“Bean Counter Buzz” -- my blog about starting a business in Denver points out some basic -- but very important --
first steps you must take. We are the local QuickBooks Pro-Advisor’s office winner of the “400 Best Small Business Accountants”.
By: Paul J McCallister
303-570-3786 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 303-570-3786 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Starting a business in Denver requires you do a few important things before “hanging your shingle” or starting your
advertising. You need to be licensed in Colorado to conduct business.
First, unless you are doing business as yourself and intend to use your social security number (in this case you would be considered a sole-proprietor), go to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss4.pdf to complete Form SS-4 Application for Employer Identification Number. Once you get your federal identification number (also known as your “FEIN” or “TIN”) you can then apply for your Colorado taxpayer account number(s).
Open your web browser and go to the Colorado Department of Revenue at http://www.colorado.gov/cms/forms/dor-tax/CR0100.pdf where you will see the COLORADO SALES TAX / WAGE WITHHOLDING ACCOUNT APPLICATION (Form CR0100). As of this writing, you can’t complete this form online but, instead, will have to print it, complete it and mail it to the Colorado Department of Revenue with a minimal application fee. You are applying for a Colorado sales tax license in order to do business in Colorado (some states refer to this as a “business license”). If you are a service company, your sales may be non-taxable, but you still need a sales tax license. Click this link for the detailed instructions to complete Form CR0100
http://www.colorado.gov/cms/forms/dor-tax/cr0101.pdf
If you have only one location in Colorado, and that location is in the city or county of Denver, you will also need to apply for a local sales tax license from the City and County of Denver. Go to http://www.denvergov.org/TaxGuide/tabid/424582/Default.aspx for this form.
Note that the CR0100 is the same form you would use if you also needed to apply for a Colorado Wage Withholding account number. If you expect to have employees working in your Denver business, you’ll need a wage withholding account number in addition to the sales tax license. The good news is you can apply for this at the same time that you apply for the sales tax license.
You can learn more about payroll taxes in our other “Bean Counter Buzz” tips and suggestions.
Please note the following caution regarding Colorado State FYIs (per the State of Colorado official website as of 09/06/11):
“FYI tax publications are developed by the Colorado Department of Revenue Taxpayer Service Division. The publications are
classified into the following six categories: Estate, Excise, General, Income, Sales and Withholding. Each publication is numbered as follows within a general category: Estate 1, General 14, Income 25, Sales 9, etc. There are more than 180 FYI tax publications.
These publications provide general information concerning a variety of Colorado tax topics in simple and straightforward language. Although the FYIs represent a good faith effort to provide accurate and complete tax information, the information is not binding on the Colorado Department of Revenue nor does it replace, alter, or supersede Colorado law and regulations. The Executive Director, who by statute is the only person having authority to bind the Department, has not formally reviewed and/or approved these FYIs.
FYIs contain information about state taxes and state-collected taxes only. For information on locally-collected taxes, taxpayers must contact local jurisdictions individually.”
You can find this and all the information described above at the state of Colorado Department of Revenue website http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/Revenue/REVX/1176842266433.
Keep in touch with McCallister Consulting Group, Ltd. for more tips and tricks at our blog, Bean Counter Buzz, or call us at 303-570-3786.
first steps you must take. We are the local QuickBooks Pro-Advisor’s office winner of the “400 Best Small Business Accountants”.
By: Paul J McCallister
303-570-3786 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 303-570-3786 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Starting a business in Denver requires you do a few important things before “hanging your shingle” or starting your
advertising. You need to be licensed in Colorado to conduct business.
First, unless you are doing business as yourself and intend to use your social security number (in this case you would be considered a sole-proprietor), go to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss4.pdf to complete Form SS-4 Application for Employer Identification Number. Once you get your federal identification number (also known as your “FEIN” or “TIN”) you can then apply for your Colorado taxpayer account number(s).
Open your web browser and go to the Colorado Department of Revenue at http://www.colorado.gov/cms/forms/dor-tax/CR0100.pdf where you will see the COLORADO SALES TAX / WAGE WITHHOLDING ACCOUNT APPLICATION (Form CR0100). As of this writing, you can’t complete this form online but, instead, will have to print it, complete it and mail it to the Colorado Department of Revenue with a minimal application fee. You are applying for a Colorado sales tax license in order to do business in Colorado (some states refer to this as a “business license”). If you are a service company, your sales may be non-taxable, but you still need a sales tax license. Click this link for the detailed instructions to complete Form CR0100
http://www.colorado.gov/cms/forms/dor-tax/cr0101.pdf
If you have only one location in Colorado, and that location is in the city or county of Denver, you will also need to apply for a local sales tax license from the City and County of Denver. Go to http://www.denvergov.org/TaxGuide/tabid/424582/Default.aspx for this form.
Note that the CR0100 is the same form you would use if you also needed to apply for a Colorado Wage Withholding account number. If you expect to have employees working in your Denver business, you’ll need a wage withholding account number in addition to the sales tax license. The good news is you can apply for this at the same time that you apply for the sales tax license.
You can learn more about payroll taxes in our other “Bean Counter Buzz” tips and suggestions.
Please note the following caution regarding Colorado State FYIs (per the State of Colorado official website as of 09/06/11):
“FYI tax publications are developed by the Colorado Department of Revenue Taxpayer Service Division. The publications are
classified into the following six categories: Estate, Excise, General, Income, Sales and Withholding. Each publication is numbered as follows within a general category: Estate 1, General 14, Income 25, Sales 9, etc. There are more than 180 FYI tax publications.
These publications provide general information concerning a variety of Colorado tax topics in simple and straightforward language. Although the FYIs represent a good faith effort to provide accurate and complete tax information, the information is not binding on the Colorado Department of Revenue nor does it replace, alter, or supersede Colorado law and regulations. The Executive Director, who by statute is the only person having authority to bind the Department, has not formally reviewed and/or approved these FYIs.
FYIs contain information about state taxes and state-collected taxes only. For information on locally-collected taxes, taxpayers must contact local jurisdictions individually.”
You can find this and all the information described above at the state of Colorado Department of Revenue website http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/Revenue/REVX/1176842266433.
Keep in touch with McCallister Consulting Group, Ltd. for more tips and tricks at our blog, Bean Counter Buzz, or call us at 303-570-3786.