2026 Colorado paycheck calculator
Colorado withholds 4.4 percent of yearly pay above a $5,500 allowance, or $11,000 for married couples filing jointly.
Updated for 2026Checked Oct 29, 2026 against IRS and Colorado Department of Revenue sourcesHow we check
Your take-home pay
$1,225.81
per paycheck, paid every two weeks
- Gross pay
- $1,500.00
- Federal income tax
- $96.15
- Social Security
- $93.00
- Medicare
- $21.75
- County tax
- Choose your county
- Colorado paid leave
- $6.60
- Take-home
- $1,225.81
Colorado paid leave stops once your 2026 pay passes $184,500.
Runs in your browser. We never see what you type.
Take-home pay $1,225.81
Colorado pay rules at a glance
| State income tax | Flat rate Source |
| County or local tax | Four Colorado cities charge a flat monthly occupational privilege tax (a "head tax") that the employer takes from pay, on top of a matching employer share: Denver, $5.75 a month from each worker paid at least $500 for work in Denver that month (employer pays $4.00); Glendale, $5 a month from each worker paid more than $750 that month (employer pays $5); Greenwood Village, $2 a month from each worker paid $250 or more that month (employer pays $2); and Sheridan, $3 a month from each worker paid more than $500 that month (employer pays $3). Aurora repealed its tax effective January 1, 2025. These are flat monthly amounts, not a percentage of wages, so the calculator describes them rather than computing them. Source |
| Disability or paid leave | Colorado Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI): 0.44% of pay, on the first $184,500 of pay in a calendar year Source |
| Minimum wage | $15.16 an hour Source |
| Tipped minimum cash wage | $12.14 an hour, before tips Source |
| Final paycheck if you are let go | Immediately when the employer ends the job. If the payroll office is closed at that moment, within six hours after it next opens, or within 24 hours if payroll is handled off site. Source |
| Final paycheck if you quit | By the next regular payday. Source |
What comes out of a Colorado paycheck
On $1,500 every two weeks, single, a Colorado worker keeps $1,225.81.
Colorado's income tax is a flat 4.4 percent, and withholding is simple. Your employer scales a paycheck up to a year of wages, subtracts an allowance, multiplies what is left by 4.4 percent, and divides the answer back across the pay periods.
Colorado's own Form DR 0004 is optional, and the calculator assumes you gave your employer only a federal W-4. In that case the allowance depends on the filing status on the W-4: $11,000 for married filing jointly, and $5,500 for single workers and heads of household. A worker with no certificate at all is treated as single. The calculator uses these amounts.
Dependents have no effect under that setup. They matter only if a worker files a DR 0004 and enters a child tax credit allowance for children who will be 5 or younger at the end of the year, and the calculator does not assume that form. Colorado also ignores the credits and adjustments entered in Steps 3 and 4 of the W-4.
One thing could still move the year's actual tax. Colorado can lower its rate after the fact when state revenue triggers a refund, and we did not check whether 2026 ends below 4.4 percent. Withholding stays at 4.4 percent either way. The department prints no rounding rule, so the calculator rounds to the cent.
County and local taxes
Four Colorado cities charge a flat monthly occupational privilege tax, often called a head tax, and the employer takes it from pay. These are fixed dollar amounts rather than a share of wages, so the calculator describes them without computing them.
Denver takes $5.75 a month from each worker paid at least $500 for work in Denver that month. Glendale takes $5 from each worker paid more than $750 that month, Greenwood Village takes $2 from each worker paid $250 or more, and Sheridan takes $3 from each worker paid more than $500. In each city the employer pays a share of its own too. Aurora repealed its tax effective January 1, 2025, even though a Denver guide still mentions it in examples. We did not search every Colorado city for others.
Disability and paid leave
Colorado's paid family and medical leave program, known as FAMLI, takes 0.44 percent of your wages in 2026. That is the worker's half of the 0.88 percent total premium, and it applies to the first $184,500 of wages. An employer may choose to pay the worker's half as well, in which case nothing comes out of your check for it. The calculator assumes the usual even split.
