Colorado Child Support Calculator

Colorado calculates child support under the Income Shares model using the Colorado Child Support Guidelines at C.R.S. § 14-10-115. The guidelines are premised on the principle that children should receive the same level of financial support they would have received had the family remained intact, with both parents contributing proportionally to their combined income. The process begins by calculating each parent's monthly adjusted gross income, combining those figures to produce a combined monthly income, and then applying that combined income to the state's guidelines schedule to identify the basic child support obligation for the number of children involved. Each parent then pays their proportional share of the basic obligation and any supplemental costs.

Colorado's guidelines carry a rebuttable presumption — courts are required to apply the guideline amount unless a party demonstrates that the standard result would be inequitable or inappropriate given the facts of the case. The guidelines apply equally to initial support orders, temporary orders during a pending proceeding, and post-decree modifications. Colorado family law courts use official calculation software to ensure that all orders reflect the guidelines consistently, and parties are expected to complete financial disclosure forms before any support proceeding so that the court has accurate income information from both parents.

Colorado's child support guidelines are updated periodically to reflect current economic data on the costs of raising children. The state is required by federal law to review its guidelines every four years and to make any adjustments necessary to ensure the guidelines continue to reflect current economic conditions. Recent revisions have addressed the treatment of self-employment income, the definition of parenting time for purposes of the overnight adjustment, and the threshold income levels in the guidelines schedule. Parents with older orders may find that the current guidelines would produce a different result than those in effect when their order was entered.

Colorado defines gross income broadly to include virtually all income from any source. Wages and salaries, overtime, commissions, bonuses, tips, and net self-employment income are all included. Rental income, dividends, interest, capital gains, pension and retirement distributions, Social Security benefits except SSI, disability insurance payments, unemployment compensation, and workers' compensation are also included. Colorado courts may also consider income potential from assets that generate little or no current income when such income is voluntarily suppressed. The comprehensive definition ensures that parents cannot shield financial resources from the support calculation by routing them through investment vehicles or business structures.

Adjusted gross income in Colorado starts with gross income and subtracts a specific list of allowable deductions. The primary deductions are pre-existing child support obligations actually being paid pursuant to a court order for children from other relationships and alimony or spousal maintenance actually being paid to a former spouse. Health insurance premiums paid for the child who is the subject of the current proceeding are also deductible before the income is combined with the other parent's adjusted gross income. These deductions ensure that a parent's prior family obligations are given appropriate weight while still requiring a meaningful financial contribution to the children covered by the current proceeding.

When a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, Colorado courts are authorized to impute income at the level the parent could earn if they made reasonable efforts to obtain employment appropriate to their education, training, and work history. Courts consider local wage data, the parent's occupational skills, the job market in the parent's area, and any legitimate constraints on the parent's employment such as a disability or childcare obligations. Imputation is distinguished from voluntary income reduction — a parent who reduces their hours for a good-faith reason such as caregiving for a seriously ill family member may not be imputed at their prior earnings level, while one who simply chooses to work less to reduce support will be.

Colorado's child support schedule is a table that matches combined monthly adjusted gross income and number of children to a basic monthly obligation. The schedule is grounded in economic research on household spending on children and covers combined monthly incomes from low levels up to approximately $30,000 per month, with obligations increasing as both income and number of children increase. For combined incomes above the schedule's maximum, courts determine an appropriate amount by reference to the child's actual needs and the parents' financial resources, rather than extrapolating mechanically from the highest schedule value to very high income levels.

Colorado includes a self-support reserve in its guidelines — a threshold below which the paying parent's net income should not be reduced by the support obligation. The self-support reserve is set at the federal poverty level for an individual, recognizing that a parent who cannot maintain their own subsistence will be unable to pay support consistently or remain a productive participant in the child's life. When the calculated support obligation would reduce the paying parent's income below the self-support reserve, courts have discretion to reduce the obligation to an amount that leaves the parent with at least the reserve amount. As the parent's income increases above the reserve, the full guideline obligation applies.

For combined incomes at the very lowest levels of the schedule, Colorado may set minimum support orders to ensure that even very low-income parents make some financial contribution to their child. These minimum orders are typically small monthly amounts that represent the parent's good-faith financial contribution while acknowledging their limited resources. Colorado courts are reluctant to enter zero-support orders except in the most extreme circumstances of documented indigence, and even minimum-order parents are expected to demonstrate their obligation when they return to work or their financial circumstances improve.

Colorado provides a significant parenting time adjustment when the non-primary parent has the child for more than 90 overnights per year. For parents with 91 or more overnights, Colorado's guidelines apply a calculation that effectively reduces the non-primary parent's transfer payment to reflect the direct expenses they incur during their custody time. The adjustment uses both parents' income shares and their respective overnight counts to produce a net payment that is proportionally fair given each parent's financial contribution and physical time with the child. The 90-overnight threshold represents approximately 25% of the year and is the point at which Colorado has determined that a meaningful direct-expense adjustment is warranted.

Work-related childcare costs and the child's health insurance premium are added to the basic obligation after the parenting time calculation and shared proportionally between the parents. Work-related childcare costs in Colorado must be actual, reasonable expenses incurred to allow the parent to work, search for work, or attend qualifying education or job training. The federal childcare tax credit is subtracted from gross childcare costs before they are added to the support calculation, preventing the custodial parent from receiving both the tax credit and full reimbursement for the gross childcare expense. Health insurance costs are calculated as the marginal cost of adding the child to an existing policy.

Extraordinary expenses that arise from a child's special needs, disability, exceptional educational requirements, or other unusual circumstances may be addressed in the support order as a separate line item or through a cost-sharing arrangement where both parents contribute proportionally. Colorado courts have authority to order additional support above the guideline amount to cover extraordinary costs that are documented and reasonable. Examples include ongoing physical therapy, specialized tutoring programs, adaptive equipment, experimental medical treatments with documented efficacy, and other costs that exceed what would normally be incurred for a child of the same age without the special circumstance. Detailed documentation is essential when seeking above-guideline support for extraordinary costs.

Colorado courts may deviate from the guideline amount when its application would be inequitable or inappropriate given the specific circumstances of the case. Statutory factors that may support deviation include the financial resources of each parent, the child's financial resources and educational needs, a parent's need to maintain health insurance, a child's extraordinary needs, the cost of transporting the child between parents' homes for parenting time, the financial impact of a subsequent family, and other equitable factors specific to the family. Any deviation requires written findings of fact explaining why the standard guideline amount was not applied and what factors justified the departure.

Private agreements between parties to pay below the guideline amount are reviewed by Colorado courts for adequacy. Courts are not required to accept an agreed support amount that falls below the guidelines without findings that the agreement meets the child's needs. This protection prevents children from being under-supported as a result of agreements between parents that prioritize adult convenience or settlement efficiency over the child's long-term financial security. When both parents agree to an above-guideline amount, courts are generally more deferential, but the order still requires the court's approval to be enforceable.

Colorado child support orders may be modified when there has been a substantial and continuing change in circumstances since the last order. A change is presumed substantial if the new guideline calculation differs from the existing order by 10% or more. Either parent may petition for modification at any time, and Colorado also provides for a periodic review every three years through the child support enforcement system. The modification proceeding uses current income figures and applies the guidelines in effect at the time of the modification. Changes in parenting time that cross the 90-overnight threshold in either direction are among the most common triggers for modification requests in Colorado, as they can substantially change the calculated obligation.