Colorado sales tax for salons
Are haircuts and salon services taxable in Colorado?
No. Colorado's sales tax generally does not apply to services, and the only services the state names as taxable are telephone and telegraph service and commercial gas and electric service, so haircuts, nail services and skin care carry no state sales tax. Below: each kind of service, the products you sell, the rate and the permit a salon needs, each answered from the Colorado Department of Revenue's own publications, rules or statutes, read on October 25, 2026.
- Haircuts
- Not taxable
- Nails
- Not taxable
- Products you sell
- Taxable
- State rate
- 2.9%
Administered by Colorado Department of Revenue.The agency's page The state's own words
Services
Which salon services are taxable in Colorado?
No. Colorado's sales tax generally does not apply to services, and the only services the state names as taxable are telephone and telegraph service and commercial gas and electric service, so haircuts, nail services and skin care carry no state sales tax.
- Hair services
- Not taxable
- Nail services
- Not taxable
- Skin care and waxing
- Not taxable
Hair services: haircuts, color, styling, perms and shaves. Nail services: manicures, pedicures and enhancements. Skin care: facials, waxing and other hair removal, and makeup.
Products
Do salons charge sales tax on products in Colorado?
Yes. Products a salon sells to clients are tangible personal property, which Colorado taxes at retail, so the salon must collect sales tax on them. The state rate is 2.9% plus local tax.
The rate
What is the sales tax rate in Colorado?
- Statewide tax
- State Sales Tax
- State rate
- 2.9%
- Local sales taxes
- Yes, added by cities, counties or districts
The rate a client pays depends on the salon's address: look it up with the Colorado Department of Revenue.
The permit
Does a salon need a sales tax permit in Colorado?
Colorado sales tax license. A salon that sells products at retail must get a Colorado sales tax license from the Department of Revenue before its first sale, paying a $16 license fee plus a $50 deposit that is refunded later; home-rule cities need their own license.
- Registration
- Colorado sales tax license
- State fee
- $16
Good to know
What else Colorado says about salons and sales tax
- A salon that uses shampoo, color or wax up in services is treated as the consumer of those supplies, so it pays sales tax when it buys them and does not charge tax on the services.
- If a bundled charge combines a taxable product with a service, the whole price may be taxable unless certain conditions are met, so a salon should separate product sales from service charges.
- A service business that also sells products regularly to customers is a retailer for those sales and must hold a sales tax license and collect tax on them.
Sources
What Colorado's official pages say
Each answer above, in the words of the Colorado Department of Revenue's own publications, rules or statutes, read on October 25, 2026. This is not tax advice: rules and rates change, so confirm with the Colorado Department of Revenue or an accountant.
- Hair services
“Sales of services are generally not subject to Colorado sales tax. However, sales of the following services are specifically taxable under Colorado law:”
tax.colorado.gov - Products you sell
“Tangible personal property subject to sales tax includes all goods, wares, merchandise, products, and commodities”
tax.colorado.gov - The tax and its rate
“Colorado state sales tax is imposed at a rate of 2.9%.”
tax.colorado.gov “Any sale made in Colorado may also be subject to state-administered local sales taxes.”
tax.colorado.gov - The permit
“The Colorado sales tax license (in other parts of the country, may be called a reseller's license, a vendor's license or a resale certificate) is for state and state-administered sales and use taxes.”
tax.colorado.gov “Retailers must remit a license fee of $16, prorated depending on the date of issuance, and a deposit of $50 at the time of application.”
tax.colorado.gov - The agency
“File and pay state-collected Sales Tax”
tax.colorado.gov - Also good to know
“Anyone engaged in the business of rendering services to customers is generally considered the consumer, and not the retailer, of any tangible personal property that they use incidentally in rendering the service.”
tax.colorado.gov - Also good to know
“in the case of a mixed transaction that involves a bundled sale of both tangible personal property and service (whether or not such service is specifically taxed), the entire purchase price may be taxable unless certain conditions exist.”
tax.colorado.gov - Also good to know
“If, in addition to rendering services, the service enterprise regularly sells tangible personal property to consumers, then the service enterprise is a retailer with respect to such sales and must comply with the licensing, collection, and filing requirements applicable to retailers.”
tax.colorado.gov
Questions
Colorado salon sales tax, answered
Are haircuts taxable in Colorado?
Do nail salons charge sales tax in Colorado?
Are facials and waxing taxable in Colorado?
Do salons charge sales tax on products in Colorado?
Does a salon need a sales tax permit in Colorado?
What is the sales tax rate in Colorado?
Plan the rest
Opening or running a salon in Colorado
- Every step to opening a salon in Colorado, as a checklist
- What Colorado requires to license a salon
- What Colorado inspectors check in a salon
- Salon point of sale systems compared, with card fees
Salon sales tax in other states
Ready when you are
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