Stop getting surprised by hidden taxes at the register. Use our free Colorado Cannabis Tax Calculator to find your final price, and browse our directory of the best O.T.D. (Out-The-Door) dispensaries.
Colorado Cannabis Tax Calculator & O.T.D. Dispensary Directory
There is nothing worse than browsing an online menu, finding a $100 ounce of flower, walking up to the dispensary register, and being told you owe $126.41.
Because Colorado allows individual cities and counties to stack their own taxes on top of state cannabis taxes, the final price of your weed can vary wildly just by driving ten minutes down the road.
Use our Colorado Cannabis Tax Calculator below to instantly figure out exactly how much cash you need to bring to the ATM.
Colorado O.T.D. Tax Calculator
Don’t get surprised at the register. Find exactly how much cash to bring based on local city tax rates.
What is “Out-The-Door” (O.T.D.) Pricing?
If you hate doing math before you buy weed, you need to start shopping at O.T.D. Dispensaries.
O.T.D. stands for “Out-The-Door.” When a dispensary uses O.T.D. pricing, it means all state, city, and county taxes are already baked into the sticker price. If an O.T.D. dispensary advertises a cartridge for $30, it will cost exactly a $20 bill and a $10 bill at the register. No coins, no calculators, no surprises.
Many massive corporate directories (like Weedmaps) actually penalize O.T.D. dispensaries by making their prices look more expensive online compared to dispensaries that hide their taxes until checkout. We believe in consumer transparency, which is why we built the directory below.
The Best O.T.D. Dispensaries in Colorado
If you want honest, transparent pricing, support the dispensaries that do the math for you. Here are some of the best Out-The-Door dispensaries across the state.
(Editor’s Note: Dispensary policies can change. Always confirm O.T.D. pricing with your budtender before completing your purchase).
Denver Metro & Northglenn
- Doc’s Apothecary: A local favorite with fantastic transparent pricing. They frequently offer great deals like $69 O.T.D. ounces, $15 O.T.D. cartridges, and $10 O.T.D. 100mg edibles.
Boulder & Log Lane Village
- Magnolia Road Cannabis Co.: Known for aggressive pricing and passing vendor savings directly to the consumer. They regularly feature $20 O.T.D. half-ounces and heavily discounted wax buckets.
Pueblo & Southern Colorado
- Three Rivers Dispensary: If you are down south, Three Rivers is highly transparent with their pricing, offering deals like $15 O.T.D. indoor eighths and heavily discounted concentrate grams.
Western Slope / Palisade
- The Happy Camper: Proudly offering “Deli Style” flower pricing where what you see is what you pay. They feature multiple tiers, including $89.99 O.T.D. ounces.
How Colorado Cannabis Taxes Actually Work
If you are curious why the calculator spits out such a high number for recreational sales, it is because you are paying several layers of tax simultaneously. Here is how the state breaks it down:
1. The Medical Tax Rate If you have a valid Colorado Medical Marijuana Card, you are exempt from the heavy recreational taxes. You only pay the standard state sales tax of 2.9%, plus any standard local city or county sales taxes. In most cities, your total tax burden will be under 9%.
2. The Recreational Tax Rate If you are an adult-use (recreational) customer, the state treats cannabis similarly to alcohol or tobacco. Your purchase is subject to:
- State Retail Marijuana Sales Tax: A flat 15% applied to every recreational purchase.
- Local Municipal Taxes: Cities and counties add their own special marijuana taxes on top. For example, Denver adds special city marijuana taxes, bringing the total checkout tax to over 26%.
- (Note: Retail marijuana is exempt from the standard 2.9% state sales tax, but the 15% special tax more than makes up for it!).
3. The Invisible “Excise” Tax There is actually a third tax, but you never see it on your receipt. Colorado levies a 15% Excise Tax on the wholesale transfer of marijuana from the cultivation facility to the retail store. Because the dispensary has to pay this tax just to put the weed on the shelf, they usually bake that cost into the base sticker price of the product.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Psychology and marketing. A dispensary that lists an eighth for $25 pre-tax will look cheaper on an online menu than a dispensary listing the exact same eighth for $32 O.T.D. Many businesses prefer to look cheaper online to get you in the door, knowing you will likely just pay the taxes once you are already at the register.
Our calculator uses the standard, blended municipal tax rates for the city limits. However, tax lines in Colorado can be incredibly messy. If a dispensary is located in an unincorporated part of a county, or falls inside a special improvement district, their exact tax rate might be 1% or 2% different than a dispensary just a mile down the road.
Yes! As of 2025, recreational marijuana sales are finally legal in Colorado Springs. However, the city applies a special 5% local tax on these sales to fund public safety and mental health services, bringing the total recreational tax rate at the register to roughly 23%.