Colorado Closing Costs for Sellers in 2026: Transfer Tax, Fees and Real Numbers
Colorado charges a documentary fee of one cent per $100, or $30 on a $300,000 sale. See what that means for sellers and for flippers and wholesalers.
Colorado charges a documentary fee of one cent for each $100 of consideration under C.R.S. 39-13-102, collected by the county clerk and recorder. On a $300,000 sale that is $30. No fee applies at $500 or less. Commission, payoff, prorations and title costs are set by your contract and the market.
What a Colorado seller pays at closing
Colorado’s state charge on a deed is a fee, not a percentage tax on price. The state charges a documentary fee of one cent for each $100, or major fraction thereof, of consideration. The statute is C.R.S. 39-13-102, and the fee is collected by the county clerk and recorder.
The fee applies when consideration exceeds $500. The statute notes that no documentary fee applies when there is no consideration or when consideration is $500 or less. Exemptions are listed in C.R.S. 39-13-104, and your title company can tell you whether your transfer qualifies.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Documentary fee | One cent per $100 of consideration, or major fraction thereof |
| Threshold | Applies when consideration exceeds $500 |
| Collected by | County clerk and recorder |
| Exemptions | Listed in C.R.S. 39-13-104 |
Who pays
The statute text checked for this post names who collects the fee, not who bears it. That means the allocation between buyer and seller is a contract term. Read the closing-cost clause in your purchase agreement, and ask your title company or closing attorney what is customary locally. Ask your title company which declaration forms accompany the deed at recording.
A worked example on a hypothetical $300,000 sale
Take a hypothetical $300,000 sale price.
- $300,000 divided by $100 is 3,000 units.
- 3,000 units at one cent each is $30.
If the contract assigns the fee entirely to the seller, $30 comes out of proceeds. If it splits the fee, the seller’s share is $15. The fee scales in a straight line: a $500,000 sale is $50, and a $750,000 sale is $75.
| Sale price | Math | Documentary fee |
|---|---|---|
| $300,000 | 3,000 x $0.01 | $30 |
| $500,000 | 5,000 x $0.01 | $50 |
| $750,000 | 7,500 x $0.01 | $75 |
The other seller costs
Because the documentary fee is small, the real drivers of a Colorado seller’s net are the items the state does not set:
- Agent commission. Negotiable, and usually the largest cost on a listed sale.
- Mortgage payoff. Your remaining balance plus interest through the payoff date.
- Prorated property taxes. Settled as of the closing date under your contract. The tax proration calculator can estimate this.
- Title, settlement and recording fees. These vary by company and county. Ask for a written estimate. The sources used here do not state whether Colorado promulgates title insurance rates, so ask your title company how its premium is set.
Why investors care
For a flipper, the documentary fee shows up twice, once when you buy and again when you sell. On a hypothetical $240,000 purchase and $300,000 resale, the fee is $24 plus $30, or $54, if you carry the full amount on both ends. That is small enough to be a rounding error, which makes the cost of the closings themselves the more important number to model: title, escrow and recording on each deed.
The structure of a wholesale deal changes the count. An assignment moves the contract to your end buyer, so the closing runs between the original seller and that buyer. A double close means two closings and two sets of costs: you buy, then you resell, and each deed has its own documentary fee on its own price, with two rounds of title and recording charges. The fee is minor, but the second round of closing costs can come straight out of your assignment-sized spread.
For your maximum allowable offer, work backward from the resale price. Subtract rehab, holding costs, both closings, the documentary fee on each deed and your target profit. Entering the fee as a real line, even at $24 or $30, keeps the model complete and consistent with how you handle the larger costs.
Do not assume the fee is the only government charge in your county. Local recording fees and any local requirements are set outside the state statute, so your title company is the right source for the full list.
Check your numbers
Confirm every figure with your title company or closing attorney, since county fees and contract terms vary. For a quick estimate, the closing cost calculator in Automize CRM lets you enter your own price and fees.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Sources
Rates checked October 24, 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice.
Common questions
Does Colorado have a real estate transfer tax?
Colorado does not charge a percentage transfer tax in the sources checked for this post. It charges a documentary fee of one cent for each $100, or major fraction thereof, of consideration under C.R.S. 39-13-102, collected by the county clerk and recorder when the deed is recorded.
How much is the Colorado documentary fee on a $500,000 sale?
At one cent per $100 of consideration, a $500,000 sale is 5,000 units of $100, so the fee is $50. The statute applies it when consideration exceeds $500, and no fee applies when there is no consideration or $500 or less. Exemptions are listed in C.R.S. 39-13-104.
Who pays the documentary fee in Colorado?
The statute text checked for this post says the county clerk and recorder collects the fee, but it does not set whether the buyer or the seller pays. Your purchase contract decides. Ask your title company or closing attorney what is customary locally.
Does a double close cost more in Colorado?
A double close records two deeds, so the documentary fee is calculated on two prices, along with two sets of title, closing and recording costs. The fee itself is small, but the second set of closing costs can still reduce your spread on a low-margin wholesale deal.
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