Final pay and the minimum wage
Colorado's minimum wage is $15.16 an hour, and the tipped cash wage is $12.14. We have not confirmed the 2027 amount from a saved state source, so none is shown here.
When an employer ends the job, wages are due right away. If the payroll office is closed at that moment, the employer has six hours after it next opens, or 24 hours when payroll is handled off site. A worker who quits is paid by the next regular payday.
Nearby states
Sources and checks
Checked on Oct 29, 2026. Source: Colorado Department of Revenue, "2026 Colorado Withholding Worksheet for Employers," DR 1098 (10/21/25), line 2c, "Multiply line 2b by 4.40% (0.044)" (tax.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/DR_1098_Colorado_Withholding_Worksheet_for_Employees.pdf, fetched Oct 29, 2026); Colorado Wage Withholding Tax Guide (Revised January 2026).
Local taxes: Denver Department of Finance, Tax Guide Topic No. 61, "Occupational Privilege Taxes" (Revised 04/2026; denvergov.org/files/assets/public/v/2/finance/documents/treasury/tax-guides/taxguidetopic61_occupationalprivilegetaxes_1.pdf, fetched Oct 29, 2026); City of Glendale, "Occupational Privilege Tax" (glendale.co.us/355/Occupational-Privilege-Tax, fetched Oct 29, 2026); City of Greenwood Village, "Occupational Privilege Tax (OPT)" (www.greenwoodvillage.com/1220/Occupational-Privilege-Tax-OPT, fetched Oct 29, 2026); City of Sheridan, "Occupational Privilege Tax" (ci.sheridan.co.us/288/Occupational-Privilege-Tax, fetched Oct 29, 2026) and Sheridan Code of Ordinances, Chapter 62, Article VI (the $500 test; library.municode.com, fetched Oct 29, 2026); City of Aurora, "Taxes" (www.auroragov.org/business_services/taxes, fetched Oct 29, 2026): "The city of Aurora Occupational Privilege Tax will be repealed effective Jan. 1, 2025" (Ordinance 2022-77).
Disability and paid leave: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, FAMLI Division, "Premium and Benefits Calculator" page (famli.colorado.gov/individuals-and-families/how-famli-works/premium-and-benefits-calculator, fetched Oct 29, 2026): "The premiums in 2026 are set to 0.88% of the employee's wage, with 0.44% paid by the employer and 0.44% paid by the employee... Premiums are paid on wages up to the Federal Social Security Wage Cap, which is $184,500 for earnings in 2026."
Minimum wage: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, "COMPS Order (Colorado Overtime & Minimum Pay Standards) Poster & Notice," effective 1/1/2026 (cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/2026_comps_order_poster_english_%5Baccessible%5D.pdf, fetched Oct 29, 2026): "Colorado Minimum Wage: $15.16 per hour in 2026, updated yearly (COMPS Rule 3)"; "Tip credit: Can lower hourly pay up to $3.02 if tips (not service charges) aren't diverted to untipped staff", so the tipped cash wage is $15.16 minus $3.02, $12.14. The poster also says to "Use the highest minimum wage applicable" because some cities and counties (Denver among them) set higher local rates.
Final paycheck: Colorado Revised Statutes 8-4-109(1), in the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment's "Colorado Wage Act" compilation (revised August 6, 2025; cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/colorado_wage_act_revised_august_6,_2025.pdf, fetched and read Oct 29, 2026).
Federal withholding: IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Worksheet 1A and its "2026 Percentage Method Tables for Automated Payroll Systems and Withholding on Periodic Payments of Pensions and Annuities," pages 10 to 12. Fetched directly from irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15t.pdf and transcribed Oct 28, 2026.
Every figure above comes from the sources listed here. How we check our numbers.
Spot a wrong number? Email contact@paydeskcalc.com with the page and the figure.