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Hotel And Lodging Tax In Denver 2026: TOT Rate And Rules
Denver stacks a 10.75% city Lodger's Tax with a 4% state and special-district tax, and taxes a hotel folio's room-service and phone charges at entirely different rates than the room itself.
August 28, 2026
8
min. read
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TL;DR
- Denver hotel stays carry a combined 14.75% tax: 2.9% state, 1.0% RTD, 0.1% SCFD, and a 10.75% Denver Lodger's Tax.
- Hotels with 50 or more rooms add a further 1% Tourism Improvement District tax, for a total of 15.75%.
- "Hotel tax," "lodging tax," "occupancy tax," and "bed tax" all describe the same charge Denver calls its Lodger's Tax.
- In-room movies and phone charges are taxed at 4.31%, and food and beverage at 4%, both different from the 10.75% rate that applies to the room itself.
- Stays of 30 consecutive days or more, under a written agreement, are exempt from Denver's Lodger's Tax.
- Denver's filing frequency scales with tax liability: monthly above $300, quarterly between $15.01 and $300, annually at $15 or less.
- Denver only licenses short-term rentals at a host's own primary residence, one license per person.
- Denver's government and charity exemption does not apply if an employee pays personally, even on a government-issued card that will be reimbursed.
How Denver's Hotel and Lodging Tax Works
Denver hotel guests pay a 10.75% city Lodger's Tax plus a combined 4.0% state and special-district sales tax, for a base combined rate of 14.75%. Hotels with 50 or more rooms add a further 1% Tourism Improvement District tax, bringing their total to 15.75%.
Denver's Lodger's Tax is authorized under Denver Revised Municipal Code Sections 53-166 through 53-220, and the Tourism Improvement District tax under DRMC Sections 20-401 through 20-424, in effect since January 1, 2018. The 4.0% state and special-district layer is actually three separate charges collected together and remitted to the Colorado Department of Revenue: 2.9% Colorado state sales tax, 1.0% for the Regional Transportation District (RTD), and 0.1% for the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).
These taxes apply to hotels, motels, guest houses, resorts, and licensed short-term rentals within the City and County of Denver, for any stay under 30 consecutive days. Denver has allowed short-term rentals since July 1, 2016, but with a restriction most other cities in this cluster do not have: a Denver short-term rental license can only be issued for the host's own primary residence.
Tax Rates and Extra Fees
Denver's hotel tax is really four different governments collecting at once, and the total depends on how many rooms a property has.
| Tax component | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado state sales tax | 2.9% | Applies to lodging statewide; remitted to the Colorado Department of Revenue |
| Regional Transportation District (RTD) tax | 1.0% | Funds Denver-area metro transit |
| Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) tax | 0.1% | Funds regional cultural and scientific institutions |
| Denver Lodger's Tax | 10.75% | City tax on the full amount charged for the room |
| Denver Tourism Improvement District (TID) tax | 1% | Applies only at hotels with 50 or more rooms, in effect since January 1, 2018 |
| Combined total, hotels under 50 rooms | 14.75% | State, RTD, SCFD, and Lodger's Tax only |
| Combined total, hotels with 50 or more rooms | 15.75% | Adds the 1% TID tax on top of the 14.75% base |
Not every dollar on a Denver hotel folio is taxed at the same rate as the room. In-room movie charges, local telephone charges, and intrastate long-distance calls are subject to Denver sales tax at 4.31%, while food and beverage charges, including mandatory room service gratuities, are taxed at 4%, not at the 10.75% Lodger's Tax rate that applies to the room itself. A hotel that applies its room tax rate to every line item on a bill is very likely overcharging on some charges and undercharging on others.
Because the TID only applies at the 50-room threshold, two comparably priced Denver hotels can legitimately show different tax totals, 14.75% versus 15.75%, purely based on room count, the same pattern seen in cities that layer a tourism assessment on top of a base tax.
Collection and Remittance
The guest pays the Lodger's Tax, the TID tax where it applies, and the state and special-district sales tax as part of the total room charge. The hotel or short-term rental operator collects and remits the Lodger's Tax and TID tax to the City and County of Denver, while the state, RTD, and SCFD portions go to the Colorado Department of Revenue separately.
Denver's filing frequency scales with how much tax a property actually collects, rather than using one fixed schedule for every operator. A property with monthly Lodger's Tax liability over $300 must file monthly; one with liability between $15.01 and $300 files quarterly; a property collecting $15 or less a month may file annually. All returns and payments, whatever the frequency, are due by the 20th of the month following the reporting period.
Short-term rental platforms do not uniformly collect and remit Denver's Lodger's Tax on a host's behalf. Hosts remain responsible for holding a valid Denver short-term rental license and for filing their own Lodger's Tax return unless they have confirmed their platform handles Denver's tax specifically.
