Introduction
The Colorado Paycheck Calculator shows you how much money you really take home each payday. You enter your pay, and it does the math for taxes and deductions.
Your paycheck is smaller than your gross pay. Federal income tax, Colorado's flat 4.40% state tax, Social Security, and Medicare all come out first. Colorado also takes a small FAMLI amount for paid family leave. If you work in cities like Denver, Aurora, or Glendale, a small local tax may come out too.
This tool works for both salary and hourly jobs. You can add overtime hours, pick your pay schedule, and enter things like health insurance, 401(k), HSA, or FSA. It also handles your filing status, kids, and other dependents.
You get your net pay per hour, week, month, and year. A chart and a full breakdown show where every dollar goes. Step-by-step math explains each number, so you can see how it all adds up. Use it to plan a budget, check a job offer, or see what a raise would really be worth.
How to use our Colorado Paycheck Calculator
Enter your pay, your tax filing details, and any deductions. The Colorado paycheck calculator shows your take-home pay per paycheck, week, month, and year, plus a full breakdown of federal, Colorado, FICA, and local taxes.
Salary or Hourly tab: Pick "Salary" if you earn a set yearly amount. Pick "Hourly" if you are paid by the hour.
Annual Salary: Type your yearly pay before taxes. You can also drag the salary slider to set it fast.
Hours Per Week: Drag the slider to how many hours you work each week. This sets your hourly rate and your per-hour take-home pay.
Hourly Wage: Type what you earn per hour before taxes.
Regular Hours Per Pay Period: Type the normal hours you work in one paycheck period. For a 40-hour week paid every two weeks, enter 80.
Overtime: Click the Overtime button to add your overtime rate and overtime hours per pay period. The rate starts at 1.5 times your wage.
Quick-Fill Colorado Job Roles: Click a job button to fill in the average hourly wage for that role in Colorado.
Pay Frequency: Choose how often you get paid, such as weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly.
Federal Filing Status: Pick the status on your W-4: Single, Married Filing Separately, Married Filing Jointly, or Head of Household.
Qualifying Children Under 17: Enter how many kids under 17 you claim. Each one cuts your federal tax by $2,200 a year.
Other Dependents: Enter other people you claim. Each one cuts your federal tax by $500 a year.
Marital Status (State Withholding): Choose Single or Married. This sets your Colorado standard withholding allowance.
DR 0004 Colorado State Withholding: Leave this on Standard to use Colorado's flat 4.40% rate with the standard allowance.
Local Jurisdiction: Pick your city if it charges an occupational privilege tax, like Denver or Aurora. Choose None if yours does not.
Federal Allowances: Enter allowances from an older W-4 form. Each one lowers your yearly federal taxable wages by $4,300.
State Allowances: Enter your Colorado allowances. Each one lowers your yearly state taxable wages by $4,000.
Additional State Allowances: Add any extra Colorado allowances. Each one is also worth $4,000 a year.
Additional Federal Withholding: Enter extra federal tax you want taken out of each paycheck.
Additional State Withholding: Enter extra Colorado tax you want taken out of each paycheck.
Additional Local Withholding: Enter extra local tax you want taken out of each paycheck.
Pre-Tax Deductions: Fill in health, dental, vision, 401(k), FSA, HSA, and other items taken out before taxes. For each row, choose a fixed dollar amount or a percent of gross pay.
401(k) Quick Slider: Drag it to set your 401(k) as a percent of your gross pay.
Post-Tax Deductions: Click "Add Deduction" to add items taken out after taxes, like a Roth 401(k) or union dues. Name it, then pick a dollar amount or a percent.
Tax Exemptions: Choose Yes if you are exempt from any tax, then flip the switch for federal, Colorado, local, Social Security, Medicare, or Colorado insurance taxes.
Calculate and Reset: Click Calculate to see your net pay, charts, "what if" scenarios, and step-by-step math. Click Reset to start over.
Understanding Your Colorado Paycheck
Your paycheck has two numbers that matter. Gross pay is what you earn before anything is taken out. Net pay, or take-home pay, is the money that actually lands in your bank account. The gap between them comes from taxes and deductions.
What Comes Out of a Colorado Paycheck
- Federal income tax is based on your W-4: filing status, dependents, and any extra amount you ask your employer to hold back. Rates step up from 10% to 37% as income grows.
- Social Security is 6.2% of your wages, up to a yearly wage cap.
- Medicare is 1.45% of all wages. High earners pay an extra 0.9% on pay above $200,000.
- Colorado state income tax: Colorado uses one flat 4.40% rate for everyone, no matter how much you make. There are no state tax brackets here.
- Colorado FAMLI is the 0.44% employee share for the state's paid family and medical leave program.
- Local occupational privilege tax (OPT): a few Colorado cities charge a small flat monthly fee. Denver takes $5.75 a month from workers. Aurora, Glendale, Greenwood Village, Sheridan, and Glenwood Springs charge $2 to $5 a month.
Colorado Form DR 0004
Colorado has its own withholding form, the DR 0004. You do not have to file it. If you skip it, your employer uses a standard allowance ($10,000 single, $20,000 married) and then applies the 4.40% rate. Filing it lets you fine-tune your state withholding so you don't owe a big bill or overpay all year.
Pre-Tax vs. Post-Tax Deductions
Pre-tax deductions come out before taxes are figured, so they lower your taxable pay and cut your tax bill. Common ones are health, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) contributions, HSAs, and FSAs. One note: 401(k) money still gets hit by Social Security and Medicare tax, but health premiums usually do not.
Post-tax deductions come out after taxes. Roth 401(k) money, union dues, wage garnishments, and charity gifts are typical examples. They shrink your take-home pay but save you nothing on taxes.
Pay Frequency
How often you get paid changes the size of each check, not your yearly total. Weekly means 52 checks, bi-weekly means 26, semi-monthly means 24, and monthly means 12. More checks means smaller ones.
Ways to Keep More of Your Pay
- Put more into a 401(k), Roth IRA, HSA, or FSA to lower taxable income and build long-term savings.
- Check your W-4 after a raise, marriage, new baby, or side job. A side gig adds self-employment tax.
- Look at overtime rules. Most hourly workers earn 1.5× pay past 40 hours a week, and Colorado also pays overtime past 12 hours in one day.
- Compare job offers by net pay, not gross. Benefits and city taxes change the real number.
These figures are estimates. Your real paystub may differ based on your employer's benefit plans, bonuses, and mid-year pay changes.