The General Assembly has determined that there is great potential for businesses and individuals in the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in construction projects by purchasing and using eligible decarbonizing building materials. Beginning July 1, 2024, sales of eligible decarbonizing building materials are exempt from state sales and use tax.
By providing a sales and use tax exemption for eligible decarbonizing building materials, this will encourage businesses and individuals to purchase and use those building materials rather than industry standard materials. The purchase and use of eligible decarbonizing building materials will help improve environmental outcomes and accelerate necessary greenhouse gas reductions to protect public health and the environment and conserve a livable climate by incorporating emissions information from throughout the supply chain and product life cycle into building material purchasing and use decisions.
"Eligible decarbonizing building materials" are building materials that comply with the maximum acceptable global warming potential (GWP) limits as determined by the Office of the State Architect (OSA). Material GWP values are demonstrated through Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). Refer to the OSA Buy Clean Colorado (BCCO) Act webpage for the list of Eligible Material Categories and the OSA’s GWP limits.
The OSA created an initial “Sales & Use Tax System (SUTS) Exempt Eligible Decarbonizing Building Materials” list with eligible materials and the manufacturers of those materials that was shared with the Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) in the spring of 2024. To add products to the list, please submit product EPDs, through OSA’s EPD Submission Form process with product, manufacturer, and EPD information. For multiple submissions (10 or more), please download and complete the spreadsheet format of the EPD Submission Form. The OSA will need at least one week to conduct the review and update the “SUTS Eligible Decarbonizing Building Materials” list. If necessary, OSA may contact the manufacturer for additional information. Once verified against OSA’s GWP limits, the OSA will update the list. Beginning in August 2024, OSA will share the updated list with the CDOR on the first Monday of each month.
A statutory town, city, or county may exempt the same items that are exempt from state sales and use tax pursuant to the act only by express inclusion of the exemption in its initial sales tax ordinance or resolution or by amendment thereto. See the Colorado Sales Tax Lookup tool for local sales tax rates of products/services.
More information on the sales and use tax exemption can be found at the CDOR Sales and Use Tax webpage.
Please review the FAQ document for frequently asked questions.