Tip: Start from the federal W-4 calculator to pre-fill your pay and federal results here automatically.
Your Paycheck
Filing Status
Credits & Adjustments (Optional)
Leave blank if you're not sure — these only affect your federal withholding.
$2,200 per child under 17 · $500 per other dependent. Reduces your withholding.
Add extra to cover side income, freelance, or investment income each paycheck.
Non-wage income: freelance, dividends, rental income. Annual total.
If you itemize and deductions exceed the standard deduction. Annual total.
File your Colorado return
Total withholding per paycheck
$317
$8,238 / year
Gross pay minus federal, FICA, and state taxes
Federal
Colorado State Tax
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Colorado uses your W-4, with an optional DR 0004
Colorado does not require its own form. If you give your employer only a federal W-4, they use your filing status from Step 1(c) to pick a standard allowance. You can also file Colorado Form DR 0004, the Colorado Employee Withholding Certificate, to set your own allowance on Line 2 or request extra withholding on Line 3. A new W-4 without a new DR 0004 revokes the earlier DR 0004.
If you give your employer no certificate at all, they treat you as single. Colorado says employers must not adjust withholding outside the DR 1098 worksheet, and that employees who want to account for federal deductions must use the DR 0004 because those deductions have limits and add-backs.
How Colorado calculates withholding for 2026
Colorado no longer publishes withholding tables. Employers use the DR 1098 worksheet: multiply your pay by the number of pay periods, subtract $11,000 if you are married filing jointly or a qualifying surviving spouse (or $5,500 otherwise), multiply what is left by 4.40%, and divide by the pay periods. Any DR 0004 Line 3 amount is added on top.
For example, a single employee earning $60,000 a year has ($60,000 − $5,500) × 4.4% = $2,398 of Colorado tax withheld, about $92 per biweekly paycheck.
Colorado W-4 FAQ
What is Colorado's income tax rate for 2026?+
Colorado's withholding worksheet applies a flat 4.40% after the allowance.
Do I need a Colorado withholding form?+
No. A federal W-4 is enough. Form DR 0004 is optional and lets you set your own allowance and extra withholding.
What allowance does Colorado use in 2026?+
$11,000 for married filing jointly or a qualifying surviving spouse and $5,500 for everyone else, unless you enter a different amount on DR 0004 Line 2.
What happens if I give my employer no form?+
Your employer calculates Colorado withholding as if you had filed a W-4 as single.
Does Colorado have local income tax?+
Colorado has no city or county income tax on wages.
Start with your federal W-4
Your Colorado withholding follows your pay, but your W-4 is federal. Get the exact lines to fill in.
Open the W-4 Calculator →