Does Colorado have a state income tax?

Yes. Colorado levies a flat 4.4% state income tax on federal taxable income, meaning every dollar of taxable wages is taxed at the same rate regardless of total income. The rate was reduced from 4.55% via voter-approved Proposition 121 in 2022 and has been adjusted further through TABOR-related temporary cuts in surplus years. Because Colorado piggybacks on the federal definition of taxable income, the federal standard deduction of $15,000 (single) or $30,000 (married) flows through to state tax calculations, which means Colorado effectively has a much higher exemption floor than states with their own small standard deduction.

What are TABOR refunds in Colorado?

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), enacted in 1992, limits how much revenue Colorado can keep each year based on a formula tied to population growth and inflation. When state revenue exceeds the TABOR cap, the surplus is refunded to taxpayers either through a temporary income tax rate cut, the sales tax refund, or property tax relief. In recent years, TABOR refunds have averaged $750 to $1,600 per qualifying individual filer. These refunds are issued at tax filing time rather than withheld from each paycheck, so your weekly take-home calculation should use the statutory 4.4% rate even if you expect a refund later.

How much does a $28/hour worker take home in Colorado?

At $28/hour working 40 hours per week and filing single, your gross annual pay is $58,240. After federal income tax of approximately $4,997, Colorado state tax of approximately $1,902, Social Security of approximately $3,611, and Medicare of approximately $844, your annual take-home is roughly $46,886. That works out to about $1,803 per biweekly paycheck. If you contribute 6% to a 401(k), your take-home would rise slightly because the contribution reduces both federal and Colorado taxable income.

What is the Colorado minimum wage in 2025-2026?

The Colorado state minimum wage is $14.81 per hour as of January 1, 2025, with annual adjustments tied to the Consumer Price Index. Several local jurisdictions enforce higher minimums: Denver is $18.81, Edgewater is $16.52, and Boulder County reaches $16.57 for unincorporated areas. Tipped workers can be paid a lower base wage of $11.79 statewide, provided tips bring total compensation up to the standard minimum. Workers earning the state minimum and working 40 hours per week have an annual gross of $30,805, which produces about $26,400 in annual take-home after federal, state, and FICA taxes.

How does Colorado compare to neighboring states for take-home pay?

Colorado falls in the middle of the pack regionally. Wyoming has no state income tax, so a Coloradan moving there at the same salary keeps roughly 4.4% more of taxable income. Utah taxes income at a flat 4.65%, very close to Colorado. Arizona is significantly cheaper at a flat 2.5%. New Mexico and Kansas have progressive systems that can hit 5.9% and 5.58% at higher incomes, making them more expensive than Colorado for upper-bracket earners. Nebraska tops out at 5.84% on income above approximately $39,000.

Does Colorado tax 401(k) contributions and retirement income?

Pre-tax 401(k) and traditional IRA contributions are excluded from federal taxable income, and because Colorado uses federal taxable income as its starting point, those contributions also reduce Colorado state tax. A worker contributing 10% of a $60,000 salary saves about $264 per year in Colorado state tax alone, on top of federal savings. For retirees, Colorado offers a pension and annuity subtraction of up to $20,000 (age 55-64) or $24,000 (age 65 and over), which significantly reduces state tax on retirement income compared with states that fully tax pensions.

Are property taxes high in Colorado?

Colorado has historically had some of the lowest effective property tax rates in the country, averaging around 0.51% of assessed value, thanks to constitutional limits and the now-repealed Gallagher Amendment. However, rapidly rising home values in Denver, Boulder, and the Front Range corridor have pushed many homeowners into much higher absolute tax bills. The state legislature passed temporary residential assessment rate reductions in 2023 and 2024 to mitigate the surge. Property taxes do not affect paycheck withholding but should be considered when evaluating total cost of living against states like Texas (which has no income tax but property taxes near 1.8%).

Colorado Paycheck Calculator (Hourly) — Free Take-Home Pay Estimator

How the Colorado Paycheck Calculator Works

This Colorado paycheck calculator hourly tool estimates your take-home pay by subtracting federal income tax, Colorado's flat 4.4% state income tax, and FICA (Social Security plus Medicare) from your gross earnings. Because Colorado uses the federal taxable income figure as its starting point, the same pre-tax deductions and standard deduction reduce both federal and state liability simultaneously.

The core formula:

Take-Home = Gross - Federal Tax - CO State Tax - Social Security - Medicare

P_{net} = P_{gross} - T_{fed} - T_{CO} - T_{SS} - T_{Med}

Annual gross pay is calculated as: hourly wage x hours per week x 52 weeks. To convert that hourly rate to an annual salary figure, simply multiply hourly wage by 2,080. The per-period amount divides your annual figure by the number of pay periods in the year (52 for weekly, 26 for biweekly, 24 for semi-monthly, 12 for monthly).

