Colorado Enacts Sales Tax Relief for Restaurants and Bars

Governor Jared Polis recently signed HB 20B-1004, establishing temporary COVID-related sales tax relief for on-premises liquor establishments, restaurants, and other qualifying food sellers, including mobile food trucks. Under this bill, qualifying food retailers are permitted to deduct up to $70,000 in sales per month from their state-level sales tax returns for the November and December, 2020, and January and February, 2021, reporting periods. This is permitted for up to five separate physical locations the qualifying retailer operates in the state. This allows the retailer to retain the sales tax money they collected from customers during these reporting periods. Notably, this retention of tax money applies only to the reporting of sales for the 2.9% state-level tax, and revenue related to any county, city, or special district taxes must still be reported in full and all such taxes must be remitted.