Colorado (CO) Paycheck Calculator 2026

Colorado withholding uses your federal W-4

Colorado employers normally calculate state withholding from the information on your federal Form W-4, using the Colorado withholding worksheet (DR 1098). There is an optional state form, DR 0004, the Colorado Employee Withholding Certificate, but you do not have to complete it. It exists to fine-tune Colorado withholding in a few situations, such as two earners in one household or large deductions, and if you hand one in your employer must use it.

If you skip DR 0004, the worksheet applies a standard Colorado allowance based on the filing status you chose in Step 1(c) of your federal W-4. Changing your W-4 therefore changes your Colorado withholding too.

Worked example: a $70,000 Colorado paycheck

A single employee earning $70,000 a year, paid bi-weekly, sees four tax lines: federal income tax, FICA, Colorado income tax at a flat 4.40% on Colorado taxable income, and the FAMLI premium.

• Because Colorado starts from federal taxable income, a pre-tax 401(k) contribution cuts Colorado tax too: here the $7,000 contribution saves $308 of Colorado tax a year.

FAMLI: Colorado's paid leave premium

Colorado's Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance program (FAMLI) is funded by a premium on wages. Employers may deduct up to half of it from employees' pay; the calculator assumes the maximum employee share of 0.44% of wages, which stops at $184,500 of wages in 2026, the same as the Social Security wage base. If your employer chooses to pay the whole premium itself, there is no FAMLI line on your stub and your take-home is $308 a year higher at $70,000.

Occupational privilege taxes in Denver and nearby cities

Colorado has no percentage-based local income tax, but a few cities charge a flat monthly occupational privilege tax instead of a percentage wage tax. Denver's employee share is $5.75 a month; Aurora, Greenwood Village and Sheridan charge smaller amounts. These "OPT" or "head" taxes are flat amounts, so they matter more to part-time workers than to high earners. Look for a small fixed monthly deduction labelled with the city's name.

Colorado does not have a state disability insurance deduction, and state unemployment insurance is paid by employers.

Common Colorado payroll questions

A few points that often confuse new Colorado employees:

• A refund is common if you withhold at single rates while married filing jointly, because the federal standard deduction that flows to your Colorado return is doubled.
• If you move to Colorado mid-year, Colorado withholding should start from your move date; earlier wages are taxed by your previous state and prorated on Colorado Form DR 0104PN.
• Bonuses are subject to the same flat Colorado rate, so the state share of a bonus is easy to estimate: multiply by the Colorado rate.