Child support · CO
Colorado child support calculator
Colorado rewrote its child support schedule and its parenting time rule; the new version applies from March 1, 2026.
Rules read on official Colorado pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Model
- Income shares
- Income counted
- Adjusted gross
- Shared parenting
- No fixed formula
- 1 child, $5,000 / $3,000
- $756
- a month, rules of March 1, 2026
Since March 1, 2026, Colorado credits a paying parent for every overnight with the children, not only past a threshold. A parent earning $5,000 a month in adjusted gross income, with a co-parent at $3,000 and two children, owes $1,130 a month with no overnights, $1,072 with 36 overnights, $892 at 92, and $231 at 182. Before HB 25-1159, the first 91 overnights changed nothing and overnight number 92 switched the case to a separate shared-care formula; that cliff is gone. The new schedule, enacted by the same act, runs from $50 to $40,000 of combined monthly income and is interpolated between its rows. A paying parent with $650 a month or less owes a minimum order of $10. The self-support reserve is now tied to the state minimum wage, a figure this calculator does not yet hold for 2026.
Guideline child support in Colorado, per month
$756
$9,068 a year
| Combined monthly adjusted gross income | $8,000 |
| Basic obligation in the Colorado schedule (interpolated), 1 child | $1,209 |
| Paying parent’s share of income | 62.5% |
| Low-income adjustment above $650 | not applied: the 2026 self-support reserve has no dollar figure in the data |
Estimate under the Colorado guideline as published, from the incomes you enter. Deviations, imputed income, other children and the judge's findings can change the order. How this is calculated.
From a cliff to a curve
Under the version of C.R.S. § 14-10-115 in force until the end of February 2026, a parent with 91 overnights a year was treated like a parent with none. HB 25-1159, signed in May 2025, replaced that with the parenting time table of subsection (8)(h): one percentage for each possible count of overnights, from 0 to 365, plus 50% for an exact half year. The percentages rise slowly at first (3.19% at 36 nights, 13.19% at 92) and quickly near equal time.
For the family above, 91 and 92 overnights now give almost the same order, $896 and $892. One more weekend no longer moves hundreds of dollars, which answers the cliff effect that the Child Support Commission's 2023 review described as a source of conflict between parents.
How the credit is applied here
Each parent's credit is the basic obligation multiplied by that parent's percentage, and it is subtracted from that parent's income share. The parent left with the larger amount pays the difference, and the result can never exceed what the same parent would owe with no overnights. Our calculator treats a share that the credit pushes below zero as zero before netting. The statute's text supports that reading, but Colorado's court worksheet was not available to us, so treat the shared figures as an estimate to check against the official worksheet.
| Overnights with the paying parent | Credit | Monthly support |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0% | $1,130 |
| 36 | 3.19% | $1,072 |
| 92 | 13.19% | $892 |
| 120 | 21.81% | $736 |
| 146 | 32.32% | $546 |
| 182 | 49.75% | $231 |
Low incomes: one rule applied, three waiting for a figure
The minimum order is applied: with $640 of monthly income, a parent owes $10 whatever the other parent earns. The other low-income rules hang on the new self-support reserve, defined as the state minimum wage times 29 hours a week times 50 weeks, divided by twelve. Between $650 and that reserve, the basic obligation drops to $50 for 1, $70 for 2, $90 for 3, $110 for 4, $130 for 5 and $150 for 6 children, with all add-ons capped at 10% of income. Just above the reserve, support is 80%, 85%, 89%, 92%, 94% and 95% of the income left over, by number of children, and a 20% cap applies up to full-time minimum wage earnings. The calculator does not apply these three until an official 2026 minimum wage figure is in its data, so for a parent earning near minimum wage the court's figure will usually be lower than the one shown.
At the other end, families above $40,000 start from the top row: $3,398 for one child at $60,000 of combined income, and the judge may set more. Colorado's spousal maintenance has its own formula, explained on the Colorado alimony page; New Mexico still uses a fixed shared-custody line.
