The Colorado Department of Revenue is offering a tax refund to homeowners who are rebuilding or repairing their homes that were damaged or lost in a declared wildfire disaster.

The Sales Use Tax Exemption Wildfire Disaster Construction Act created a refundable exemption for the state sales and use tax paid for construction and building materials used for rebuilding and repairing homes damaged in declared wildfires between Jan. 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2022. 

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This includes the Marshall Fire in 2021, the Calwood Fire in 2020 and the Lefthand Fires in 2020. 

The refund is equal to the state, Regional Transportation District and science and cultural facilities district taxes, a total of 4%.

The state, RTD and science and cultural facilities district impose sales and use taxes on the sale and use of most goods, including construction and building materials. 

Most contractors pay these taxes when they buy building materials. 

The refund program refunds qualified homeowners for these taxes imposed on building materials to rebuild or repair homes damaged or lost to wildfires.

To qualify for the refund, residents have to meet the following criteria:

• Must have owned a home when it was destroyed or damaged in a declared wildfire disaster in 2020, 2021 or 2022.
• Must be rebuilding or repairing that home or have hired a contractor to rebuild or repair the home.
• The replacement or repair costs must exceed the resident’s homeowner’s insurance coverage under any policy associated with the home.

Before filing a refund claim, homeowners need to get a building permit from the local government with jurisdiction to issue their claim.

Homeowners must then fill out Form DR 0992, an application for wildfire rebuild exemption certificate. The form is available on the Colorado Department of Revenue‘s website. 

A government official will review the application and issue an exemption certificate to the applicant. Further instructions are available online.

Anyone in Boulder County with questions can contact Kathy Gissel, the permit and license operations manager at kgissel@bouldercounty.gov.

Superior residents should contact marshallfire@superiorcolorado.gov.

Louisville residents should contact the Louisville Planning and Building Safety Department at building@louisvilleco.gov or visit the City of Louisville’s Wildfire Rebuild Tax Exemption page. 

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Once homeowners get a permit and exemption certificate, they can submit a Wildfire Refund Claim to the Colorado Department of Revenue using their online account or by mailing the Wildfire Rebuild Exemption Certificate and building permit to:

Colorado Department of Revenue, Business Tax Accounting, P.O. Box 17087, Denver, CO 80217-0087.

Wildfire Refund Claims have to be submitted to the Colorado Department of Revenue by June 30, 2028.