Fountain, CO Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Sales-tax-free sales per year
- Up to 4 (§ 5.04.350)
- Max duration per sale
- 2 consecutive days (§ 5.04.350)
- Tax-exempt sales cap
- First $500 of goods sold
- License-free sales per year
- Only 1 (§ 5.12.010)
- Governing chapter
- Sales tax code, not zoning code
Summary
Fountain's tax code, not a nuisance or zoning chapter, sets the garage-sale limit: Fountain Municipal Code § 5.04.350 lets a resident hold up to four garage sales a year, each capped at two consecutive days, tax-free on the first $500 sold. A separate business-license definition treats only one annual two-day sale as license-exempt.
Sec. 5.04.350. - Garage sales. The purchase or sale of tangible personal property at a garage sale is exempt from tax, provided that: A.The exemption shall apply only to the first $500.00 of tangible personal property at a garage sale during any calendar year.B.The garage sale is one of no more than four sponsored by the same person during the calendar year.C.The garage sale does not last more than two consecutive days. ... Business includes all kinds of vocations, occupations, professions (excluding teachers, clergy, church officers and all persons salaried and working and a person holding one garage sale, exceeding not more than two days in length, once each calendar year), enterprises, establishments, and persons renting houses and all other kinds of activities and matters, including real estate and insurance, together with all devices, machines, vehicles, and appurtenances used therein, any of which are conducted for private profit, or benefit, either directly or indirectly, in the city, or anywhere else within its jurisdiction.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 3).
Full Breakdown
Fountain does not regulate garage sales through a stand-alone permit chapter; the operative limits sit inside the sales and use tax code. 04. A second, stricter line runs through the city's general business-license chapter. 12, even though up to four sales a year stay sales-tax-exempt. 020 is required for those later sales. These are City of Fountain rules; unincorporated El Paso County enforces its own separate limits.
Violations & Fines
Selling beyond the $500 exemption, holding a fifth garage sale in the same calendar year, or running a sale past two consecutive days makes the excess subject to Fountain's ordinary sales tax under chapter 5.04, collected and enforced by the city treasurer. Operating a garage sale without a required business permit, when it falls outside the one-sale-a-year license exclusion in § 5.12.010, exposes the seller to the general business-license penalty in § 5.12.100.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many garage sales can I hold per year in Fountain, Colorado?
Do I need a business license for a Fountain garage sale?
Is there a dollar limit on what I can sell tax-free at a Fountain garage sale?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fountain
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Frequency, Duration & Permits in Nearby Cities
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