Small Food Retailers and Small Family Farms Equipment Tax Credit is sponsored by Colorado Department of Agriculture. A refundable income tax credit for costly equipment purchases that help increase access to healthy food in underserved areas of Colorado.

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Small Food Retailers and Small Family Farms - your costly equipment purchases may be eligible for a refundable income tax credit equal to 75% of the amount you spent. Equipment must help to increase access to or lower prices for healthy food in low income, low access and underserved areas of the state. Deadlines to apply are April 30, August 31, and December 31, 2026.

For more updates, please join our newsletter . Tax Credit Information Session Sesión informativa sobre créditos fiscales Step 1: Find out if your business is eligible Small Food Retailers and Small Family Farms are eligible for the CFA Tax Credit. Colorado-owned and Colorado-operated and have an annual gross revenue below $350,000.

Small food retailers are: An independent or non-profit managed, Colorado-owned, and Colorado-operated small food retail business, defined as a food retailer with less than ten thousand square feet of retail space that carries at least three categories of federally defined staple foods*, and be located in or provide food to local, state, or federally defined low-income, low-access neighborhood; or A farmer's market or farm-direct operation that is already OR demonstrates an intent to become SNAP and WIC -authorized where allowed.

Find out more about eligibility in the Tax Credit Frequently Asked Questions . Step 2: Find out if your purchase is eligible Costly equipment purchases that have increased access to or lowered prices for healthy foods in low income, low access areas are eligible for the tax credit. What does "costly equipment" mean?

Many types of equipment are eligible for a tax credit. Applicants will need to demonstrate how the equipment has increased access to or lowered prices for healthy food in LILA communities. For more information, visit the Frequently Asked Questions page .

If you aren’t sure if equipment you plan to purchase would be eligible for a CFA tax credit, you can submit an eligibility request form ( Español ) to CDA before purchasing. The department will process these request forms and issue Letters of Eligibility on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Submitting an eligibility request form is not a requirement to apply for a tax credit and does not guarantee that CDA will issue a tax credit upon application. What are Low Income, Low Access (LILA) Communities? Small Food Retailers and Small Family Farms must be located in or serve a low income, low access (LILA) community in Colorado to be eligible to receive a tax credit.

These communities are determined by census information. Please see the Frequently Asked Questions page for more information. Step 3: Apply for the Tax Credit Gather your eligibility documentation, your proof of purchase and proof of payment documentation, and letter(s) of support (only required for small family farm applicants) and fill out the application below.

We will request additional documentation if necessary. Apply Here - 2026 equipment Aplicar aquí - 2026 equipo In your application answers, please demonstrate the impact of your equipment by highlighting how you're reaching LILA communities and / or reducing the cost of healthy food. Read more about this on the Tax Credit FAQ page .

Tax credit applications will be reviewed and awarded after three deadlines during the year. The next deadline is 11:59 p. m.

MT, April 30, 2026 . Please note: there may be less than three application periods in a given year depending on funding availability. Step 4: CDA will process and evaluate your application Tax credit applications will be accepted year round (while funds are available), but reviewed and awarded after three deadlines during the year.

The deadlines in 2026 are April 30th, August 31st, and December 31st. Applications will be reviewed and awarded in the order below: First priority grouping: Equipment applications from businesses who have never received a CFA tax credit Within this group, applications will be reviewed and awarded in the priority order listed on pages 6-8 of the program rules.

Applications that demonstrate the greatest impact will be awarded before lower impact applications. Second priority grouping: Applications from businesses who have not received a CFA tax credit this calendar year Within this group, applications will be reviewed and awarded in the priority order listed on pages 6-8 of the program rules. Applications that demonstrate the greatest impact will be awarded before lower impact applications.

Third priority grouping: All other applications Within this group, applications will be reviewed and awarded in the priority order listed on pages 6-8 of the program rules. Applications that demonstrate the greatest impact will be awarded before lower impact applications. For more information about priority groupings, see the rules pertaining to this program on the Secretary of State’s website.

If your application is incomplete or more information is needed, CDA will request additional documents or information in order to issue your award. Your business will have 7 business days after notification to submit the remaining information before your application is considered abandoned.

Step 5: Receive your certificate If your business and expenses are eligible and funds are available, CDA will issue a certificate to your business stating the value of your tax credit. This tax credit will be applied toward the taxes you owe to the State of Colorado. The tax credit amount is 75% of the purchase price of your equipment.

You will also be asked to sign an attestation stating your understanding of program goals and proper use of the equipment. Include the tax credit certificate when you file your state business taxes. The Colorado Department of Revenue will already have this information on file from the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

The amount of the credit will be deducted from your taxes owed to the State of Colorado. If your tax credit amount exceeds what you owe the State of Colorado in taxes that year, the difference will be paid to you by the Department of Revenue. For more information on filing a Colorado income tax return, visit the Department of Revenue's website at Tax.

Colorado. gov . We recommend working with a CPA to ensure your taxes are properly filed.

2025 Equipment Tax Credit information As of November 19, 2025, $228,447 in tax credits have been issued of $10 Million in funds available for the 2025 calendar year. If you purchased equipment in 2025, you are welcome to submit an application. 2025 tax credit applications will be accepted year round (while funds are available), but reviewed and awarded after three deadlines during the year.

The deadlines in 2026 are April 30th, August 31st and December 31st. After December 31, 2026, no applications from equipment purchases made in 2025 will be accepted. The applicant is responsible for submitting any filing extensions that may be required by the Department of Revenue.

Please reach out to the Department of Revenue for more information. CDA wants to know how these tax credits are helping to create more opportunities for Coloradans living on a low income to buy healthy groceries. CDA will send you a short survey six months to one year after your tax credit certificate has been issued, asking how your capacity to sell, distribute, or grow healthy food to low income Coloradans has increased.

For some tax credit awardees, CDA staff will perform site visits to ensure equipment is being used properly. Other important information A maximum of $10 million in tax credits will be issued each year for this program between 2024 - 2030. Once $10 Million in tax credits have been issued in a calendar year, no more credits will be issued that year.

To be eligible, equipment must be purchased in the calendar year for which the certificate will be issued . CDA will display the total funds awarded to date on this website so that businesses may understand how much of each year’s fund has been allocated so far. This can help you determine your chances of receiving the tax credit, based on the amount of funds remaining for each year.

​A printable version of the information on this webpage is available in the Tax Credit Guidelines below. The Grant Guidelines are available in English and Spanish. Additional language translations will be made available upon requests made up to 10 days before the application deadline.

Una versión imprimible de la información en esta página de internet está disponible en las directrices de crédito aquí. La Guía de Crédito está disponible en inglés y en español. Se pondrán a disposición traducciones de idiomas adicionales con previa solicitud realizada hasta 10 días antes de la fecha límite de solicitud.

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