Colorado Paycheck Calculator - CO Take-Home Pay Estimate
Enter your gross pay, pay frequency, filing status, and deductions into the colorado paycheck calculator to see net pay after the flat 4.40% state income tax, the FAMLI premium, FICA, and federal withholding.
Colorado Paycheck Calculator
Results
What Is the Colorado Paycheck Calculator?
The Colorado paycheck calculator estimates the take-home pay on a Colorado pay stub after the flat 4.40% state income tax, the FAMLI premium, FICA, and federal withholding. Colorado uses a single flat individual income tax rate rather than brackets, and it layers the Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) premium on top of the usual federal payroll taxes, so the state portion of your stub is a little different from most other states. This calculator annualizes one pay period, applies the right rates, then breaks the result back down so the number matches what your employer actually withholds.
- • New Colorado job offer: Convert a gross salary offer into the net amount that reaches your bank account after Colorado's flat rate and the FAMLI premium.
- • Changing deductions: See how raising a 401(k) contribution changes Colorado net pay by lowering the taxable base for both state tax and FICA.
- • Side-by-side pay frequencies: Check whether weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly pay changes your per-period Colorado withholding.
Colorado does not have local city or county income taxes, so the only state lines on your stub are the 4.40% income tax and the FAMLI premium from your DR 0004 election. That keeps the state calculation to two lines even though FAMLI adds a payroll premium that many states do not have.
The calculator works for any pay frequency and shows a full breakdown: gross pay, pre-tax deductions, Colorado state tax, FAMLI premium, FICA, federal withholding, post-tax deductions, and net pay. Running the Colorado paycheck calculator before you accept a role shows the real number behind a gross salary figure, and running it again after you adjust a deduction shows exactly how much of that change reaches your bank account.
If gross pay is all you know from an offer letter, converting it to a period amount first makes the withholding math easier to follow.
If you mainly want to convert a salary to a period amount first, the wage to salary calculator handles that conversion step.
How the Colorado Paycheck Calculator Works
The tool annualizes your per-period pay, applies each tax to the right base, then divides back to the pay period so the result matches a real stub.
- Taxable pay: Gross pay minus pre-tax deductions; this is the amount Colorado state tax, FAMLI, and FICA apply to.
- Colorado state tax: Taxable pay multiplied by your DR 0004 withholding percentage (default 4.40%, Colorado's flat rate).
- FAMLI premium: The employee share of the 0.9% Colorado Family and Medical Leave Insurance premium, 0.45% of taxable pay up to the wage base.
- FICA: Social Security at 6.2% up to the annual wage base, plus Medicare at 1.45% and an extra 0.9% above the filing-status threshold.
Social Security stops once annualized taxable pay passes the wage base, and the FAMLI premium stops at the same wage base, but Medicare, the Additional Medicare Tax, and the flat Colorado rate continue across the year. The calculator annualizes first so a high weekly check is handled the same way your employer's year-to-date tracking would, rather than underestimating Social Security the way a naive per-period calc would.
Because Colorado tax is a flat percentage of taxable pay, every pre-tax dollar removes both FICA and Colorado tax from that dollar.
Biweekly $2,000, single, no deductions
Gross $2,000, biweekly, single, pre-tax $0, CO 4.40%, FAMLI 0.45%, federal $200.
Colorado: $2,000 x 4.40% = $88. FAMLI: $2,000 x 0.45% = $9. FICA: $2,000 x 7.65% = $153. Federal: $200.
Net pay = $2,000 - $88 - $9 - $153 - $200 = $1,550.
About 22.5% of the check goes to taxes and withholding, and the Colorado line is the second-largest piece after federal.
According to Colorado Department of Revenue, Colorado imposes a single flat 4.40% individual income tax rate and uses Form DR 0004 for employee withholding.
The gross to net calculator shows the same FICA-and-tax logic without the Colorado-specific state and FAMLI lines.
Key Concepts Explained
A few Colorado-specific terms decide most of the difference between gross and net on a Colorado stub.
Colorado Form DR 0004
Colorado's withholding certificate sets the state income tax percentage taken from each check. The default is the 4.40% flat rate, but you can elect a different percentage.
Flat 4.40% state rate
Colorado applies one 4.40% individual income tax rate to taxable income, so there are no state brackets to look up for withholding.
FAMLI premium
The 0.9% Family and Medical Leave Insurance premium is split 50/50; employees pay a 0.45% share of wages up to the wage base, funding paid family and medical leave.
Pre-tax vs post-tax deductions
Pre-tax deductions lower the base for FICA, Colorado tax, and FAMLI; post-tax deductions such as Roth contributions come out after those taxes are computed.
Colorado has no state disability insurance separate from FAMLI, so the only state payroll lines are the 4.40% income tax and the 0.45% FAMLI premium.
Because the state rate is flat, it stays easy to read as gross pay changes through the year, which is why a per-period Colorado estimate is useful for budgeting rather than only at tax time.
The Arizona paycheck calculator shows another flat-rate state where the state line is a single percentage with no FAMLI premium.
How to Use This Calculator
You only need the numbers already printed on a recent Colorado pay stub.
- 1 Pick your pay frequency: Select weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly so the annualization matches your schedule.
- 2 Enter gross pay: Type the per-period gross wages from the stub before any deductions.
