Workers' comp · CO
Colorado workers' comp calculator
Colorado counts the waiting period in missed shifts and caps the total of temporary and partial benefits in dollars rather than weeks.
Rules read on official Colorado pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Benefit rate
- 66.67%
- Gross average weekly wage before taxes
- Weekly maximum
- $1,464.12
- from July 1, 2026
- Weekly minimum
- none
- no statutory floor
- Waiting period
- 3 days
- paid back past 14 days
Colorado pays temporary total disability at 66.67% of the average weekly wage, every two weeks, up to $1,464.12 a week for injuries on or after July 1, 2026 (C.R.S. § 8-42-105). That figure is 91% of the state average weekly wage set by the Division of Workers' Compensation in its 2026-2027 Maximum Benefits Order, and it is reached at a weekly wage of $2,196.18. There is no general minimum. Benefits begin once the worker has missed three shifts, and those shifts are reimbursed if the absence exceeds two weeks. A lift mechanic earning $1,250 a week receives $833 a week. TTD has no week limit, but temporary and permanent partial benefits together stop at $202,297.46 when whole-person impairment is 19% or less, and at $328,049.94 from 20%. Benefits can be cut by half for a safety-rule violation or a positive drug test.
Weekly temporary total disability benefit in Colorado
$733
$3,178 a month · 66.67% of the wage, tax-free
| 66.67% of $1,100 | $733 |
| Weekly maximum / minimum | $1,464.12 / none |
| Days paid / unpaid waiting days | 30 / 0 |
| Total for the time off | $3,143 |
Estimate of wage-loss benefits for a total disability, from the Division of Workers' Compensation (DOWC), Colorado Department of Labor and Employment rates. Medical care is paid separately; partial disability, permanent impairment ratings and settlements follow other rules. How this is calculated.
Dollar caps instead of a week limit
Colorado lets TTD run until the worker returns to work, is released, misses a rescheduled appointment knowingly, or reaches maximum medical improvement. What ends a long claim is the combined cap in C.R.S. § 8-42-107.5, a dollar ceiling on TTD plus permanent partial benefits, raised each July with the state wage. Under the 2026-2027 Maximum Benefits Order it is $202,297.46 for whole-person impairment of 19% or less and $328,049.94 for 20% or more. A worker paid at the maximum would exhaust the lower cap after roughly 138 weeks of TTD alone. Medical benefits are outside these caps.
The order is reissued every July 1 at 12:01 a.m. An injury in May 2026 belongs to the previous order, so two coworkers hurt eight weeks apart can have different ceilings.
Three shifts, not three days
The DOWC benefits page says respondents pay no lost wages until three shifts have been missed, and that this waiting period is reimbursed if the worker misses more than two weeks. The calculator approximates shifts with calendar days. A ski-resort lift mechanic at $1,250 a week, back after 12 days, receives $1,071; out 21 days, $2,500. The doctor, not the worker, takes someone off work: an employee who stops without the authorized physician's approval may not be paid for that time.
Where the 91% ceiling bites
An oil-field operator in Weld County averaging $2,600 a week computes to $1,733 but is paid $1,464.12. Because Colorado has no floor for TTD, a low wage gives a proportionally low benefit; the only floor in the order, $150, applies to non-scheduled permanent impairment.
Scheduled or whole person
At maximum medical improvement the doctor sorts the impairment into one of two tracks. Losses to toes, feet, legs, fingers, hands, arms, eyes or hearing are scheduled and paid at a flat $459.45 a week for the statutory number of weeks. Spine, lung or mental-function impairment is non-scheduled and paid at the TTD rate, between $150 and $804.46 a week. Bodily disfigurement is compensated separately, up to $7,750.99, or $15,499.23 for extensive facial or body scars, burn scars or stumps (C.R.S. § 8-42-108).
The Colorado rules this calculator applies
| Rule | Colorado |
|---|---|
| Temporary total disability rate | 66.67% of gross average weekly wage before taxes |
| Weekly maximum | $1,464.12 |
| Weekly minimum | none |
| Applies to | injuries on or after July 1, 2026, 12:01 a.m. (2026-2027 Maximum Benefits Order; fiscal year July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027) |
| Waiting period | 3 days, paid back when the disability lasts more than 14 days |
| Limit on temporary total benefits | no fixed number of weeks |
Rate. Two-thirds of the average weekly wage, paid every two weeks (C.R.S. § 8-42-105); maximum is 91% of the state average weekly wage of $1,608.91 (C.R.S. § 8-47-106). source
Waiting period. Lost wage benefits are not paid until the worker has missed three shifts; this waiting period is reimbursed if the worker misses more than two weeks because of the injury (C.R.S. § 8-42-103(1)(a)). source
Duration. No fixed week cap: temporary benefits end on return to work, release to regular or modified work, or maximum medical improvement; combined TTD + PPD is capped at $202,297.46 (impairment 19% or less) or $328,049.94 (20% or more) (C.R.S. § 8-42-107.5). source
Permanent disability. At MMI the doctor rates impairment. Scheduled impairments (toes, feet, legs, fingers, hands, arms, eyes, hearing) are paid at a weekly rate of $459.45 for the scheduled weeks (C.R.S. § 8-42-107(2)); non-scheduled whole-person impairments are paid at the TTD rate but not less than $150.00 nor more than $804.46 per week (C.R.S. § 8-42-107(8)). source
Worth knowing in Colorado
- Colorado's maximum TTD rate is 91% of the state average weekly wage, reset each July 1 by the DOWC Director's Maximum Benefits Order. source
- Combined temporary and permanent partial disability benefits are capped at $202,297.46 for whole-person impairment of 19% or less and $328,049.94 for 20% or more (July 2026 order). source
- Non-medical benefits may be reduced by 50% if the worker violated a safety rule or tests positive for unauthorized drugs or alcohol. source
- Bodily disfigurement is compensated separately, up to $7,750.99, or $15,499.23 for extensive facial or body scars, burn scars or stumps (C.R.S. § 8-42-108). source
- Permanent total disability benefits may be terminated if the worker earns more than $9,474.74 per year. source