Tax Attorney in Colorado

Yes. Colorado imposes a flat 4.40% personal income tax under C.R.S. Title 39, Article 22, applied to federal taxable income with state-specific additions and subtractions on Form DR 0104. The rate has stepped down in recent years and may temporarily drop further in TABOR-surplus years when the state refunds excess revenue by lowering the income-tax rate. Corporate income tax is also a flat 4.40% under Article 22. Federal income tax on Form 1040 with the IRS applies separately and in addition.

Denver is the designated U.S. Tax Court place of trial for Colorado. Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins, Boulder, Lakewood, Pueblo, Grand Junction, and the Western Slope all route to Denver sessions. The petitioner designates the preferred place of trial under Tax Court Rule 140 (Form 5). Trial sessions are scheduled on the U.S. Tax Court calendar published at ustaxcourt.gov, and the courtroom address is confirmed in the notice of trial issued in each case.

Under C.R.S. §39-21-107, the Colorado Department of Revenue generally has four years from the date the return was due or filed (whichever is later) to issue a deficiency for state income tax, sales-and-use tax, and severance tax. Fraud, false return, and unfiled returns extend the period or leave it open indefinitely. A federal change reported to Colorado under C.R.S. §39-22-601 reopens the state SOL for one year from the date the federal change is final. The federal IRS Collection Statute Expiration Date (10 years from assessment under IRC §6502) runs separately from any Colorado SOL.

Yes. The IRS examines federal income tax, federal employment tax, and federal excise tax. The Colorado Department of Revenue examines state personal income tax, corporate income tax, sales-and-use tax, severance tax, and cannabis excise tax. The two agencies share information through information-exchange agreements, and a federal adjustment must be reported to Colorado under C.R.S. §39-22-601 within thirty days of a final federal determination. Home-rule cities (Denver, Aurora, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and roughly seventy others) run independent sales-tax audits on top.

Yes. Colorado operates a state Offer in Compromise program through the Colorado Department of Revenue under C.R.S. §39-21-114 and Department guidance. The state OIC is available where doubt as to collectibility or economic hardship justifies settlement of a Colorado tax debt. The application uses Form DR 4708 and requires complete financial disclosure similar to the federal Form 433-A. The federal IRS OIC under IRC §7122 remains the standard mechanism for resolving a federal balance and is handled on a parallel track when both apply.

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights, Colorado Constitution Article X §20 (adopted by voter initiative in 1992), caps state revenue growth at the prior year's amount plus the rate of inflation plus the rate of population growth. Revenue collected above the cap must be refunded to taxpayers unless voters approve retention. TABOR refunds in recent years have been delivered through three primary mechanisms: a temporary reduction in the income-tax rate (filed on Form DR 0104), a six-tier sales-tax refund based on adjusted gross income, and supplemental cash refunds. Unpaid Colorado tax balances may be offset against TABOR refunds before distribution.

Federal IRC §280E disallows all ordinary and necessary business deductions for any trade or business that traffics in a Schedule I or II controlled substance under federal law. Cannabis remains Schedule I federally even though Colorado legalized recreational sales in 2014 under Amendment 64. The only allowable subtraction on the federal return is cost of goods sold under IRC §471. The result is that a Colorado dispensary, cultivator, or infused-product manufacturer pays federal income tax on a base much closer to gross profit than to net profit. Tax Court has consistently upheld §280E (Olive v. Commissioner, 139 T.C. 19 (2012)). Disciplined COGS accounting and entity structuring reduce but do not eliminate the burden.

Your CSED is calculated from the date of assessment, which appears on your IRS Account Transcript as Transaction Code 150 (return filed) or Transaction Code 290 (additional assessment). Add ten years, then add the days for any tolling events: pending OICs, CDP hearings, bankruptcy stays, and so on. The IRS publishes the CSED date internally on its CC ACTRA transcript; we pull this for clients as part of every engagement. A debt assessed in 2016 may be approaching expiration in 2026, and aggressive Colorado-region enforcement near the CSED is common.

