Understanding the PaintCare Fee purpose

PaintCare is funded by a fee (referred to as the PaintCare fee) which is applied to the purchase price of new paint sold in each state that has passed a paint stewardship law. The fee is paid to PaintCare by paint manufacturers and is then added to the wholesale and retail purchase price of paint, passing the cost of managing leftover paint to everyone who buys and uses it. You may see a line item on your receipt or invoice for each container of paint you purchase.
 
  • The PaintCare fee is not a tax; it does not go to the state.
  • The PaintCare fee is not a deposit; you don’t get it back when you drop off paint.
     
The fee funds all aspects of the paint stewardship program. This includes paint collection, transportation, recycling, public outreach, and program administration, as well as managing “legacy” paint—material that has been accumulating in homes and businesses since before the program began. There is no charge for dropping off paint at a PaintCare drop-off site.
Contact info@paint.org to request this fact sheet in a different language.
 

CURRENT FEE STRUCTURE FOR ALL PROGRAMS

The fees presented within following document and within the application examples are only for reference.  Contact your state's resources for current PaintCare rates.
The PaintCare fee varies by state and container size as follows:
 
Half pint or smaller
Larger than half pint up to smaller than 1 gallon
1 gallon
1 gallon up to 2 gallons
Larger than 1 gallon up to 5 gallons
Larger than 2 gallons up to 5 gallons
California¹
$0.00
$0.35
$0.75
 
$1.60
 
Colorado²
$0.00
$0.35
$0.75
 
$1.60
 
Connecticut³
$0.00
$0.35
 
$0.75
 
$1.60
District of Columbia⁴
$0.00
$0.30
 
$0.70
 
$1.60
Maine³
$0.00
$0.35
 
$0.75
 
$1.60
Minnesota
$0.00
$0.49
 
$0.99
 
$1.99
New York⁵
$0.00
$0.45
 
$0.95
 
$1.95
Oregon
$0.00
$0.45
 
$0.95
 
$1.95
Rhode Island³
$0.00
$0.35
 
$0.75
 
$1.60
Vermont³
$0.00
$0.49
 
$0.99
 
$1.99
Washington
$0.00
$0.45
 
$0.95
 
$1.95
 
On October 31, 2021, a proposal for a fee reduction was submitted to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) as part of a proposed revision to PaintCare’s program plan for the California paint stewardship program. The program plan and fee change were approved by CalRecycle on January 24, 2022. The fee reduction will take effect on July 1, 2022.
 
The proposed fee in California is based on container size as follows:
Container Size
Current Fee
Proposed Fee
Half-pint or smaller
$0.00
$0.00
Larger than half a pint up to smaller than 1 gallon
$0.35
$0.30
1 gallon
$0.75
---
1 gallon up to 2 gallons
---
$0.65
Larger than 1 gallon up to 5 gallons
$1.60
---
Larger than 2 gallons up to 5 gallons
---
$1.50
 
The program plan and fee category change were approved by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) on April 21, 2022. The PaintCare fee categories in Colorado will be changed to include 2-gallon containers of covered products in the 1-gallon container category. This change will take effect on July 1, 2022.
 

Can the PaintCare fee be taxed?

Yes, in most states the fee is taxed. It is not taxed in Oregon because there is no sales tax in Oregon (note: the fee is part of the product price; it is not a tax itself). The fee is not taxed in Maine because the state passed a law to exclude the fee from sales tax as of December 1, 2018.