Taxing & Business Licensing
Business Licensing
All businesses operating in the City of Lone Tree must obtain a Business License or a Retail Sales & Use Tax License. This includes professional services, charitable organizations, home businesses and temporary vendors.
Licenses are nontransferable. The initial Business License fee is $10.00.
Business Licenses do not expire and have no renewal fee. They are valid until the business is discontinued, sold or revoked.
Retail Sales & Use Tax Licenses expire on December 31 of each odd-number year (2-year license) and have a $15.00 initial and $15.00 biennial renewal fee. The licensing process ensures the City has current emergency contact and notification information.
Business owners must notify the Finance Department through this form if there are any changes to the license or company information.
IMPORTANT: The following applies only to businesses with a physical location within the City of Lone Tree. Before applying for a business license, business owners are strongly encouraged to request a zoning verification letter from the City to ensure that their proposed business location is zoned to permit their business use (e.g. a restaurant). Zoning compliance is a requirement for the City’s issuance of zoning, building, and sign permits. Businesses located on sites that are not zoned for their business use may experience a delay or denial of such permits.
License Renewal
All retail and sales combined licenses expire on December 31, 2025. This type of license expires biennially. To renew your combined license online, please follow these directions:
- Log into Xpress Bill Pay and select add new account (even if you already pay your taxes online, you will need to add account to find the license renewal option).
- Find City of Lone Tree as your billing organization. You will be able to choose to renew your account online. Then enter the name of the business with no punctuation (remember to use the official business name and not the DBA).
- License certificates will be emailed bi-monthly. To ensure the city has the correct email address, please submit updates to this form.
Taxes
Sales Tax
The current Sales Tax rate for the City of Lone is 2.5%.
Automotive Exemption: City of Lone Tree Code Sec. 4-3-210(9) allows for the exemption from sales tax on “All sales or leases of automotive vehicles upon which a specific ownership tax is paid or required to be paid.”
Lodging Tax
The City of Lone Tree collects a 6.0% Lodging Tax upon the renting or leasing of lodging accommodations in the City for less than sixty consecutive days.
Admission Tax
The City of Lone Tree collects a 4.0% Admission Tax on every person who pays to gain admission to any place or event open to the public.
Use Tax
The current Use Tax rate for the City of Lone is 2.5%.
Public Improvement Fee (PIF)
Public Improvement Fees (PIFs) are collected in designated areas of Lone Tree to support public infrastructure and improvement projects. These fees are not assessed or collected by the City of Lone Tree.
- Park Meadows: The PIF at Park Meadows was enacted by the Park Meadows Property Improvement Corporation (PMPIC). For questions regarding this fee, please contact CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) at 303-265-7949.
- RidgeGate: A 1.25% PIF is collected in RidgeGate, enacted by the Rampart Range Metropolitan District (RRMD). For questions regarding this fee, please contact RRMD at 303-779-5710.
Online Tax Payments
The City of Lone Tree is pleased to offer businesses within the City the ability to submit tax return filings and tax payments online from a designated checking account or credit card (Visa, MasterCard or Discover).
A 2.8% service fee will apply to all credit card transactions. No fee will be collected for payments made with an electronic check.
The City utilizes Xpress Bill Pay for quick and easy online tax payments.
- First-time users are encouraged to read the instructions for using Xpress Bill Pay.
- Returning users can quickly and easily access personal accounts at Xpress Bill Pay.
Colorado’s Sales Use Tax System
As an alternative to Xpress Bill Pay, the City of Lone Tree also participates in Colorado’s Sales Use Tax System (SUTS) which allows businesses to file and pay sales and use tax returns.
Retailers without physical presence in Colorado and businesses with multiple locations in Colorado are encouraged to use the SUTS system to file retail sales tax returns for state, state-collected, and participating home-rule self-collecting taxation jurisdictions in one place. The system also includes a GIS lookup tool to help easily identify taxing rates and jurisdictional boundaries for locations in the State of Colorado. Learn more about the new SUTS system here.
Paper Tax Documents
Want to use paper forms instead of submitting online? Use the forms below to fill out, print, and mail to the City of Lone Tree.