The Colorado guideline this calculator applies
| Rule | Colorado |
|---|---|
| Model | Income shares, combined adjusted gross monthly income schedule with an overnight-by-overnight parenting time credit table (C.R.S. § 14-10-115, as reenacted by HB 25-1159, effective March 1, 2026) |
| Income counted | Adjusted gross income: gross income minus the deductions the guideline allows. |
| Official schedule | $50 to $40,000 of combined income a month, 800 rows |
| Shared parenting | No overnight formula in the calculator (see the rule below) |
| In force since | March 1, 2026 |
Monthly support for one paying parent, the other parent without income
| Paying parent’s monthly income | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children | 4 children |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | $401 | $611 | $739 | $825 |
| $3,000 | $582 | $886 | $1,071 | $1,196 |
| $4,000 | $762 | $1,161 | $1,403 | $1,567 |
| $5,000 | $934 | $1,404 | $1,685 | $1,882 |
| $6,000 | $1,060 | $1,599 | $1,916 | $2,140 |
| $8,000 | $1,209 | $1,808 | $2,147 | $2,398 |
| $10,000 | $1,350 | $2,001 | $2,352 | $2,628 |
| $12,500 | $1,576 | $2,341 | $2,758 | $3,081 |
| $15,000 | $1,767 | $2,597 | $3,026 | $3,380 |
| $20,000 | $2,152 | $3,136 | $3,622 | $4,046 |
How the amount is set. For a combined gross income that falls between amounts shown in the schedule, basic child support amounts must be interpolated (§ 14-10-115(7)(a)(II)). source
Income. Gross income from any source (salaries, wages including declared or imputed tips, commissions, contractor payments, bonuses, dividends, severance, pensions, etc., § 14-10-115(5)(a)(I)); excludes child support received, means-tested public assistance, income from additional jobs beyond 40 hours or full time, and Social Security benefits received by the children (§ 14-10-115(5)(a)(II)). Adjusted gross income = gross income minus preexisting child support obligations and alimony or maintenance actually paid (§ 14-10-115(3)(a)); non-deductible maintenance paid to a different party is deducted at 1.25 times the amount paid (§ 14-10-115(5)(a)(IV), as amended by HB 25-1159).
Above the table. Above the top of the schedule ($40,000 combined), the judge has discretion, but the presumptive basic obligation may not be less than the amount at the highest income in the schedule (§ 14-10-115(7)(a)(VII)).
Parenting time. Since March 1, 2026, shared parenting time is credited from the first overnight: each parent's parenting time credit = total basic child support obligation x that parent's credit percentage from the § 14-10-115(8)(h) table (e.g. 92 overnights = 13.19%, 146 = 32.32%, 182.5 = 50.00%). The credit is deducted from that parent's income share of the basic obligation; add-ons are then shared by income; the parent owing the greater amount owes the difference. Support may never exceed what the same parent would owe with no overnights. With several children on different schedules, average the overnights (§ 14-10-115(8)(b)). The former 1.5 multiplier and 92-overnight threshold were deleted by HB 25-1159.
Child care and health care. added to basic obligation and shared by income added to basic obligation and shared by income Education- and work-related net child care costs, health insurance, extraordinary medical expenses and extraordinary adjustments (special schooling, transportation between homes) are added and shared in proportion to adjusted gross income (§ 14-10-115(8)(a), (9), (10), (11)(a)-(b)).
Low incomes. Self-support reserve (SSR) = state hourly minimum wage x 29 hours x 50 weeks / 12 (§ 14-10-115(3)(g.5)). Obligor AGI <= $650: $10 minimum order, unless shared parenting time already makes the total obligation lower (§ (7)(a)(III)(A)). Obligor AGI above $650 and up to the SSR: basic obligation reduced to $50, $70, $90, $110, $130, $150 for 1 to 6+ children, and the total with add-ons is capped at 10% of the obligor's AGI (§ (7)(a)(III)(B)-(C)). Obligor AGI above the SSR: basic obligation = 80%, 85%, 89%, 92%, 94%, 95% (1 to 6+ children) of (AGI - SSR), but not less than the reduced low-income amount and not more than the schedule amount (§ (7)(a)(V)). Obligor AGI above the SSR and up to full-time minimum wage (x 40 x 52 / 12): final obligation capped at 20% of AGI (§ (7)(a)(IV)).
When support ends. For orders entered on or after July 1, 1997, support ends automatically when the last child turns 19, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing, the child is disabled, or the child is still in high school (support continues to the end of the month after graduation, but not beyond 21); marriage or active military duty emancipates the child (§ 14-10-115(13)(a)). source
The state also runs its own official child support calculator; use it, or the court's worksheet, for a filing.
Worth knowing in Colorado
- HB 25-1159 (signed May 31, 2025) replaced the schedule, raised its top from $30,000 to $40,000 of combined monthly income and replaced the 92-overnight shared-care threshold with a credit for every overnight; these parts took effect March 1, 2026. source
- Colorado's self-support reserve is tied to the state minimum wage: minimum wage x 29 hours x 50 weeks / 12 months (§ 14-10-115(3)(g.5)). source
- Child support normally ends when the youngest child turns 19, later than the age 18 used in most states (§ 14-10-115(13)). source
- A child support commission must review the guidelines and schedule at least every four years and report to the governor and General Assembly (§ 14-10-115(16)). source
- Interest on arrears and support debt owed on or after July 1, 2021 is the statutory rate plus 2% a year, compounded annually (C.R.S. § 14-14-106, HB 21-1220). source