Colorado Paycheck Calculator
Reviewed Sep 29, 2026 IRS Pub 15-T 2026, Colorado DOR How we verify
Not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. General information; laws vary by state. Terms of use
Colorado paycheck calculator for tax year 2026: take-home pay and what the employer pays, per paycheck and per year. Colorado withholds a flat 4.4% of yearly wages above an allowance, $5,500 for most workers or $11,000 for married filing jointly, and every paycheck also carries the FAMLI paid leave premium of 0.44% of gross wages (2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers, Form DR 1098 (10/21/25); FAMLI Premium and Benefits Calculator page (2026 premiums)). Figures checked on September 29, 2026; the result is an estimate, not tax advice.
Take-home pay and employer cost
Example: $2,000.00 gross pay per paycheck, paid every two weeks (26 paychecks a year), single, with the default DR 0004 entries below
Take-home pay
$1,603.36 per paycheck
$41,687.36 per year
| Line | Per paycheck | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $2,000.00 | $52,000.00 |
| Federal income tax withholding | $156.15 | $4,059.90 |
| Social Security | $124.00 | $3,224.00 |
| Medicare | $29.00 | $754.00 |
| Colorado income tax withholding | $78.69 | $2,045.94 |
| Colorado FAMLI premium (employee share) | $8.80 | $228.80 |
| Take-home pay | $1,603.36 | $41,687.36 |
What the employer pays
$2,204.40 per paycheck
$56,716.98 per year
| Line | Per paycheck | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $2,000.00 | $52,000.00 |
| Social Security (employer match) | $124.00 | $3,224.00 |
| Medicare (employer match) | $29.00 | $754.00 |
| Federal unemployment (FUTA) | $12.00 | $42.00 |
| State unemployment (new-employer rate) | $30.60 | $468.18 |
| Colorado FAMLI premium (employer share) | $8.80 | $228.80 |
| Total employer cost | $2,204.40 | $56,716.98 |
With no Colorado certificate, the allowance follows the filing status on the federal Form W-4.
Sources: IRS Pub 15-T 2026 and Colorado DOR, checked September 29, 2026. Estimate for tax year 2026. Not tax advice.
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How Colorado taxes a paycheck
The calculator applies the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method and, for Colorado, the Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers (DR 1098) for 2026: annualized wages minus the annual withholding allowance, times the flat rate of the Colorado Department of Revenue (withholding); Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, FAMLI Division (premiums), in effect for wages paid from January 1, 2026. Social Security takes 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 a year and Medicare 1.45% of all wages (plus 0.9% on wages above $200,000 a year), and the employer pays Social Security and Medicare again at the same rates (Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide). The oldest Colorado document behind these figures was checked on September 29, 2026.
The Colorado Department of Revenue publishes a short withholding worksheet for employers, and every employer must use it. It annualizes the taxable wages of the pay period, subtracts a yearly withholding allowance, multiplies the rest by the flat rate of 4.4%, and divides by the number of paychecks in the year. The worksheet tells employers not to adjust Colorado withholding outside this calculation, so every payroll system lands on the same figure (2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers, Form DR 1098 (10/21/25)).
The allowance is where the federal form comes in. An employee who only filed the federal withholding certificate gets $11,000 when the expected filing status is married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse, and $5,500 for single, head of household or married filing separately. An employee who filed nothing is treated as single. Federal dependents and the other steps of the federal form are ignored on the Colorado side (2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers, Form DR 1098 (10/21/25)).
Form DR 0004 is Colorado's own certificate and it is optional. It replaces the default allowance with a dollar amount the employee works out from tables for the number of jobs, extra federal deductions and Colorado credits such as the family affordability part of the child tax credit. Most people who fill it in end up with a larger allowance, less withheld and a smaller refund. The form also has a line for an extra dollar amount per paycheck.
Colorado also runs a state paid family and medical leave program, FAMLI. The premium for the year is 0.88% of gross wages as shown on the pay stub, split evenly, so the employee share is 0.44%. It stops once wages reach the Social Security cap of $184,500. Unlike income tax, the premium is taken from gross pay before retirement deferrals and is not deducted from taxable wages (FAMLI Premium and Benefits Calculator page (2026 premiums)).