- 3 Add deductions: Enter pre-tax amounts like a 401(k) and any post-tax deductions you have.
- 4 Set Colorado and federal withholding: Use your DR 0004 percentage (default 4.40%) and the federal amount withheld shown on the stub.
A biweekly worker earning $2,000 with $200 federal withholding and the default 4.40% Colorado rate sees about $1,550 deposited, with the Colorado line $88 and the FAMLI premium $9.
The overtime paycheck calculator covers overtime periods, which shift the per-period federal withholding you enter here.
Benefits of Using This Calculator
A per-period estimate helps with everyday money decisions, not just tax season.
- • Realistic budgeting: Knowing net pay lets you build a budget on the amount that actually arrives, not the gross figure.
- • Deduction trade-offs: You can see how a bigger 401(k) contribution lowers both FICA and Colorado tax at the same time.
- • DR 0004 sanity check: Comparing the 4.40% default against your elected percentage shows whether you are over- or under-withholding state tax.
If you are deciding between job offers, remember that employer-side payroll taxes do not show on your stub but still affect your total compensation package.
Because the Colorado rate is flat, the state line stays easy to read even as your gross pay changes. Pairing this with a salary review shows how a raise flows through to take-home pay after Colorado's flat rate and the FAMLI premium.
If you ever need to back a net figure into a required gross offer, the net to gross calculator runs the same taxes in reverse.
Factors That Affect Your Results
Three inputs move the answer the most.
Pre-tax deductions
The largest lever: each pre-tax dollar cuts the base for FICA, Colorado tax, and FAMLI, raising net pay more than the deduction alone.
Filing status
Sets the Additional Medicare Tax threshold, so married filing separately can add the 0.9% Medicare surtax at a much lower income.
DR 0004 withholding percentage
Colorado tax scales directly with this percentage; electing 0% removes state withholding entirely, which may cause a year-end balance due.
- • Local income taxes do not apply in Colorado, so there is no city line to add; the estimate stays to the two state payroll lines.
- • The estimate uses the current 4.40% Colorado rate, the 0.45% FAMLI employee premium, and 2026 FICA figures; rate or wage-base changes require updating those inputs, and exact per-period state tax may differ from the DR 0004 method because this tool applies the flat rate to taxable pay.
Year-end true-up still happens through your state and federal returns; this calculator projects the per-period stub, not the final refund or bill. Treat small differences from your real stub as a sign to recheck a deduction or withholding entry rather than a flaw in the estimate.
According to IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employee Social Security tax is 6.2% up to the annual wage base and Medicare is 1.45% with a 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax above filing-status thresholds.
According to Colorado FAMLI Division, the 0.9% Family and Medical Leave Insurance premium is split evenly between employer and employee, so employees pay 0.45% of wages up to the wage base.
Federal income tax is entered from your W-4 rather than computed from brackets, so very large or unusual federal figures should be checked with the federal income tax calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Colorado's state income tax rate for paychecks?
A: Colorado uses a single flat individual income tax rate of 4.40%. On a paycheck, that rate applies to your taxable pay (gross pay minus pre-tax deductions) using the percentage you elected on Form DR 0004, which defaults to 4.40%. Because the rate is flat, you can predict your Colorado line from almost any gross pay without looking up a bracket, and changing the DR 0004 percentage moves the whole state line proportionally.
Q: Does Colorado have a state disability insurance (SDI) tax?
A: No. Colorado does not have a traditional state disability insurance payroll tax like a few other states do. Instead, Colorado funds paid family and medical leave through the FAMLI premium, which is a separate 0.9% payroll premium split between employer and employee. The FAMLI line is the closest equivalent to an SDI line, but it is a distinct program with its own rate and wage-base cap.
Q: What is the Colorado FAMLI premium and how much comes out of my paycheck?
A: FAMLI is the Family and Medical Leave Insurance program. The total premium is 0.9% of wages, split 50/50, so the employee share is 0.45% taken from your pay up to the wage base (the same cap as Social Security). On a $2,000 biweekly check with no deductions, that is about $9 per period. The premium funds paid family and medical leave benefits and stops once year-to-date wages pass the wage base.
Q: How does the Colorado DR 0004 withholding form work?
A: Form DR 0004 is Colorado's state withholding certificate. You enter a percentage of taxable pay to withhold for state income tax, and the default reflects the flat 4.40% rate. Your employer uses that percentage to size each Colorado income tax deduction. Entering your situation into this calculator approximates the DR 0004 method; if your real stub differs, recheck your DR 0004 percentage.
Q: Does Colorado have local or city income taxes taken from paychecks?
A: No. Colorado cities and counties do not levy a local income tax on wages, so the only state lines on your stub are the 4.40% income tax and the FAMLI premium from your DR 0004 election. That keeps the state calculation to two lines even though FAMLI adds a premium that many states do not have.
Q: How do pre-tax deductions like a 401(k) change my Colorado net pay?
A: Pre-tax deductions lower the base that Colorado state tax, FAMLI, and FICA apply to. Because Colorado tax is a flat percentage of taxable pay, each pre-tax dollar saves both the flat 4.40% state rate and the FAMLI premium and FICA on that same dollar, so net pay rises by more than the deduction amount alone. Post-tax deductions such as Roth contributions come out after those taxes are computed and do not lower the taxable base.