Colorado Child Support Calculator

Colorado uses the Income Shares model. Colorado's HB 25-1159 (signed May 2025) replaces the previous rule -- which required at least 93 overnights a year before any parenting-time credit applied -- with a graduated Parenting Time Table, effective for calculations on or after March 1, 2026: credit now starts from a parent's first overnight and scales up to a full 50% credit at equal (182.5-night) parenting time.

Colorado's guideline runs on gross. That distinction matters: entering gross income into a formula built on net income (or the reverse) produces a materially wrong figure. Most states count income from essentially any regular source -- wages, self-employment, bonuses, commissions, rental and investment income, and many benefits -- not just salary.

Not necessarily. In Colorado: colorado's HB 25-1159 (signed May 2025) replaces the previous rule -- which required at least 93 overnights a year before any parenting-time credit applied -- with a graduated Parenting Time Table, effective for calculations on or after March 1, 2026: credit now starts from a parent's first overnight and scales up to a full 50% credit at equal (182.5-night) parenting time. Because the guideline also weighs each parent's share of income, a significantly higher earner can still owe support at an even time split.

Yes. The figure produced by Colorado's Income Shares guideline is presumptive, not mandatory: a court can order a different amount when applying the guideline would be unjust or inappropriate for the specific case, and generally must state its reason on the record. Common grounds include extraordinary medical or educational expenses, a child's special needs, or costs the formula does not capture.

You have to file for a modification -- a change in your circumstances does not change what you owe on its own. Colorado, like most states, requires a substantial change in circumstances: a significant involuntary income change, a change in the parenting schedule, or a material change in the child's needs. Until a court or the state child support agency issues a new order, the existing amount stays fully enforceable and arrears keep accruing, and a modification is generally not applied retroactively before the date you filed -- so filing promptly matters. In Colorado, modifications are handled through Colorado Child Support Services.

Colorado publishes it directly: "Calculate Support Payments — Colorado Judicial Branch". This site's calculator is a fast estimate built on the same published guideline, not a replacement for the official form -- a court filing generally requires the state's own worksheet. The link is in the Colorado Resources section on this page.