Colorado paycheck calculator
Colorado taxes income at a single flat rate and builds its withholding around one simple worksheet: your employer subtracts a fixed allowance from your annualized pay and withholds the flat rate on the rest. On top of that, most workers pay half of the FAMLI paid leave premium, and people who work in Denver and a few nearby cities pay a small monthly head tax.
Take-home per paycheck
$2,239
- Take-home per year
- $58,204
- Total taxes per year
- $16,796
- Effective tax rate
- 22.4%
- Marginal tax rate
- 34%
- Uses the DR 1098 allowance for your W-4 filing status and no Form DR 0004 (no extra withholding).
Take-home per paycheck: $2,239 every 2 weeks
| Line | Every 2 weeks | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $2,885 | $75,000 |
| Federal income tax | −$295 | −$7,670 |
| Social Security | −$179 | −$4,650 |
| Medicare | −$42 | −$1,088 |
| State income tax | −$118 | −$3,058 |
| CO FAMLI | −$13 | −$330 |
| Take-home pay | $2,239 | $58,204 |
- Take-home pay$58,20478%
- Federal income tax$7,67010%
- Social Security & Medicare$5,7388%
- State & local taxes$3,3884%
How Colorado taxes your paycheck
- 4.4% flat
- One flat 4.40% rate on Colorado taxable income, which starts from federal taxable income.
- CO FAMLI
- CO FAMLI 0.44%
- 4 included
- Colorado has no local income taxes, but four Denver-area cities charge a flat monthly occupational privilege (head) tax on people who work there: Denver, Greenwood Village, Glendale and Sheridan. Aurora repealed its version on January 1, 2025.
- Aggregate
- Colorado has no separate bonus rate. A bonus is added to the pay period's wages and run through the DR 1098 worksheet, which for most employees works out to 4.40% of the bonus.
Colorado income tax rates for 2026
These are the return rates. Your employer withholds using Colorado's withholding method (DR 1098 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers (2026)), which the calculator above follows.
| Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|
| Over $0 | 4.4% |
Other taxes on Colorado paychecks
| Employee payroll tax | Rate | Wage base | Annual max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) premium, employee share | 0.44% | $184,500 | — |
| Locality | Type | Resident rate |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Occupational Privilege Tax | city | $5.75/month |
| Greenwood Village Occupational Privilege Tax | city | $2.00/month |
| Glendale Occupational Privilege Tax | city | $5.00/month |
| Sheridan Occupational Privilege Tax | city | $3.00/month |
$59,800 in Colorado
$59,800 is the median annual wage in Colorado (May 2025, BLS OEWS). A single filer paid every two weeks with no other income or deductions takes home $47,577 a year, or $1,830 per paycheck.
| Line | Every 2 weeks | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $2,300 | $59,800 |
| Federal income tax | -$192 | -$4,996 |
| Social Security | -$143 | -$3,708 |
| Medicare | -$33 | -$867 |
| State income tax | -$92 | -$2,389 |
| CO FAMLI | -$10 | -$263 |
| Take-home pay | $1,830 | $47,577 |
How Colorado withholds income tax
Employers use the Department of Revenue's DR 1098 worksheet. They multiply your taxable pay for the period by the number of pay periods in the year, subtract an annual allowance based on the filing status on your federal W-4, apply the flat rate, and divide back down to one paycheck. Married filing jointly gets a larger allowance than every other status, including head of household.
You do not need a separate Colorado form. If you want different withholding, for example to account for itemized deductions, you can file Form DR 0004, and your employer must use its amounts instead. Employers may not adjust Colorado withholding outside the worksheet.
Colorado wages for withholding are the same wages subject to federal withholding, so traditional 401(k) contributions, HSA contributions through a cafeteria plan and pre-tax health premiums all lower your Colorado withholding.
The flat rate and TABOR
Colorado's income tax starts from your federal taxable income, so there is no separate state standard deduction. Under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, a large state revenue surplus can trigger a temporary rate cut for a year, as happened in 2024.
