Colorado paycheck guide
Colorado's flat tax starts from your federal return
Colorado's income tax is a flat 4.4% of Colorado taxable income, and Colorado taxable income begins with the federal taxable income on your Form 1040. Colorado therefore has no standard deduction or personal exemption of its own. The federal standard deduction, $16,100 for a single filer and $32,200 for a married couple filing jointly, does that job, and Colorado then applies a short list of state additions and subtractions on Form DR 0104.
That link to the federal return has practical effects. Anything that lowers federal taxable income, such as a traditional 401(k) contribution or a payroll HSA deposit, lowers Colorado tax by 4.4% of the amount. When Congress changes the federal standard deduction, Colorado's tax base moves with it unless the legislature votes to decouple.
Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, known as TABOR, requires the state to refund revenue above a constitutional limit, and in some years part of that refund has taken the form of a temporary rate cut. Our estimate uses the 4.4% rate.
Worked example: a $75,000 salary in Colorado
Begin with the federal return. Subtracting the $16,100 standard deduction from $75,000 leaves $58,900 of federal taxable income. Federal tax runs $1,240 on the first $12,400, $4,560 on the next $38,000, and $1,870 on the final $8,500, for $7,670.
Colorado picks up that same $58,900 and multiplies it by 4.4%, giving $2,592 of state tax, or 3.46% of salary. After $4,650 of Social Security and $1,088 of Medicare, take-home pay is $59,000 a year, about $4,917 a month. The Colorado $75,000 salary page breaks it into paychecks.
Because Colorado reuses the federal figure, a single filer's state tax in our examples is always 4.4% of federal taxable income: $612 at $30,000, and $5,892 at $150,000, where federal taxable income is $133,900.
Occupational privilege taxes and FAMLI
No Colorado city taxes income. A few cities instead charge an occupational privilege tax, or OPT, a flat monthly charge on people who work in the city and earn more than a minimum amount there that month. Denver's employee OPT is $5.75 a month, or $69 a year. Glendale charges $5 a month ($60 a year), Sheridan $3 ($36), and Greenwood Village $2 ($24). Aurora levies one too, and employers pay a separate share on top of the employee amount.
The OPT follows the work location, not your address. If you live in Lakewood and commute to an office in downtown Denver, Denver's tax comes out of your check; if you live in Denver and work in Boulder, it does not. The Denver calculator adds the OPT to the state figures.
Colorado's FAMLI program, the state's paid family and medical leave insurance, charges a premium on wages, and employers may deduct up to half of it from employee pay. Our estimate does not include FAMLI, so check that line on your pay stub.
Withholding with Form DR 0004 and work across state lines
Colorado has its own withholding certificate, Form DR 0004, but filing it is optional. If you skip it, your employer figures Colorado withholding from your federal W-4. The state form lets you claim an annual withholding allowance based on your income and filing status, which helps two-earner couples and people with side income bring withholding closer to the 4.4% bill.
Colorado has no reciprocity agreements. Wyoming residents who commute to Fort Collins or Denver owe Colorado tax on those wages. Colorado residents who work in Kansas, Nebraska, or Utah pay that state's tax and claim a credit on the Colorado return for tax paid to another state.
If you live in Colorado and work remotely for an employer that does not withhold Colorado tax, you still owe it. Pay quarterly with Form DR 0104EP to avoid an underpayment penalty.
How Colorado compares with its neighbors
At $75,000 a single Colorado worker keeps $59,000, 27th among the 50 states and DC. Wyoming, with no income tax, leaves $2,592 more. Arizona's 2.5% rate leaves $1,119 more and New Mexico $233 more. Nebraska now edges Colorado by $59. Oklahoma takes $238 more than Colorado, Utah, at its new 4.45% rate, $511 more, and Kansas $793 more.
Colorado improves slightly as income rises, from 27th at $75,000 to 22nd at $150,000, since a flat rate on federal taxable income never pushes a raise into a higher state bracket. See Colorado vs Wyoming and Colorado vs Utah for side-by-side numbers.
What to expect at your income
Earning under $50,000
Under $50,000 the federal standard deduction shelters a big share of pay from Colorado tax too. A single filer earning $30,000 owes $612 to the state, 2.04% of salary, and takes home $25,673. Raise that to $50,000 and Colorado collects $1,492, leaving $40,863, or $3,405 a month. An hourly worker at $20 full time keeps $34,484 after $1,122 of Colorado tax. If you claim the federal earned income tax credit, Colorado offers its own earned income credit on the state return.
Earning $50,000 to $150,000
In this range every extra dollar of federal taxable income costs 4.4% in Colorado. On a $100,000 salary, Colorado collects $3,692 from a single filer, whose annual net pay is $75,488, close to $6,291 monthly. A married couple on one $100,000 salary pays $2,983 and keeps $81,727, thanks to the $32,200 joint federal deduction. Traditional 401(k) contributions save 4.4% at the state level plus 22% federal, roughly a quarter of each dollar contributed.
Earning over $150,000
Above $150,000 Colorado's flat rate means no state bracket creep. A single filer pays $5,892 at $150,000 and $10,292 at $250,000, an effective rate of 4.12%, and takes home $172,890, about $14,408 a month. Because Colorado follows federal taxable income, federal decisions such as bunching itemized deductions flow through to the state return. Very high earners face Colorado add-backs that limit some federal deductions, so check Form DR 0104 instructions.
Colorado paycheck tips
File DR 0004 if your household has two earners
Without Form DR 0004, Colorado withholding follows your W-4 defaults. The state form's allowance table helps couples and side earners avoid a balance due.
Check the OPT when you change offices
A move from a suburban office to downtown Denver adds $5.75 a month in OPT. It is small, but it shows up as its own line on your stub.
Count FAMLI in your take-home
The FAMLI premium is not in this estimate. Look for it on your first Colorado pay stub and subtract it from the figures here.
Lower federal taxable income to lower Colorado tax
Because Colorado starts from federal taxable income, a traditional 401(k), up to the $24,500 limit for 2026, cuts both bills at once.
Remote workers: pay estimates with DR 0104EP
If an out-of-state employer does not withhold Colorado tax, send quarterly payments with Form DR 0104EP.
Common mistakes
Applying 4.4% to gross pay
Colorado's rate applies to federal taxable income, not salary. At $75,000 the state bill is $2,592, or 3.46% of gross pay.
Assuming Wyoming residency covers Colorado wages
Wyoming has no income tax, but wages earned in Colorado are taxable to Colorado. Commuters from Cheyenne owe the full Colorado tax on that pay.
Calling the Denver OPT an income tax
Denver's OPT is a flat $5.75 a month, not a percentage of pay. A $250,000 earner pays the same $69 a year as a $30,000 earner.
Moving to or from Colorado
Moving to Colorado
Moving to Colorado from Wyoming adds $2,592 of state tax at $75,000, and from Arizona $1,119. Coming from Kansas you keep $793 more, and from Utah $511 more. Colorado has no city income taxes, but a job in Denver, Aurora, Glendale, Sheridan, or Greenwood Village adds a small monthly OPT. Budget for the FAMLI premium on each paycheck, and file Form DR 0004 if the W-4 default would leave you under-withheld.
Leaving Colorado
Leaving Colorado for Wyoming saves the $2,592 a $75,000 earner pays the state, and Arizona saves $1,119. Nebraska saves a small $59. The other neighbors cost more: Oklahoma by $238, Utah by $511, and Kansas by $793 at that salary. Colorado taxes you as a part-year resident on income earned while you lived there, so expect to file a Colorado return for the year you move.