City charges on employment are outside this page. The calculator covers the state worksheet and the FAMLI premium only, so a flat monthly charge that a Colorado city sets on employees or on employers is not part of these figures, and an employer that owes one adds it on top of the Colorado lines.
The employer's side in Colorado
On the employer side, Colorado adds state unemployment insurance on wages up to the taxable wage base at the new employer rate, and the employer share of the FAMLI premium, 0.44% of gross wages up to $184,500. The employer share applies to businesses with at least 10 employees counted nationwide; a smaller business still collects and sends in the employee share but owes nothing of its own. An employer may choose to pay the employee share too (FAMLI Premium and Benefits Calculator page (2026 premiums); FAMLI Employer FAQs).
Every employer also owes federal unemployment tax (FUTA): 6% on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages a year. With the full 5.4% credit for state unemployment tax paid on time, the net rate is 0.6%, at most $42 per employee a year (IRS Topic no. 759, Form 940, Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return).
In Colorado, a new employer pays state unemployment tax at 1.53% on the first $30,600 of each employee's wages a year (U.S. DOL, Office of Unemployment Insurance: Significant Provisions of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, effective July 2026). Later the rate follows the employer's own record, so the line in the result is the starting cost, not a fixed one.
In the example above, the employer also pays Colorado FAMLI premium (employer share): $8.80 per paycheck.
Payday and final pay rules in Colorado
- How often wages are paid: Colorado requires regular pay periods of no longer than one calendar month or 30 days, whichever is longer. U.S. DOL WHD State Payday Requirements, checked September 25, 2026
The full Colorado rules, with each law quoted: Colorado employment rules. The date a final paycheck is due for a given last day: final paycheck calculator.
Worked examples
Three pay levels for a single filer paid every two weeks, with the default entries of the form, computed with the same code as the calculator.
| Gross pay per paycheck | Federal income tax per paycheck | Social Security and Medicare per paycheck | Colorado deductions per paycheck | Take-home pay per paycheck | Employer cost per paycheck |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,200.00 | $60.15 | $91.80 | $48.77 | $999.28 | $1,322.64 |
| $2,500.00 | $216.15 | $191.25 | $111.69 | $1,980.91 | $2,755.50 |
| $5,000.00 | $766.69 | $382.50 | $232.69 | $3,618.12 | $5,511.00 |
At $2,500.00 per paycheck the employee takes home $51,503.66 per year, and the employer spends $70,768.68 per year on that job before benefits.
Full time at the Colorado minimum wage of $15.16 per hour (Colorado minimum wage (U.S. DOL WHD State Minimum Wage Laws table), checked September 27, 2026), 40 hours per week, is $1,212.80 per paycheck every two weeks: $1,008.93 per paycheck take-home, and $1,336.76 per paycheck for the employer.
Method and sources
- Colorado withholding rate in the DR 1098 worksheet for 2026: 4.4%. 2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers, Form DR 1098 (10/21/25), checked September 29, 2026. Second document: 2026 Colorado Employee Withholding Certificate, Form DR 0004 (10/29/25). two official documents
- The DR 1098 worksheet is the prescribed method for 2026 and nothing is adjusted outside it. 2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers, Form DR 1098 (10/21/25), checked September 29, 2026. Second document: Colorado Wage Withholding Tax Guide (revised January 2026). two official documents
- Annual withholding allowance with no DR 0004 on file, W-4 status married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse: $11,000. 2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers, Form DR 1098 (10/21/25), checked September 29, 2026. Also restated in a USDA National Finance Center payroll summary (secondary): USDA National Finance Center bulletin: Colorado State Income Tax Withholding (2026). state document, restated in a federal payroll summary
- Annual withholding allowance with no DR 0004 on file, any other W-4 status: $5,500. 2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers, Form DR 1098 (10/21/25), checked September 29, 2026. Also restated in a USDA National Finance Center payroll summary (secondary): USDA National Finance Center bulletin: Colorado State Income Tax Withholding (2026). state document, restated in a federal payroll summary
- No W-4 and no DR 0004: withhold as single. 2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers, Form DR 1098 (10/21/25), checked September 29, 2026. single official source
- Form DR 0004 is optional; without it the employer uses the IRS Form W-4 status. 2026 Colorado Employee Withholding Certificate, Form DR 0004 (10/29/25), checked September 29, 2026. Second document: 2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers, Form DR 1098 (10/21/25). two official documents
