Colorado Income Tax Calculator
Colorado’s flat 4.4% rate has a quirk almost no other state shares: it applies directly to your federal taxable income, so there’s no separate state standard deduction to claim. This take-home pay calculator covers federal tax, Colorado’s flat rate, retirement subtractions, and FICA in one place.
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How Colorado Income Tax Actually Works
Colorado has applied a flat income tax rate since 1987, and for 2025 that rate sits at 4.4% — back up from a temporarily reduced 4.25% in 2024. The mechanism behind that fluctuation is genuinely unusual: Colorado’s constitutional Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, known as TABOR, limits how fast state government revenue can grow year over year. When actual revenue exceeds that limit, the surplus must be returned to taxpayers — sometimes through a temporary cut to the income tax rate itself, sometimes through direct refund checks, depending on how large the excess is. That’s why Colorado’s “flat” rate has actually moved in recent years even though no legislature voted to change it.
The structural detail that surprises people moving from almost any other state: Colorado taxable income starts from your federal taxable income, not your federal adjusted gross income. Since federal taxable income already reflects your federal standard deduction (or itemized deductions), Colorado doesn’t layer a second deduction on top the way Illinois, Indiana, or Michigan effectively do with their own exemption or deduction systems. Colorado being what’s called a “rolling conformity” state also means new federal tax law changes flow through to your Colorado return automatically unless the legislature specifically decouples — which is exactly what happened for 2025: Colorado adopted the new federal deduction for tip income but specifically decoupled from the new federal overtime pay deduction, adding that amount back onto Colorado taxable income even though it’s deductible federally.
What retirees and parents should know: Colorado fully exempts Social Security benefits from state tax for residents 65 and older, and allows a pension and retirement account subtraction of up to $24,000 per taxpayer 65+, or $20,000 for those 55 to 64. Parents of young children get their own state-level benefit too — the Colorado Child Tax Credit, worth up to $1,200 per qualifying child under age 6, separate from and in addition to the federal Child Tax Credit, though it phases out above $77,000 (single) or $87,000 (married filing jointly) in income.
Frequently Asked Questions
Colorado applies a flat 4.4% rate to Colorado taxable income for 2025, up from a temporarily reduced 4.25% in 2024. There are no tax brackets — every taxpayer pays the same rate regardless of income or filing status.
No. Unlike most states, Colorado does not have a separate state standard deduction. Colorado taxable income starts from your federal taxable income, which already reflects your federal standard deduction (or itemized deductions), so no second deduction is applied at the state level.
TABOR (Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights) is a Colorado constitutional amendment that limits state revenue growth and requires excess revenue above the limit to be refunded to taxpayers, sometimes through a temporary reduction in the income tax rate and sometimes through direct refund checks, depending on how large the surplus is.
Yes. Colorado offers a refundable state Child Tax Credit worth up to $1,200 per qualifying child under age 6 for the 2025 tax year, separate from the federal Child Tax Credit. It phases out for taxpayers earning above $77,000 (single) or $87,000 (married filing jointly).
Colorado fully exempts Social Security benefits from state tax for taxpayers 65 and older. Pension and annuity income, including retirement account withdrawals, can be subtracted up to $24,000 per taxpayer 65 and older, or up to $20,000 for taxpayers age 55 to 64.
Denver and a few other Colorado cities levy an Occupational Privilege Tax (OPT), a flat per-month fee (not a percentage of income) charged to anyone earning above a small monthly threshold who works within city limits, separate from the Colorado state income tax.
Methodology: Calculations use Colorado’s 2025 flat 4.4% Personal Income Tax rate applied to federal taxable income (no separate state standard deduction), the age-based pension/retirement income subtraction ($24,000 for 65+, $20,000 for 55-64), the Colorado Child Tax Credit (up to $1,200 per child under 6, income-limited), the 2025 IRS federal tax brackets and Child Tax Credit rules, and 2025 Social Security (6.2% to the $176,100 wage base) and Medicare (1.45% + 0.9% additional Medicare tax) rates, per Colorado DOR and IRS.gov guidance. Denver’s Occupational Privilege Tax is estimated as a flat monthly fee. This tool provides estimates for planning purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Last reviewed for accuracy: June 2026.