Does Colorado withhold tax when a nonresident sells a Colorado house?
A NONRESIDENT SELLER CAN SEE 2 PERCENT WITHHELD AT CLOSING, UNLESS AN AFFIRMATION APPLIES.
Colorado requires the closing party to withhold the lesser of 2 percent of the sales price or the net proceeds when a nonresident conveys Colorado real property, unless the price is $100,000 or less (VERIFIED, C.R.S. 39-22-604.5). The title company or other settlement provider withholds, and may rely on the seller's signed affirmation, such as a principal residence or no tax expected. The withholding is a credit toward the seller's Colorado return, not the tax itself (PROBABLE).OUT OF STATE · SHOWN
The title company withholds unless a signed affirmation applies, and what is withheld is credited on the Colorado return.
- 01TRIGGER
A nonresident seller
The rule applies when a nonresident conveys Colorado real property (C.R.S. 39-22-604.5, VERIFIED). A non-Colorado address for the seller on the closing paperwork is the usual signal (PROBABLE, title company practice).
- 02AMOUNT
The lesser of two figures
Two percent of the sales price or the net proceeds, whichever is less, and nothing when the price is $100,000 or less (C.R.S. 39-22-604.5, VERIFIED).
- 03WHO
The closing party
Title insurance companies, their agents, attorneys, banks and other settlement providers handling the closing withhold and pay it over (C.R.S. 39-22-604.5, VERIFIED).
- 04AFFIRM
A signed statement
The agent may rely on the seller's written affirmation, such as a principal residence or no tax expected. A wrong affirmation is the seller's responsibility (C.R.S. 39-22-604.5, VERIFIED).
What the statute requires.
Colorado requires withholding of the lesser of two percent of the sales price of the Colorado real property interest conveyed or the net proceeds of the conveyance when the seller is a nonresident, and it requires none when the sales price does not exceed $100,000 (VERIFIED, C.R.S. 39-22-604.5). The party that withholds is the closing party: title insurance companies, their agents, attorneys, banks and other settlement service providers handling closings (C.R.S. 39-22-604.5, VERIFIED).
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An agent that fails to withhold is penalized at the greater of $500 or 10 percent of the amount required, capped at $2,500 (VERIFIED, C.R.S. 39-22-604.5). That penalty is why title companies ask for the paperwork early and do not waive the step on request.
What a signed affirmation does.
The statute lets the withholding agent rely on a written affirmation from the seller that the seller is a Colorado resident, that the property is the seller's principal residence, or that the seller will not owe the estimated tax (C.R.S. 39-22-604.5, VERIFIED). The Department of Revenue's DR 1083 carries these affirmations, and the payment form and any tax are due within 30 days of closing when withholding applies (PROBABLE, from a form mirror; the Department's own site returned an error when read).
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One older version of the form instructions words the principal residence affirmation by reference to the federal home sale exclusion, so the affirmation can turn on the seller's own tax position (PROBABLE, from an undated copy). That is why the seller's CPA, not the listing agent or the title company, decides which affirmation is truthful.
What withholding is not.
Withholding is a prepayment credited to the seller on the Colorado income tax return, and any excess is recovered by filing a return (PROBABLE, from a title company explainer). It is not the tax on the gain, and the actual tax depends on the gain, which the withholding statute does not compute.
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For a sale planned from out of state, the useful order is: tell the title company the seller's address early, ask the CPA which affirmation applies, and put the withholding into the net-proceeds estimate as a cash timing item. Robert builds that estimate with the source beside every number, so the closing date is not a surprise.
THE RECEIPT
Every number and every section, with its source.
VERIFIED means the text was fetched and read on the date shown. PROBABLE means a snippet or a secondary page carried it, and the primary text or an attorney confirms it.- SOURCE · VERIFIED
- C.R.S. 39-22-604.5, withholding on the sale of Colorado real property by a nonresident
Read 2026-09-24.
OPEN THE SOURCE ↗ - SOURCE · PROBABLE
- A DR 1083 form mirror (affirmations and the 30 day timing; the Department of Revenue's own page returned an error)
Read 2026-09-24.
OPEN THE SOURCE ↗ - SOURCE · PROBABLE
- A Colorado title company's explainer on nonresident withholding
Read 2026-09-24.
OPEN THE SOURCE ↗ - SOURCE · VERIFIED
- The out-of-state owner guide on this site
Read 2026-09-24.
OPEN THE SOURCE ↗ - AS OF
- September 2026
- GEOGRAPHY
- Colorado
- DOES NOT PROVE
- Which affirmation you can sign, what Colorado tax you owe on the gain, or the current Department of Revenue deadline wording. The statute was read; the form text came from mirrors.
WHERE ROBERT STOPS
Which affirmation a seller can truthfully sign, and the actual tax on the gain, belongs to the seller's CPA. Robert builds the net estimate and coordinates the closing date.
THE RECORD, PUBLICLY CHECKABLE
5.0 across 32 Zillow reviews · 54 recorded sales, 18 in the last twelve months.
Robert S. An, broker associate at Compass, Colorado license 100084328. Checked on the public Zillow profile September 24, 2026; a public profile changes, so read it yourself rather than taking this line for it. Those sales are residential, across the Denver metro.READ THE CLIENT ACCOUNTS WHOLE →THE OUT-OF-STATE FILE
Send the address.
Send the address and where you live now. The file comes back with the net under each way to sell, including the withholding as a timing item.SEND ME THE ADDRESSWHEN IT IS YOUR HOUSE