Colorado Paycheck Calculator 2026

How Colorado withholding works in 2026

Colorado withholds a flat 4.40% of annual wages above a withholding allowance, then divides by the number of paydays. Form DR 1098, the state's worksheet for employers, lays out the whole method^[co1]:

1. Multiply taxable wages for the pay period by the number of pay periods (26 for every two weeks).
2. Subtract the allowance from line 2 of the employee's DR 0004. If there is no DR 0004, or line 2 is blank, use the federal W-4 filing status: $11,000 for married filing jointly or a qualifying surviving spouse, $5,500 for everyone else.
3. Multiply what is left by 4.40% and divide by the pay periods.
4. Add any extra amount from DR 0004 line 3.

An employee who turns in neither form is treated as single. Colorado wages follow the federal definition, so pre-tax 401(k) deferrals and health premiums are excluded. Overtime pay that is exempt from federal tax under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act stays taxable for Colorado withholding^[co3].

The defaults are deliberately low. A single filer's W-4 default is $5,500, well under the $14,000 standard allowance Colorado lists for one job, and the DR 0004 itself notes that the W-4-based calculation will generally result in a refund when the Colorado return is filed^[co2].

Form DR 0004: the optional Colorado certificate

The DR 0004 is optional; it lets an employee replace the W-4 default with a dollar allowance of their own. Employers must use whatever is on line 2, even zero^[co2]. Table 1 of the 2026 form suggests a starting point based on filing status and the number of jobs in the household:

On $60,000, Colorado withholding is $2,398 with the W-4 default, $2,024 with a $14,000 allowance and $2,640 with line 2 set to zero. Worksheet 1 on the form can add allowances for the Colorado child tax credit, the earned income credit or federal deductions above the standard deduction. A new W-4 filed without a new DR 0004 cancels the old DR 0004, so the employer falls back to the default^[co1].

Denver and other Colorado city head taxes

Some Denver-area cities charge an occupational privilege tax (OPT), a flat monthly "head tax" split between employer and employee. The calculator covers the four below that collect it in 2026. The employee share is withheld from pay in the city where you work:

Denver's $5.75 is due for each month in which you earn at least $500 for work in the city. Someone with two Denver employers pays it once by giving Form TD269 to the second one^[co5]. Greenwood Village charges $2 each side once monthly earnings reach $250^[co6], Sheridan $3 each side^[co7], and Glendale $5 each side above $750 a month^[co8]. Aurora repealed its tax effective January 1, 2025^[co9]. A worker split between two OPT cities for one employer pays only where most hours are worked. Pick the city in the calculator and it adds $69 a year for Denver.

Salary calculator Colorado: FAMLI and what changes next

FAMLI, Colorado's paid family and medical leave insurance, costs 0.88% of wages in 2026. Employers may take up to half of it, 0.44%, from employees' paychecks, and premiums stop at the Social Security wage cap of $184,500^[co4]. On $60,000 the employee share is $264 a year. Some employers cover the whole premium, and businesses with nine or fewer employees pay no employer share, though the employee half still applies. The premium is figured on gross wages as shown on the pay stub, so it does not shrink when you contribute to a 401(k).

The withholding formula may change in 2027. The Department of Revenue has posted two draft 2027 DR 1098 worksheets, one for the flat tax and one for a graduated tax, because the outcome of measures on the Colorado ballot could affect the formula^[co10]. For now, the same salary can be compared against Utah, Kansas or New Mexico.

Colorado take-home pay on common salaries

Worked example: $60,000 in Colorado

1. Gross pay: $60,000 a year ÷ 26 paychecks = $2,307.69.
2. Federal income tax: the IRS percentage method annualizes $60,000 of taxable wages, subtracts the $8,600 built into the 2026 tables for a standard W-4, and applies the brackets (top rate 12%): $193.08^[p15t].
3. FICA: 6.2% Social Security $143.08 plus 1.45% Medicare $33.46^[tc751].
4. Colorado: Colorado income tax $92.23, CO FAMLI (0.44%) $10.15.
5. Net pay: $1,835.69 per paycheck, $47,728 a year (79.5% of gross).

Compare Colorado with nearby states

Same $60,000 salary, different state: Utah $1,835.08 · Kansas $1,820.41 · Arizona $1,891.93 per paycheck. The state tax calculator ranks every state we cover on one salary, and the paycheck calculator switches states in one click. Hourly? Add overtime with the time and a half calculator.