Federal income tax uses the 2026 progressive bracket system. For single filers, the first $11,925 of taxable income is taxed at 10%, $11,926 to $48,475 at 12%, $48,476 to $103,350 at 22%, then 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37% on the highest tier above $626,350. The standard deduction is $15,000 single, $30,000 married, $22,500 head of household. Colorado state tax is then applied at the flat 4.4% rate to that same federal taxable income figure, meaning Colorado does not require a separate state-only deduction calculation.

FICA is split into two pieces. Social Security tax is 6.2% on all wages up to the 2026 wage base of $176,100. Medicare tax is 1.45% on all wages with no cap, plus an additional 0.9% Medicare surtax on wages above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly).

Colorado Hourly Paycheck Tax Breakdown

Colorado is one of 13 states that uses a flat income tax rate, currently set at 4.4% after Proposition 121 reduced it from 4.55% in 2022. The flat structure means a worker earning $25,000 pays the same marginal rate as one earning $250,000, in contrast to progressive states where higher incomes face steeper marginal rates. Colorado's flat rate is applied to federal taxable income, which means it benefits from the relatively generous federal standard deduction rather than a small state-specific deduction. This produces a meaningfully lower effective state rate for lower- and middle-income earners than the headline 4.4% suggests, because the first $15,000 (single) or $30,000 (married) of wages is shielded by the federal standard deduction before the state rate is applied.

Regional comparison shows Colorado is moderate. Wyoming has no state income tax at all, giving Wyoming workers a roughly 4.4% advantage on every taxable dollar. Utah uses a flat 4.65%, just slightly above Colorado, so take-home pay is very similar between the two states. New Mexico operates a progressive system from 1.7% to 5.9%, expensive for high earners but cheaper for those under about $16,000 of taxable income. Kansas runs from 5.2% to 5.58% across two brackets, meaningfully higher than Colorado at every income level. Nebraska's progressive system tops at 5.84%, while Oklahoma reaches 4.75% and Arizona's flat 2.5% is the regional bargain.

Colorado also features TABOR refunds in surplus revenue years. When state revenue exceeds the TABOR cap (tied to population growth plus inflation), the surplus is refunded to taxpayers via temporary rate cuts, the sales tax refund mechanism, or property tax credits. In recent surplus years, refunds have ranged from approximately $750 to $1,600 per filer. These refunds arrive at tax filing time, so they do not change paycheck withholding but they do reduce your effective annual state tax burden.

Your Colorado paycheck deductions come from four sources:

Federal income tax: Calculated using progressive IRS brackets. Use our income tax calculator to model your full-year liability.
Colorado state income tax: Flat 4.4% applied to federal taxable income (gross minus pre-tax deductions minus the federal standard deduction).
Social Security: Flat 6.2% on wages up to the 2026 wage base of $176,100.
Medicare: Flat 1.45% on all wages, plus a 0.9% surtax on wages above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married).

Variable Definitions

Hourly Wage: Your gross pay per hour before any deductions. Colorado occupations span a wide range: a Denver ski resort lift operator might earn $19 to $22 per hour, while a Boulder software engineer at one of the city's tech firms could earn $60 to $90 per hour. A registered nurse at Denver Health typically earns $40 to $50 per hour, and a Colorado Springs aerospace engineer at one of the city's defense contractors might earn $55 to $75 per hour. Each of these workers faces the same flat 4.4% Colorado state rate but very different federal brackets.

Hours per Week: Total hours worked each week. Colorado wage and hour rules require overtime pay for hours above 40 per week, above 12 per day, or above 12 consecutive hours. A construction worker on a Vail luxury home project averaging 50 hours per week should split the calculation into 40 base hours plus 10 overtime hours at 1.5x. Enter only your base hours here.

Pay Frequency: How often you receive a paycheck. Weekly means 52 paychecks per year, biweekly means 26 (the most common in Colorado), semi-monthly means 24, and monthly means 12. A Denver teacher earning $54,000 annually has the same total but receives roughly $2,077 gross per biweekly check or $4,500 gross per monthly check.

Filing Status: Your federal tax filing status, which determines your federal standard deduction and bracket thresholds. Colorado uses the federal taxable income figure, so filing status indirectly affects state tax too. A married couple in Fort Collins filing jointly with $60,000 of combined income owes Colorado tax on $30,000 (after the $30,000 standard deduction), totaling $1,320. The same couple filing separately as two singles each earning $30,000 owes Colorado tax on $15,000 each, totaling $1,320 — but loses other married filing benefits.

Pre-Tax Deduction: The percentage you contribute to a 401(k), 403(b), HSA, or traditional IRA. A Greeley meatpacking worker earning $50,000 who contributes 8% to a 401(k) reduces taxable income by $4,000, saving $176 in Colorado state tax and roughly $480 in federal tax for a total $656 reduction in annual tax owed.

