Public Improvement Fee Money
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Public Improvement Fee or Paid in Full?

Have you recently noticed a “PIF” on your sales receipt while shopping or dining around town? It does not stand for “Paid in Full” if you were wondering. Instead it stands for Public Improvement Fee. The city of Colorado Springs’ website, under Sales Tax FAQs states:

Public Improvement Fees are not a sales tax. The city of Colorado Springs does not administer or collect PIFs.  Most often PIFs are a private fee that developers require their tenants/retailers to collect from customers. The business collects this fee as part of sales transactions and is generally a percentage of the sales amount.  The developer/property owner may normally implement at PIF without municipal approval.  The business may use the PIF for any designated purpose but they generally use the monies to pay for infrastructure, on-site improvements, and maintenance (examples: curbs, sidewalks, streetlights, parking facilities, roads within the developed area).  The business must list the Public Improvement Fees on the sales receipt as a separate line item from the sales tax.

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Head scratcher?

Are you still scratching your head and wondering if this is a tax or fee? The city of Colorado Springs feels it’s a fee that is subject to sales tax. There is no oversight by the city or state, so how do they know who has a PIF and how much sales tax to collect? Am I peaking your interest in PIFs yet? Below is a list of restaurants and businesses that have a PIF. If you would like to add to our list, please email your receipt to info@themaverickobserver.com or email the name, address, subtotal of the receipt, tax amount, PIF amount and total of the receipt. We will add the information to our growing list of businesses we plan on sharing with our Mayor and City Council for comment and consideration.

Businesses with Public Improvement Fees (PIF)
Prepared by The Maverick Observer from customer receipts.

The Maverick Observer, or “The Moe” as we affectionately call it, is an online free-thinking publication interested in the happenings in our town. We launched in February 2020 to hold our politicians and businesses accountable. We hope to educate, inform, entertain, and infuse you with a sense of community.

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13 COMMENTS

  1. Just noticed it on a Marshall’s receipt for an item of clothing I bought. I’m in Florida, Volusia Cty., and this is the first I’ve noticed it so decided to check it out. It was 1% of total sale which amounted to about .39 cents.

    • I am also in Florida and just noticed this for the first time. Was the Marshall’s you shopped at located at the Pavilion at Port Orange by chance? It was on my receipt from Maurices and was about 1% of the purchase. It is the first and only time I have seen it on any receipt in either Orange or Volusia County thus far.

      • Thank you commenting. All of the stores and restaurants we reference are in Colorado Springs, CO and the neighboring communities.

  2. PIF’s are lame. If the developer/landlord has fees they need to pay (presumably local/state fees) then those should be charged to the tenants – which I realize is a total shaft to the tenant – and ultimately brought back to the city for consideration. Otherwise, what’s the tenant going to do, post a sign in their store that says don’t shop here in protest to the developer’s PIF? No way, that sucks for them. Either way the tenant looses when there’s a PIF imposed. Can you add to your list of businesses the developer/landlord that’s imposing the PIF? Or better yet, the politician or governing body creating the need for the PIF? That’s the info I’d really like to know so I can give them a piece of my mind. The poor businesses are just stuck in the middle.

    • Thank you for your comments. PIFs are imposed by the developer via a private convenant placed on the property. Unfortunately, there is no politician or government oversight on this fee. If you have any receipts you would like to share, please email them to info@themaverickobserver.com – we are working on a list.

  3. According to the City of Pueblo’s website, the City of Pueblo is collecting the PIF for the shopping center that includes Kohls.

  6. I quit shopping at Bass Pro and Scheels after paying PIF’s on sporting goods at each store. Developers are all Millionaires, I’m not, and I’m not paying for their improvements… I don’t shop, eat work or travel to Colorado Springs anymore…

  8. I feel like the municipality should regulate the collection of PIFs and validate that the money is used for the stated objectives rather than being dumped in the landlord’s general fund. For sure, it is a creative financial method and maybe the lease agreement does include payment of a “cut” of all sales but it’s crappy of the businesses to directly pass that along on the receipt like it was a state or city-imposed tax when it’s really just part of their cost of doing business at that location.

  9. If the server doesn’t inform you ahead of ordering then take it out of their tip or just write PIF in the tip slot. They’ll either quit & work somewhere without a PIF or push back on the owners who have ultimate control over how you are billed.

  10. We need state regulation on this issue- there is currently zero accountability on where this money goes. Any business can add it. We need 3 options: 1 – outlaw them or 2 – limit them to a certain % or 3 – ensure businesses prominently display they are going to charge them and what the fee is for so people can make a choice they spend their money with them or not. I am thinking of starting a petition to get this on the ballot – contact your state legislators!

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