- Wages subject to Colorado withholding follow the federal withholding wage definition (pre-tax 401(k) and section 125 excluded). Colorado Wage Withholding Tax Guide (revised January 2026), checked September 29, 2026. Second document: 2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers, Form DR 1098 (10/21/25). two official documents
- FAMLI premium rate for 2026 (employee and employer shares together): 0.88%. FAMLI Premium and Benefits Calculator page (2026 premiums), checked September 29, 2026. Second document: FAMLI Employers page (Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, FAMLI Division). two official documents
- FAMLI premium, employee share for 2026 (and the employer share, equal): 0.44%. FAMLI Premium and Benefits Calculator page (2026 premiums), checked September 29, 2026. Second document: FAMLI Employers page (Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, FAMLI Division). two official documents
- FAMLI premiums stop at the Social Security wage cap for 2026: $184,500. FAMLI Premium and Benefits Calculator page (2026 premiums), checked September 29, 2026. Second document: Contribution and Benefit Base (Social Security Administration, Office of the Chief Actuary). two official documents
- Employers with fewer than this many employees do not pay the FAMLI employer share: 10. FAMLI Employer FAQs, checked October 4, 2026. Second document: FAMLI Employers page (Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, FAMLI Division). two official documents
- FAMLI premiums are figured on gross wages as shown on the pay stub. FAMLI Employers page (Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, FAMLI Division), checked September 29, 2026. single official source
Federal figures used on every Pay Desk page:
- Pub 15-T edition: for use in 2026 (wages paid from January 1, 2026). Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, checked September 29, 2026. single official source
- Social Security tax rate withheld from the employee (the employer pays the same): 6.2%. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, checked September 29, 2026. Second document: Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates. two official documents
- Social Security wage base for 2026: $184,500. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, checked September 29, 2026. Second document: Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates. two official documents
- Medicare tax rate withheld from the employee (the employer pays the same): 1.45%. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, checked September 29, 2026. Second document: Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates. two official documents
- Per paycheck and per year. Per paycheck is one paycheck early in the year, before any yearly wage base is reached; per year is the full year at this pay with every wage base applied (Social Security, unemployment tax and any capped state contribution).
- Forms W-4 from before 2020. Not covered: the federal line follows Worksheet 1A for the 2020 and later form.
- Tax year 2027. When this page was checked (September 29, 2026) the IRS had not published the 2027 withholding tables (IRS page of forms and publications posted before release), so the calculator stays on tax year 2026.
- What it leaves out. Local taxes the form does not ask for, workers' compensation insurance, benefits the employer pays, and supplemental pay such as bonuses.
Questions people ask
What is the Colorado income tax withholding rate?
The state withholding worksheet applies a flat 4.4% to yearly wages after the withholding allowance, then divides by the number of paychecks (2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers, Form DR 1098 (10/21/25)).
Do I need to fill out the Colorado withholding certificate?
No, Form DR 0004 is optional. Without it the employer uses an allowance of $5,500, or $11,000 for a married filing jointly status on the federal withholding certificate (2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers, Form DR 1098 (10/21/25)).
How much is the FAMLI deduction on a Colorado paycheck?
The employee share is 0.44% of gross wages, half of the 0.88% premium, and it stops once wages for the year reach $184,500 (FAMLI Premium and Benefits Calculator page (2026 premiums)).
Does a small business in Colorado pay the FAMLI employer share?
Only if it has at least 10 employees. A business below that count sends in the employee share only (FAMLI Employer FAQs).
Are city charges on employees included here?
No. The calculator shows Colorado income tax withholding and the FAMLI premium only; a charge set by a city is separate from state withholding and is added on top.
General information, not legal advice. Not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. This page is for general information only and isn’t legal, financial or tax advice. Laws vary by state and change; check the official source or talk to a qualified professional about your situation. Report an error