, complete the following online form to receive both unemployment and withholding account numbers here.

Once completed, you will receive both an Unemployment Account Number (UI), an Unemployment Rate (%) and Withholding Tax Account Number (WH) which you will need to enter into Namely Payroll under Company > Tax (UI & WH tax). If you have run payroll before with Colorado employees, you will already have this information. You can check your previous Colorado returns for this information or call the number below.

CONTACT:

Call the agency at 303-238-7378 to retrieve your account numbers.

For additional information on registering for taxes, read Employment Tax Registration Overview.

 

OTHER STATE TAXES THAT REQUIRE REGISTRATION

Aurora Occupational Privilege Tax

You can register for an Aurora Occupational Privilege Tax ID here.

Once you’ve completed the registration, you will receive notification from the Agency regarding your Aurora OPT ID, and you will need to register for an Aurora Tax Portal online account here. Please update the payroll system with your ID.

CONTACT:

If you're having trouble retrieving your Aurora OPT ID or setting up the Aurora Tax Portal online account, please contact the City of Aurora Colorado by phone 303-739-7800 (option 2). 

Denver Occupational Privilege Tax

You can register for a Denver Occupational Privilege Tax ID and eBiz Tax Center account here. Then, under Access and Registration, select Register New Business.

Once completed, you will receive notification from the Agency regarding your Denver OPT ID and your eBiz Tax Center login credentials. Please update the payroll system with your ID.

CONTACT:

If you're having trouble retrieving your Denver OPT ID or eBiz Tax Center login credentials, please contact the City and County of Denver by phone 720-913-9309. 

Greenwood Village Occupational Privilege Tax

You can register for a Greenwood Village Occupational Privilege Tax License by completing and mailing in this form.

Once completed, you will receive notification from the Agency regarding your Greenwood Village OPT Tax License. Please update the payroll system with your ID.

CONTACT:

If you're having trouble retrieving your Greenwood Village OPT ID, please contact the Greenwood Village tax office by phone 303-486-8299.

For additional information on registering for taxes, read Employment Tax Registration Overview.

 

COLORADO PAID FAMILY LEAVE

Beginning on January 1, 2023, Colorado employers must withhold and remit Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) contributions up to the federal social security wage base for the year. The premium for this will be split evenly between the employer and the employee.  If you have fewer than 10 employees, you are exempt from paying the employer contribution but must still withhold and remit employee contributions. For details on the premiums, please see the article 2022-2023 Federal and State: Payroll and Tax Fact Sheet.

Namely will begin supporting this tax on January 1, 2023, by adding the tax and beginning to deduct premiums for employees with a Colorado work location.


Program Administration

Colorado Paid Family Medical Leave can be administered in one of two ways, depending on your total employee count. Please note that the employee count includes all employees, even if they work outside of Colorado. Your headcount will be calculated by counting the number of employees you have on your payroll for a total of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the preceding calendar year. An employer's size will be calculated upon registration and annually thereafter during the first calendar quarter of the year. Any change to premium liability as a result of a change in employer size will happen no more frequently than one time per calendar year.  

For more information about employee size, see the resource here. 

EINS with under 10 total employees (Employee-only tax)

  • Employees are taxed at the current year rate, and the current year Federal Social Security Wage Cap can be found here.

  • Employers with 9 or fewer employees are exempt from paying the employer portion of the tax, although you may still contribute if desired.

To exempt the Employer portion of the tax, submit a ticket to our Help Community using the information below:

  • Product Name: Payroll

  • Product Feature: Tax Services

  • Function: General Questions

  • Subject Line: Exempt tax: CO PFML - Employer Tax Only


EINs with 10 or more total employees (Employee/Employer split)

  • Employers and their employees are both responsible for funding the program and may split the cost 50/50.

  • Employees are taxed at the current year rate, and the current year Federal Social Security Wage Cap can be found here. 

  • Employers are taxed at the current year rate, and the current year Federal Social Security Wage Cap can be found here.

This tax is remitted on a quarterly pay frequency.


Private Plan Exemptions

An employer with an approved private plan will be able to apply for an exemption from the PFML program. To be eligible for exemption, the private plan must confer the same rights, protections, and benefits as the state plan. After confirming the exemption eligibility, please submit a case in the Help Community using the information below. Once excluded, all premiums should be paid directly to your insurance provider.

  • Product Name: Payroll

  • Product Feature: Tax Services

  • Function: General Questions

  • Subject Line: Private plan: CO- PFML - Private Plan

For more information and background on this tax, please go to the Colorado Employers Family and Medical Leave Insurance website.


2023 - 2024 Contribution Rates

From January 1, 2023, until December 31, 2024, the premium will be 0.9% of the employee’s wages up to the taxable wage base, split equally between the employer and the employee. Beginning January 1, 2025, and thereafter, the director of the division will determine a premium of up to 1.2% of each employee’s wages, split equally between the employer and employee.

Resources


Program Requirements

Every local government employer must register with the FAMLI online system, even if they choose not to participate in FAMLI. Registering and uploading your documents will enable FAMLI to keep track of local government employers’ current intentions for participation, the obligation to revisit a declination vote after eight years, and enable local government employers to provide an affordable benefit if they choose to remit premiums and wage data for employees who self elect coverage.

An employer's size for purposes of this regulation 1.5.4 will be calculated upon registration and annually thereafter during the first calendar quarter of the year. Any change to premium liability as a result of a change in employer size will happen no more frequently than one time per calendar year.

Registration is available here.
 

POWER OF ATTORNEY FORM

Please note, Namely does not require a Power of Attorney for this state at this time. It is not required to file or remit payments on your behalf. If one is needed to resolve a tax matter, the tax notice team will request one from you at that time.

If a Power of Attorney is requested from you, you should email completed copies of the forms namelyPOA@Namely.com with the CID in the subject line for processing. We will update our system and maintain a copy of each form for record-keeping purposes

For additional information on Power of Attorney, read Completing the Power of Attorney Package.

 

STATE INCOME WITHHOLDING FORMS

Namely uploads Federal and State W-4 documents to your HRIS site for use during onboarding, or if you need to send W-4s to employees who need to make withholding adjustments. 

TIP:

The most up to date W-4 documents can be found in the Namely section of the Document dropdown menu in Onboarding and Manage eSignature. 

Form Name: No state form

Accepts Federal W-4: Yes

Comments: Each employee must provide the employer with the federal Form W-4. Colorado does not issue a separate state withholding certificate. For Forms W-4 from 2019 or earlier, the number of allowances claimed is used to calculate state withholding. If the department determines that the number of allowances is incorrect, it will notify the employee that supporting evidence for the exemptions must be submitted within 10 days. If the certificate is ruled defective, a new withholding certificate for the employee will be sent.

Employers must send W-4s claiming more than 10 withholding allowances or claiming exemption from withholding for an employee whose wages would normally be expected to exceed $200 a week to the Department of Revenue.

 

PAYROLL + TAX FACTS

Refer to this document for more information: 2022-2023 Federal and State: Payroll and Tax Fact Sheet.