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1. What are the due dates and monthly filing requirements?

• Monthly returns are due on or before the 20th day following the end of the reporting period.
• If monthly tax is less than $10, taxpayer may file annually or monthly.
• If monthly tax is $10 or more, taxpayer must file monthly and continue to file monthly the rest of the calendar year.

2. When preparing my sales tax return, what supporting documents for my deductions should I retain?

• Non-taxable service sales: Invoice should clearly denote the type of service performed.
• Sales to other licensed dealers for purposes of taxable resale: Certificate from buyer’s home state documenting buyer is a wholesaler.
• Sales shipped out of city: Shipping documents that can be traced to invoice. Shipping receipts should include individual/company where item was shipped, address and invoice number. Invoice should include purchaser’s name and shipping address.
• Sales to governmental, religious and/or charitable organizations: Valid exemption certificate from buyer’s home state or a letter from IRS indicating exempt status, including name of organization and employer identification number (EIN). Note: In order for purchases to be tax exempt, the organization must be conducting regular religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational business. For example, a church that has tax exempt status would have to pay applicable sales and lodging taxes to a hotel if church members are on a ski vacation, even if the lodging services were paid with a church check.

3. If my business is service oriented, would I ever need to collect sales tax?

• Service oriented businesses generally do not need to collect sales tax.
• Persons engaged in the business of rendering service are consumers, not retailers, of the tangible personal property which they use incidentally in rendering the service.
• If, in addition to rendering service they regularly sell tangible personal property to consumers, they are retailers with respect to such sales and they must obtain a license, file returns, and remit tax on such sales.

4. I over collected sales tax on several transactions. How do I account for this excess tax on my return?

• Excess tax is accounted for on line 6 of the sales tax return.
• No retailer may retain any tax collected in excess of the tax computed, and should report the excess collections on the return for the period in which it was collected and include it in the calculation of tax due.

5. What do I do if a purchaser insists they are exempt from tax but cannot produce the appropriate documentation?

• If a dispute arises between a retailer and a purchaser who claims a sale is exempt from tax, the retailer must collect and the purchaser should pay the tax.
• The purchaser can submit a claim for refund to the City within 60 days from the date of purchase.
• Any refund will be issued directly to the purchaser.

6. Why does Aspen have a lodging tax and how much is it?

• Lodging tax, otherwise known as a visitor benefit tax, was enacted by the City Council for the promotion of tourism and transportation services within the Roaring Fork Valley.
• A special fund, the City Tourism Promotion Fund, was created and 25% of the monies goes toward transportation while the other 75% goes toward tourism promotion. Funds dedicated to transportation services pay for regional transit services provided by the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) and for local public transportation within the City.
• Funds dedicated to tourism promotion are appropriated by City Council to a professional marketing entity for advertisement, promotion, etc., which is currently the Aspen Chamber Resort Association.
• The tax is imposed on the leasing or renting of rooms or other accommodations in commercial lodging establishments.
• The person who is renting the accommodations is required to pay the tax and the person from whom the accommodations are rented is required to collect and remit the tax to the City.
• The lodging tax is 2.0%.

7. If I rent my house on a short-term basis, for example, through a vacation website or property management company, am I required to collect and remit sales and lodging taxes?

• Yes, if you rent your home on a short-term basis, you are required to collect and remit sales and lodging taxes to the City.
• A short term rental is defined as any period that is less than 30 days.
• The total combined sales and lodging tax rate for a traditional lodge in Aspen is 11.3%.  A short-term rental property lodge will have to collect and remit:
  •  an additional 5% excise tax on nightly stays if the property is either an "owner occupied" or "lodge exempt" property; or 
  • an additional 10% excise tax on nightly stays if the property is a "classic" (investment property or second homeowner property). 

8. My lodging establishment charges a civic assessment / convenience / booking / service fee on each booking. Is that subject to sales and lodging tax?

• Yes, you must collect sales and lodging taxes on such fees.
•  It is considered part of the room charge and is not exempt from taxes.

9. Will I ever get audited?

• Possibly. Since 2009, the Finance Department has a sales and use tax audit program.
• The audit period includes all reporting periods with due dates which fall within the 36 month period preceding the date of the notice of audit.