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Tired of Tipping? Now You Need to Watch for “PIFing,” Too

It sometimes shows up labeled as a "tax," but it's actually a fee tacked on by property owners and developers.

By Cassandra Yorgey

Edited by Laura Ratliff

Updated Dec. 17, 2024

If you aren't reviewing your receipts, you may have missed a new hidden fee some stores have implemented. A Target shopper in Colorado recently went viral on social media after posting her receipt showing a 2.5% PIF "tax" that was then taxed with an additional 2.9% sales tax — and shoppers are demanding answers.

Target has a reputation for great deals and shopping hacks to save consumers money, but this hidden fee has customers casting a suspicious side-eye at the retail giant. Learn all about these fees, and what other stores charge sneak it onto your bill.

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What is a PIF?

PIF stands for "Public Improvement Fee," and while it is sometimes displayed as a tax on receipts, it's not an actual tax but a fee imposed by property owners and developers — which is then subject to sales tax from Colorado.

The name indicates it's for the public, but that is far from the truth. The fee is another way businesses can offset operating costs onto customers to improve their infrastructure.

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Are PIFs legal?

Labeling a PIF as a tax might be brushing up on the wrong side of the legality line, but the fees themselves are legal in Colorado — and have been on the books for over 20 years.

Proponents of the fee argue the money is used to keep malls and shopping centers from descending into blight, but customers think building owners should be responsible for maintaining their properties.

Where else could these fees pop up?

Currently, Colorado is the only state using PIFs as described; however, states like Florida have similar setups for "public infrastructure fees" that ultimately achieve the same thing. If major retail chains can offset even more operating costs to customers in Colorado, they will almost certainly do so everywhere they can.

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Bottom line

Checking over your receipts may seem tedious, but it's the only way to know if you're being charged additional fees. Because PIFs are done at a state or local level, they don't have consistent labeling nationally — meaning corporations can just call them something else and tack on the fee to your bill.

If you see a charge you don't understand, you'll have to ask the store to explain it; receipts should not be an esoteric and unexplainable mystery.

If you're outraged over corporate creeping of offsetting business expenses onto customers, remember that companies aren't the only ones who can make money moves so good they feel illegal; you can, too.

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What is a PIF?

Are PIFs legal?

Where else could these fees pop up?

Resolve $10,000 or more of your debt

Bottom line

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