Exemptions From Denver's Hotel Tax
A guest who enters a written agreement for at least 30 consecutive days of occupancy, and actually pays for and occupies the room for that full period, is exempt from Denver's Lodger's Tax on that stay. The exemption also covers an organization that contracts for one or more rooms for 30 days or more, even if different individuals use the rooms on different days within that period.
A separate exemption applies to direct purchases by government agencies and qualifying charitable organizations, but Denver's rules here are stricter than they first appear. The sale must be billed directly to the exempt entity and paid directly by that entity; a government employee who pays personally on a government-issued credit card, even one that will be fully reimbursed, does not qualify, because the employee, not the government, is contractually responsible for the bill. Charitable organizations must additionally hold a Denver Letter of Exemption before the exemption applies.
Common Mistakes Hotels Make With TOT Compliance
- Applying one flat rate to the whole folio. Denver taxes the room itself at 10.75% (or 11.75% at larger hotels), but in-room movies and phone charges at 4.31% and food and beverage at 4%. Charging 10.75% across an entire bill misstates several line items at once.
- Missing the 50-room TID threshold. A hotel that crosses 50 rooms, through renovation or a merger with an adjacent property, owes an additional 1% Tourism Improvement District tax that a smaller property does not.
- Filing on the wrong schedule. Denver's filing frequency depends on the property's tax liability, monthly above $300, quarterly between $15.01 and $300, annually at $15 or less, rather than one fixed schedule for every operator.
- Accepting a government credit card as automatic proof of exemption. Denver's own guidance is explicit that a government employee's personal liability for a government-issued card can disqualify an otherwise government-paid stay from the exemption.
- Treating every short-term rental listing as eligible. Denver only licenses a short-term rental at the host's primary residence, one license per person; a listing on a property the host does not actually live in is operating outside the license Denver actually grants.
- Assuming a charitable exemption applies without the Letter of Exemption. Denver requires charitable organizations to hold a specific Letter of Exemption on file; a general nonprofit status alone does not satisfy the requirement.
Where A PMS Fits Into TOT Compliance
None of this is about software first. It is about a hotel correctly separating what belongs on the room line, taxed at Denver's Lodger's Tax rate, from what belongs on the incidentals lines, taxed at different Denver sales tax rates entirely. A property management system like roommaster lets a hotel configure the Lodger's Tax, the TID tax, and the state and special-district sales tax as distinct line items instead of one blended percentage, which matters in a city where a room charge and a room-service charge on the same folio are legally taxed differently. Its revenue reports by date range also make it easier to track which filing frequency, monthly, quarterly, or annual, a property actually falls into as its collections change, and a booking engine that shows the full taxed total upfront keeps guests from being surprised by Denver's layered rate at checkout.
See how roommaster simplifies multi-property tax reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Denver have its own hotel tax rate?
Yes. Denver charges its own 10.75% Lodger's Tax on top of a combined 4.0% state and special-district sales tax, for a base combined rate of 14.75%. Hotels with 50 or more rooms add a further 1% Tourism Improvement District tax, for 15.75%.
2. What is Denver's hotel tax?
Denver's hotel tax is a combined 14.75% to 15.75% charge: 2.9% Colorado state sales tax, 1.0% RTD tax, 0.1% SCFD tax, and a 10.75% Denver Lodger's Tax, plus an extra 1% Tourism Improvement District tax at hotels with 50 or more rooms.
3. What is Denver's lodging tax?
Lodging tax is another name for the same charge as Denver's hotel tax, which Denver calls the Lodger's Tax. Hotel tax, lodging tax, occupancy tax, and bed tax all refer to the same combined charge on hotel and short-term rental stays in Denver.
4. How long does a stay need to be to qualify for Denver's long-term exemption?
A guest needs a written agreement for at least 30 consecutive days of occupancy, and must actually pay for and occupy the room for that full period, to qualify for Denver's Lodger's Tax exemption.
5. Does Denver require hotels to disclose mandatory fees upfront?
Denver does not have its own ordinance requiring all-in price disclosure. Federal rules that took effect in 2025 require short-term lodging bookings nationwide, including in Denver, to show the total price, including mandatory fees, before a guest completes a booking.
6. Who is responsible for filing Denver's hotel tax return?
The hotel or short-term rental operator is responsible for collecting the Lodger's Tax from guests and filing with the City and County of Denver by the 20th of the month following the reporting period, on a monthly, quarterly, or annual schedule depending on how much tax the property collects.
7. Can any property in Denver operate as a short-term rental?
No. Denver only issues a short-term rental license for the host's own primary residence, verified against things like voter registration and driver's license address, and limits each person to one license. An investment property the host does not live in cannot be licensed as a short-term rental in Denver.
