Resource center
Colorado Cannabis Accounting and Tax Guides
Practical guides written for operators and their finance teams. No gated downloads, no marketing filler — the same explanations we give clients.
All guides
- Tax Compliance 9 min read
280E Explained
280E disallows ordinary business deductions for any trade trafficking in a Schedule I or II controlled substance — which, under federal law, still includes state-licensed marijuana. Here is what it actually does to a Colorado operator's tax bill.
- Accounting 20 min read
Colorado Cannabis Accounting Guide
Cannabis accounting is not standard retail bookkeeping with a different SKU list. Colorado's MED licensing structure, Metrc tracking obligations and IRC 280E all shape how the books have to be built — at the transaction level, from day one.
- Bookkeeping 8 min read
Cannabis Bookkeeping Guide
Good cannabis bookkeeping is unglamorous and non-negotiable. Every transaction categorization decision made this week becomes part of a 280E position and a MED compliance record next year.
- Compliance 8 min read
METRC Guide
Colorado was METRC's first state, and the Marijuana Enforcement Division treats METRC data as the system of record for inventory. Your accounting records need to match it — not the other way around.
- Advisory 9 min read
Cannabis CFO Guide
Most licensed Colorado cannabis businesses are too complex for bookkeeping alone but not yet large enough for a full-time CFO. A fractional cannabis CFO fills that gap with a finance function built for the industry's specific pressures.
- Retail 8 min read
Dispensary Accounting Guide
Retail Marijuana Stores and Medical Marijuana Centers face a distinct accounting profile — high transaction volume, multiple overlapping tax rates, and a razor-thin path to COGS eligibility under 280E.
- Cultivation 9 min read
Cultivation Accounting Guide
Cultivation Facilities have more COGS-eligible activity than any other license type, but only if absorption costing is built correctly and the excise tax on first transfer is tracked precisely.
- Payroll 7 min read
Cannabis Payroll Guide
Payroll is often a Colorado cannabis operator's largest cost, and how labor is allocated between COGS and overhead can swing the 280E tax bill by tens of thousands of dollars a year.
- Startup 9 min read
Cannabis Startup Guide
The financial decisions made before a Colorado license is even issued — entity structure, initial chart of accounts, and capital planning — determine how much 280E and MED compliance will cost for years afterward.
- Tax Planning 10 min read
Cannabis Tax Planning
Tax planning for a cannabis business is not about finding a loophole around 280E — there isn't one. It is about disciplined cost accounting, entity design, and cash planning applied consistently throughout the year.
- Compliance 8 min read
Audit Preparation
Cannabis businesses face audit risk from two directions at once — an IRS examination focused on 280E cost allocation, and a Marijuana Enforcement Division compliance review focused on METRC and licensing rules.
- Tax Compliance 18 min read
Colorado Cannabis Tax Guide
Colorado marijuana businesses navigate more tax layers than almost any other retail industry in the state — state and local, excise and sales, plus a federal 280E overlay that is in active administrative flux. Here is the full 2026 picture.
- Advisory 8 min read
Cannabis CPA Colorado Guide
Not every CPA who takes on a cannabis client understands what makes this industry different. Here is how to evaluate a Colorado cannabis CPA before you hand over the books.
- Inventory 9 min read
Inventory Accounting Guide
Inventory costing is where 280E is actually won or lost. Colorado operators who build a rigorous IRC 471 and 263A costing methodology capture materially more deductible cost than those who estimate.
- Reporting 8 min read
Financial Reporting Guide
A cannabis operator's federal tax return and its true economic performance are two different documents. Reliable GAAP-basis financial reporting is what investors, lenders and owners actually need to see.
Consultation
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Bring your license types, current books and open deadlines. We will tell you what needs to happen first and in what order.