Probably yes for the federal trust-fund portion. IRC §6672 assesses a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty against any "responsible person" who "willfully" failed to pay over withheld taxes — the FICA and federal income-tax withholding portion of Form 941, not the employer's share. The IRS conducts a Form 4180 interview to identify responsible persons. Anyone with check-signing authority, payroll-decision authority, or knowledge of the unpaid taxes can be assessed. On the Colorado side, unpaid state withholding under C.R.S. §39-22-604 carries parallel personal-responsibility exposure for officers and employees with control over withholding remittance.

Yes. IRC §7345 authorizes the IRS to certify "seriously delinquent" tax debt — currently $62,000 for 2026, indexed for inflation — to the State Department, which may then deny passport renewal or revoke an active passport. The certification reverses when the debt is paid, an IA is in place, an accepted OIC is in force, an active CDP hearing is pending, or Innocent Spouse Relief is in process. For Colorado executives at Lockheed Martin Space (Littleton), Northrop Grumman (Aurora), Ball Aerospace (Boulder), the United States Air Force Academy area, Vail Resorts, and Boulder-based research institutions, decertification before international travel is often urgent.

Not income tax in the traditional sense. A small number of Colorado cities — Denver, Aurora, Glendale, Greenwood Village, and Sheridan — impose an Occupational Privilege Tax (a per-employee head tax, often called the "Denver OPT") rather than a percentage tax on wages. The OPT is a flat dollar amount assessed monthly on both employee and employer. Otherwise, Colorado wage income is taxed only by the state at 4.40% and the federal government. Home-rule cities focus their local tax authority on sales-and-use tax, lodging tax, and the various excise taxes, not on a Pennsylvania- or Ohio-style local income tax.

Federal tax-resolution fees vary by matter complexity. A straightforward Installment Agreement typically falls between $1,500 and $3,500. A full Offer in Compromise with Form 433 financial analysis runs $4,000 to $7,500. Audit defense depends on the audit type and the number of issues; cannabis §280E audits sit at the higher end because of the volume of records involved. A U.S. Tax Court petition with case workup and trial preparation generally starts at $6,000 and rises with complexity. VTL provides a written fee quote after the free consultation. Cal Bar Rule 7.1 prohibits comparisons claiming we are cheaper or faster than competitors without verifiable substantiation, so we do not market on price.

Yes. Communications between you and a licensed attorney for the purpose of seeking legal advice are protected by federal common-law attorney-client privilege, subject to the usual exceptions (crime-fraud, waiver, etc.). The narrower federally-authorized tax practitioner privilege under IRC §7525 applies to non-attorney CPAs and EAs but does not extend to criminal-tax matters. An attorney handling your tax case retains the broader privilege that survives criminal investigation.

A Tax Court trial is a bench trial — no jury — before a Judge or Special Trial Judge of the U.S. Tax Court. Denver trial sessions are scheduled on the Court's public calendar and the address is confirmed in the notice of trial. The session opens with calendar call where the Court hears scheduling issues. Most cases on the calendar settle before trial; the IRS Office of Chief Counsel attorney for the case meets with petitioner's counsel during the days before trial. If trial proceeds, the petitioner bears the burden of proof on most issues, presents evidence and witness testimony, and the Court issues a written opinion typically within several months of trial. Small-tax-case procedure under IRC §7463 applies to deficiencies of $50,000 or less per year and uses a simplified evidentiary standard.

Yes, generally. IRC §6331(k)(1) suspends levy action while an offer is pending and for 30 days after a rejection, and during any timely-filed Appeals review of a rejection. The IRS will not levy on you while a processable OIC is being evaluated. However, the IRS may still file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien during the OIC pendency to protect its position. CSED is also tolled during the pendency. A poorly-prepared OIC that gets returned (not rejected) does not provide the same protection — processability matters.

For administrative review before the Colorado Department of Revenue Tax Conferee, taxpayers may represent themselves, be represented by an attorney, or be represented by a CPA or other authorized representative. For appeals that move from the Tax Conferee to the District Court of Denver under C.R.S. §39-21-105, and onward to the Colorado Court of Appeals or Colorado Supreme Court, an attorney admitted in Colorado is required for the court appearances. VTL handles the federal side of overlapping matters and coordinates with Colorado counsel where state-court litigation is necessary. Many Department of Revenue disputes resolve at the Conferee stage without ever reaching District Court.