COLORADO SUPPORT GUIDELINE
Colorado child support calculator & worksheet
Colorado Revised Statutes section 14-10-115 uses an income-shares schedule keyed to combined adjusted gross income, then divides the basic obligation by each parent’s income share.
Current module status
| State | Colorado |
|---|---|
| Status | Active base worksheet module |
| Guideline model | colorado income shares 2026 |
| Primary income field | Combined monthly adjusted gross income |
How Colorado child support law works
Legal starting point. Colorado Revised Statutes section 14-10-115 uses an income-shares framework. The statute’s schedule estimates the basic cost of supporting children at the parents’ combined adjusted gross income, while the court keeps authority over adjustments and deviations. Read Colorado Revised Statutes § 14-10-115; HB25-1159.
How the guideline is calculated
The basic obligation is selected from the schedule and divided according to each parent’s adjusted-income percentage. Parenting overnights, split care, insurance, child care, extraordinary expenses, low-income rules, and maintenance sequencing require the complete Colorado worksheet.
What this site’s worksheet covers
Uses Colorado HB25-1159 amendments to C.R.S. § 14-10-115 effective March 1, 2026, including the updated Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations through $40,000 combined monthly adjusted gross income. The basic child support obligation is divided between parents in proportion to each parent’s adjusted gross income, and between-row schedule amounts are interpolated. This module includes the March 1, 2026 low-income treatment for obligors at or below $650, at or below the self-support reserve, and above the reserve up to the statutory comparison/cap points. Shared overnight parenting-time credit, split physical care, child care, health insurance, extraordinary medical expenses, extraordinary adjustments, income determination, deviations and maintenance sequencing require the full Colorado worksheet/calculator.
Documents that make the worksheet more useful
Colorado Worksheet A or B, including overnights and statutory adjustments. Gather the records that support the income, parenting-time, insurance, child-care, and other adjustment entries that apply to the family. All 800 basic schedule rows and the reduced low-income ten-percent cap were checked against the signed act. When both parents have overnights, the March 2026 overnight credit is completed on the official worksheet, and the calculator here points to it instead of showing an amount. Spousal-support deductions from outside this case also go on the official worksheet.
For a filing or agreement, complete the official court forms linked on this page. They use the same guideline structure explained here, and the court applies it to the facts of the case.
Before you enter your numbers
Can I reuse an older Colorado overnight worksheet?
Check its effective version first. HB25-1159 changes the parenting-time calculation for the 2026 guideline, including credit beginning below the old shared-care threshold. An older worksheet and a current worksheet can therefore disagree even with identical income and overnight entries.
Prepare this: Write down the date of the calculation, the worksheet version, and each parent's annual overnights. Use the current judicial forms for the proceeding rather than editing an old saved result.
Read the relevant official instructions: Colorado Revised Statutes § 14-10-115; HB25-1159.
These preparation notes explain one part of the state guideline. A new estimate does not change an existing order; a modification request does.
How Colorado cases actually get to a number
Colorado’s 2026 schedule (after HB25-1159 updates) is a combined-income lookup. Maintenance sequencing, overnight credits, and extraordinary expenses are later worksheet lines. Using last year’s table with this year’s income definitions will not match the court worksheet.
Colorado Revised Statutes section 14-10-115 uses an income-shares schedule keyed to combined adjusted gross income, then divides the basic obligation by each parent’s income share. That is a different path from neighboring states that use another model, so do not import a table, percentage, or overnight credit from somewhere else.
Parenting time in Colorado
Overnights adjust the paying parent’s share after the basic obligation is identified. Split care and remaining-parenting-time calculations are not the same as a simple overnight credit. Count overnights the way the current Colorado worksheet defines them.
Costs Colorado usually treats separately
- Work-related child care
- Children’s health insurance
- Extraordinary medical expenses
- Other extraordinary expenses the statute allows
When Colorado courts leave the guideline
The schedule is presumptive. High income, a child’s own resources, and travel to exercise parenting time are common deviation facts. Low-income adjustments are statutory, not informal discounts.
Official Colorado forms to keep beside this guide
Colorado Worksheet A or B, including overnights and statutory adjustments. All 800 basic schedule rows and the reduced low-income ten-percent cap were checked against the signed act. When both parents have overnights, the March 2026 overnight credit is completed on the official worksheet, and the calculator here points to it instead of showing an amount. Spousal-support deductions from outside this case also go on the official worksheet. The primary authority is the published Colorado source. Fill the official form from source documents. Use this page only to check that you chose the right Colorado path—primary versus shared, table versus percentage, add-ons versus basic support.
Where this is typically filed
District Court domestic-relations dockets and Child Support Services both use the current worksheet. Bring pay records that match the adjusted-gross-income definition, not only W-2 box 1.
Questions specific to Colorado
Does Colorado use net or gross income?
The schedule is built on combined adjusted gross income as the statute defines it. Net paystubs are supporting evidence, not the lookup figure.
Is there a self-support reserve?
Low-income treatment is part of the current guideline. Apply the statutory low-income rules rather than inventing a floor.
Do overnights change the table cell?
They change allocation and credits after the basic obligation is selected, not the first schedule lookup itself.
Run the calculator
Open the free support calculator, select Colorado, complete the state worksheet, and print or export the output for review.