Worked Example 1: Colorado Hourly Paycheck at $22/Hour

A single filer earning $22/hour, working 40 hours/week, biweekly pay, with a 5% pre-tax 401(k) contribution:

Annual gross: $22 x 40 x 52 = $45,760
Pre-tax 401(k): $45,760 x 5% = $2,288
Taxable gross: $45,760 - $2,288 = $43,472
Federal taxable income: $43,472 - $15,000 = $28,472
Federal tax: ($11,925 x 10%) + ($16,547 x 12%) = $1,192.50 + $1,985.64 = $3,178.14
Colorado state tax: $28,472 x 4.4% = $1,252.77
Social Security: $43,472 x 6.2% = $2,695.26
Medicare: $43,472 x 1.45% = $630.34
Total deductions: $2,288 + $3,178.14 + $1,252.77 + $2,695.26 + $630.34 = $10,044.51
Annual take-home: $45,760 - $10,044.51 = $35,715.49
Biweekly take-home: $35,715.49 / 26 = $1,373.67

Worked Example 2: Colorado Hourly Paycheck at $48/Hour

A married-filing-jointly Boulder software engineer earning $48/hour, working 40 hours/week, biweekly pay, with a 10% pre-tax 401(k) contribution:

Annual gross: $48 x 40 x 52 = $99,840
Pre-tax 401(k): $99,840 x 10% = $9,984
Taxable gross: $99,840 - $9,984 = $89,856
Federal taxable income: $89,856 - $30,000 (married std ded) = $59,856
Federal tax: ($23,850 x 10%) + ($36,006 x 12%) = $2,385.00 + $4,320.72 = $6,705.72
Colorado state tax: $59,856 x 4.4% = $2,633.66
Social Security: $89,856 x 6.2% = $5,571.07
Medicare: $89,856 x 1.45% = $1,302.91
Total deductions: $9,984 + $6,705.72 + $2,633.66 + $5,571.07 + $1,302.91 = $26,197.36
Annual take-home: $99,840 - $26,197.36 = $73,642.64
Biweekly take-home: $73,642.64 / 26 = $2,832.41

This married couple effectively pays a combined federal and Colorado state tax rate of about 9.4% on their gross pay, leaving 73.8% of gross as take-home after FICA. The 10% 401(k) contribution adds another $9,984 to retirement savings while reducing the current tax bill by approximately $1,640 in federal tax and $440 in Colorado tax — a $2,080 immediate tax benefit on top of the long-term retirement growth.

Edge Cases and Advanced Scenarios

Social Security wage base cap: If you earn above $176,100 annually, Social Security tax stops applying to wages above that threshold. A Denver radiologist earning $400,000 pays Social Security of only $176,100 x 6.2% = $10,918.20 rather than $400,000 x 6.2%. The cap resets every January 1, so the high earner begins paying Social Security again on their first paycheck of the new year and hits the cap partway through the year.

Additional Medicare surtax for high earners: Single filers owe an additional 0.9% Medicare tax on wages above $200,000 ($250,000 married). A Colorado oncologist earning $260,000 single owes ($260,000 - $200,000) x 0.9% = $540 in additional Medicare tax on top of the regular 1.45%. Employers begin withholding the surtax once year-to-date wages cross the threshold.

Colorado TABOR refund timing: In TABOR surplus years, Colorado returns money via a sales tax refund credit, a temporary income tax rate reduction, or property tax credits. For paycheck withholding purposes, your employer applies the statutory 4.4% rate regardless. Any refund arrives only when you file your state return and is reported as state income tax refund the following year, which may itself be partially taxable on your federal return if you itemized state taxes the prior year. Workers should not adjust their W-4 or DR 0004 (Colorado withholding form) to anticipate TABOR refunds because the amount is unknown until the state closes its fiscal year.

What to Do with Your Colorado Paycheck Result

Compare your calculated take-home pay to your actual paycheck stub. Differences usually come from health insurance premiums, HSA contributions, dental, vision, or other voluntary withholdings that are not captured in this calculator.
Use the annual take-home figure to set a monthly budget. Divide by 12 for a monthly spending target that already accounts for federal, Colorado state, and FICA taxes.
Consider increasing your 401(k) contribution. Every pre-tax dollar saves 4.4% in Colorado tax plus your federal marginal rate, often producing 22% to 28% in combined tax savings for middle-income earners.
Use our federal income tax percentage calculator to check your effective federal rate and confirm that withholding is aligned with your actual tax liability.

Related Calculators

Idaho Paycheck Calculator (Hourly) — Idaho's flat 5.695% rate is meaningfully higher than Colorado's 4.4%.
Arizona Paycheck Calculator (Hourly) — Arizona's flat 2.5% is the regional low-tax option.
Kansas Paycheck Calculator (Hourly) — Kansas progressive rates of 5.2% to 5.58% are higher than Colorado.
Salary Calculator — convert between hourly and annual pay.
Income Tax Calculator — estimate your total federal income tax liability.
Federal Income Tax Percentage Calculator — find your effective federal tax rate.
Paycheck Calculator by State — compare take-home pay across all 50 states and DC.

Colorado Paycheck Calculator (Hourly)