For 2026 no cut applies: the State Controller certified that revenue for the 2025-26 fiscal year came in below the TABOR limit, so there are no TABOR refunds for tax year 2026.
FAMLI paid family and medical leave premium
Colorado's Family and Medical Leave Insurance program is funded by a premium on gross wages that employers and employees split evenly, up to the Social Security wage base. Employers with fewer than 10 employees do not have to pay their half, but they still collect the employee share, and any employer may choose to cover it for you.
Because FAMLI uses gross wages, pre-tax 401(k) or health deductions do not reduce it, and the premium is a post-tax deduction.
Occupational privilege (head) taxes
Colorado has no city or county income taxes. Instead, a few Denver-area cities charge a flat monthly occupational privilege tax on people who work there and meet a monthly earnings test, with the employer paying a separate matching or business portion.
The tax depends on where you work, not where you live. In Denver you pay the employee tax only once even if you have several Denver employers. Aurora used to have one but repealed it starting January 1, 2025.
What changed recently
- 2026: The FAMLI premium fell to 0.88% of wages for 2026, split 0.44% employer and 0.44% employee. It is set to fall again to 0.86% in 2027. Source
- 2026: No temporary income tax rate cut for tax year 2026: FY 2025-26 revenue fell short of the TABOR cap, so the rate stays 4.40%. Source
- 2026: Starting with tax year 2026, filers with AGI over $300,000 must add back federal deductions above $1,000 (single) or $2,000 (joint), down from $12,000 and $16,000 for 2023 to 2025. Source
- 2025: Aurora's occupational privilege tax was repealed effective January 1, 2025. Source
Questions people ask
What is the Colorado income tax rate for 2026?
The rate is a flat 4.40% for 2026. The temporary TABOR rate cut that lowered it to 4.25% for 2024 is not triggered for 2026.
Do I need to fill out a Colorado W-4?
No. Employers figure Colorado withholding from your federal W-4 filing status. Form DR 0004 is optional and only needed if you want to change your Colorado withholding.
How much is FAMLI taken out of my paycheck in 2026?
The employee share is 0.44% of gross wages, on wages up to $184,500. Your employer pays the other 0.44% unless it has fewer than 10 employees.
What is the Denver head tax?
Denver's occupational privilege tax is $5.75 a month withheld from employees who earn at least $500 in a month for work done in Denver. Employers pay a separate $4.00 a month per employee.
Does Aurora still have an occupational privilege tax?
No. Aurora repealed its occupational privilege tax effective January 1, 2025.
How are bonuses withheld in Colorado?
Colorado has no special bonus rate. The bonus is added to that paycheck's wages and run through the same DR 1098 worksheet, which usually means the flat rate on the bonus amount.
Sources
- DR 1098 (10/21/25), 2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Colorado Wage Withholding Tax Guide (Revised January 2026) · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Individual Income Tax Guide · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Economic & Revenue Forecast, September 2026 · retrieved 2026-10-16
- FAMLI Premium and Benefits Calculator · retrieved 2026-10-16
- FAMLI Announces Lower Premium Rate Starting in 2027 (Oct. 6, 2026) · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Tax Guide Topic No. 61, Occupational Privilege Taxes (Revised 04/2026) · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Occupational Privilege Tax (OPT) · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Occupational Privilege Tax · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Occupational Privilege Tax · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Occupational Privilege Tax (repeal effective Jan. 1, 2025) · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 inflation-adjusted tax items · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Form W-4 (2026), Employee's Withholding Certificate · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Publication 505 (2026), Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Schedule 1-A (Form 1040) 2026, Additional Deductions (early-release draft) · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) 2026, Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents (early-release draft) · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Working Families Tax Cuts: Individuals and workers (tips, overtime, seniors, car loan interest) · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Working Families Tax Cuts provisions (charitable deduction for non-itemizers, Section 70424) · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Child Tax Credit · retrieved 2026-10-16
- IR-2025-111: 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026 · retrieved 2026-10-16
- Rev. Proc. 2025-19: 2026 HSA limits · retrieved 2026-10-16
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, median annual wage by state · retrieved 2026-10-16