Colorado imposes a state documentary tax on every person offering for recording in the office of the county clerk and recorder any deed or instrument in writing wherein or whereby title to real property situated in Colorado is granted or conveyed.  This includes transfers on Colorado Quitclaim deeds.  Technically, the Colorado state documentary tax is referred as a "documentary fee", measured by the consideration paid or to be paid for such grant or conveyance, which documentary fee is in addition to any other fee fixed by law for the recording of such deed or instrument in writing.

  The amount of Colorado state documentary tax or fee is as follows:

  When there is no consideration or when the total consideration paid by the purchaser, inclusive of the amount of any lien or encumbrance against the real property granted or conveyed and all charges and expenses required to be paid for the making of such grant or conveyance is five hundred dollars or less, no Colorado state documentary tax / fee is payable.

 When the total consideration paid by the purchaser, inclusive of the amount of any lien or encumbrance against the real property granted or conveyed and all charges and expenses required to be paid for the making of such grant or conveyance exceeds five hundred dollars, the Colorado state documentary tax / fee payable is computed at the rate of one cent for each one hundred dollars, or major fraction thereof, of such consideration.

  All Colorado state documentary taxes / fees are payable to and collected by the county clerk and recorder.

Many Colorado municipalities impose a local transfer tax on Colorado quitclaim deed transfers.  Actually, the type of deed (Quitclaim deed, Special Warranty deed, Warranty deed, Bargain and Sale Deed, etc.) does not control whether or not a local transfer tax is imposed in Colorado.  The rules of the Colorado taxing entity control whether or not a local transfer tax is imposed on the Colorado Quitclaim deed.

The Deedmonkey resource guide contains links to the Colorado municipalities that have a local transfer tax in Colorado.  The local transfer tax in Colorado is not the same thing as the Colorado documentary fee.    If a local transfer tax is due to a Colorado municipality, the clerk and recorder may require the local transfer tax to be paid before recording the Colorado quit claim deed.  The Deedmonkey Colorado resource guide will help locate the proper local transfer tax form and access a checklist for paying the local transfer tax in Colorado.  Most cities with a local transfer tax in Colorado are very helpful.  If there is an exemption from the local transfer tax in Colorado, often the Deedmonkey links will link directly to that form.  The Deedmonkey Colorado resource guide on how to record a Colorado quit claim deed or how to file a Colorado quit claim deed contains links to most if not all of the local transfer tax exemption forms in Colorado.

Besides a local transfer tax in Colorado, other entities may impose a fee on the transfer of Colorado real property by Colorado quit claim deed.  For example, Colorado real estate in a resort may be subject to a local transfer fee levied by the resort.  A Colorado timeshare association almost always has a fee imposed by the timeshare association on any transfer of real estate by Colorado quit claim deed (or other deed, for that matter).  A Colorado homeowners’ association can impose a  fee.