Every Colorado income tax bracket for 2026, exactly as published — with the standard deduction, the exemption credit, and a tool that finds your bracket and shows the tax slice by slice.
| Rate | Taxable income over | Up to | Cumulative tax at top of band |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.4% | $0 | and above | — |
Brackets apply to taxable income — gross income minus the standard deduction. Both tables are printed in full on this page; the tabs only choose which you look at first.
Enter your Colorado taxable income (after the standard deduction). Your bracket lights up in the table above, and your tax is broken into its slices.
Figure A The bracket staircase
The staircase: each step is one bracket. The tax climbs only inside the step you are standing on — moving into a higher bracket never taxes your earlier income at the higher rate.
| Taxable income (single) | Colorado tax | Effective rate | Top (marginal) rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $2,200 | 4.4% | 4.4% |
| $75,000 | $3,300 | 4.4% | 4.4% |
| $100,000 | $4,400 | 4.4% | 4.4% |
| $150,000 | $6,600 | 4.4% | 4.4% |
No material change for 2026: the flat rate remains 4.40%, Colorado still starts from federal taxable income, and TABOR refunds remain possible in any year state revenue exceeds the constitutional cap — the amount, and whether a refund occurs, is set year by year. Source: Tax Foundation, State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets 2026; Colorado Department of Revenue.
The state-specific rules behind the numbers above — the things a generic calculator gets wrong about Colorado.
Colorado has no state standard deduction of its own. The state return starts from federal taxable income — the figure after the federal standard deduction ($16,100 for a single filer in 2026) or federal itemized deductions — then applies Colorado additions and subtractions before the flat 4.40% rate. The practical effect: Congress effectively sets Colorado's deduction, and federal changes such as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act flow straight into Colorado tax bills without any vote in Denver.
Source: Tax Foundation, State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets 2026; Colorado Department of Revenue, Form DR 0104
Colorado is one of the few states that taxes Social Security, but with a large age-based subtraction. Taxpayers 65 and older can subtract the entire amount of Social Security included in federal taxable income. Taxpayers 55 to 64 can also subtract it in full if their AGI is no more than $75,000 (single) or $95,000 (joint); above those limits the subtraction falls under the general pension cap. The broader pension and annuity subtraction is up to $20,000 a year at ages 55–64 and up to $24,000 at 65+, and Social Security subtracted counts against those caps for other pension income — so retirees must plan the two subtractions together.
Source: Colorado Department of Revenue, Income Tax Topics: Social Security, Pensions and Annuities; Colorado Revised Statutes § 39-22-104(4)(f)
Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR), added to the state constitution in 1992, caps how fast state revenue can grow — roughly inflation plus population growth — and requires any revenue above the cap to be refunded to taxpayers unless voters approve keeping it. Refunds are usually delivered through the income tax return (and in some years partly as a temporary rate reduction), which is why Coloradans sometimes receive a TABOR refund on top of an ordinary refund. TABOR also requires voter approval for tax increases, which is why Colorado's flat rate changes only at the ballot box.
Source: Colorado General Assembly, TABOR overview; Colorado Department of Revenue, TABOR information
Colorado has no county income taxes, but a few cities levy local employment taxes: Denver charges an occupational privilege tax (a small flat monthly amount on employees and a matching amount on employers for work in the city), and Greenwood Village, Glendale and a few others have similar small flat levies. Local sales taxes, by contrast, are significant — combined state, county, city and district sales tax rates vary widely by address.
Source: Tax Foundation — State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2026
A flat 4.40% of Colorado taxable income. Colorado starts from your federal taxable income, so the federal standard deduction ($16,100 for a single filer in 2026) is already baked in before the 4.40% is applied.
Colorado starts there, yes — there is no separate Colorado standard deduction. Your federal standard deduction or itemized deductions reduce the starting figure, then Colorado additions and subtractions apply. That is why a change in federal tax law can move your Colorado bill even when Colorado law doesn't change.
It depends on your age. At 65 or older you can subtract all of the Social Security included in your federal taxable income. At 55 to 64 you can subtract it in full if your AGI is $75,000 or less (single) or $95,000 (joint); above those limits it counts toward the $20,000 pension and annuity subtraction cap.
On $75,000 of wages as a single filer, this page estimates Colorado state tax of $2,592, federal income tax of $7,670 and FICA of $5,738 — total tax $15,999 and take-home pay of $59,001. Any TABOR refund for the year would come back on top of that when you file.
TABOR — the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights in Colorado's constitution — caps state revenue growth at inflation plus population growth. Revenue above the cap must be refunded to taxpayers (through the return, sometimes partly via a temporary rate cut) unless voters approve letting the state keep it. You must file a Colorado return to claim your share.
Ages 55 to 64 can subtract up to $20,000 a year of qualifying pension and annuity income (including IRA and 401(k) distributions); ages 65 and over can subtract up to $24,000. Social Security subtracted counts toward those caps for the pension subtraction, so the two breaks interact.
Colorado income tax brackets for 2026 in full: every rate and threshold for single and joint filers, the $16,100 standard deduction, worked examples and a find-your-bracket tool.
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Every Colorado income tax bracket for 2026, printed in full exactly as published: single and married-filing-jointly tables, the standard deduction, worked examples on taxable income, and a find-your-bracket tool that lights up your band and builds your tax slice by slice. Rates checked 31 October 2026; all figures are for the 2026 tax year.
On $100,000 of taxable income in Colorado (single filer, 2026), the slice-by-slice tax is $4,400.00 — the top slice is taxed at 4.4%, but the effective rate on the whole $100,000 is far lower because the early slices are taxed at the bottom rates. A $100,000 salary is not $100,000 of taxable income: the $16,100 standard deduction comes off first, which is what the companion income calculator works through.
Colorado taxes taxable income at a flat 4.4%. The standard deduction is $16,100.00 for a single filer (the federal amount — this state conforms to it). The tables are the state’s official 2026 schedules (sources printed on the page); cumulative tax at the top of each band is computed slice by slice from those rates. The federal comparison figures use IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
A flat 4.40% of Colorado taxable income. Colorado starts from your federal taxable income, so the federal standard deduction ($16,100 for a single filer in 2026) is already baked in before the 4.40% is applied.
Colorado starts there, yes — there is no separate Colorado standard deduction. Your federal standard deduction or itemized deductions reduce the starting figure, then Colorado additions and subtractions apply. That is why a change in federal tax law can move your Colorado bill even when Colorado law doesn't change.
It depends on your age. At 65 or older you can subtract all of the Social Security included in your federal taxable income. At 55 to 64 you can subtract it in full if your AGI is $75,000 or less (single) or $95,000 (joint); above those limits it counts toward the $20,000 pension and annuity subtraction cap.
On $75,000 of wages as a single filer, this page estimates Colorado state tax of $2,592, federal income tax of $7,670 and FICA of $5,738 — total tax $15,999 and take-home pay of $59,001. Any TABOR refund for the year would come back on top of that when you file.
TABOR — the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights in Colorado's constitution — caps state revenue growth at inflation plus population growth. Revenue above the cap must be refunded to taxpayers (through the return, sometimes partly via a temporary rate cut) unless voters approve letting the state keep it. You must file a Colorado return to claim your share.
Ages 55 to 64 can subtract up to $20,000 a year of qualifying pension and annuity income (including IRA and 401(k) distributions); ages 65 and over can subtract up to $24,000. Social Security subtracted counts toward those caps for the pension subtraction, so the two breaks interact.
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