Colorado Child Support Calculator
A free estimate under the guidelines effective March 1, 2026
What Colorado Child Support Actually Depends On
Colorado uses an income shares model. The idea is that a child should receive roughly the same proportion of parental income they would have received if the household had stayed together. Both parents’ gross monthly incomes are added together, a basic obligation is read off a schedule written into the statute, and that obligation is divided between the parents in proportion to what each of them earns.
Two things then adjust it. Work-related childcare and the children’s share of health insurance are added and shared proportionally, with credit to whoever actually pays them. And each parent receives a parenting time credit based on the number of overnights they have, which is where the March 2026 amendments changed the picture completely.
What changed on March 1, 2026
Under the old law a parent received no parenting time adjustment at all until they reached 93 overnights a year, and then a large one. Single nights were worth fighting over because of where they fell relative to that line. HB25-1159 removed the cliff. Every overnight from the first now carries proportional weight, and the guideline schedule extends to $40,000 a month in combined income. Any calculator still using the 92-overnight threshold is giving you a pre-2026 answer.
Why Your Real Number May Differ
- Income is disputed, or a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed and the court imputes potential income to them.
- A parent is self-employed, where gross income means receipts minus ordinary and necessary business expenses, and that figure is often contested.
- There are preexisting support orders or other children a parent supports, which adjust the income figures this calculator does not collect.
- There are extraordinary medical expenses, which are added to the basic obligation and shared proportionally.
- Combined income exceeds $40,000 a month, above which the schedule stops and the court exercises discretion.
- The court deviates from the guideline, which it can do with written findings explaining why the guideline amount would be inequitable.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is child support calculated in Colorado?
Both parents’ gross monthly incomes are combined and a basic obligation is taken from the schedule in C.R.S. § 14-10-115(7)(b). That obligation is divided in proportion to each parent’s income. Work-related childcare and the children’s health insurance are added and shared the same way, with credit to whoever pays. Each parent then receives a parenting time credit based on their overnights, and the parent who ends up owing more pays the difference to the other.
What changed in Colorado child support on March 1, 2026?
HB25-1159 replaced the 92-overnight threshold with a table that gives credit for every overnight, extended the guideline schedule up to $40,000 a month in combined income, revised the low-income adjustments and the self-support reserve, and added a smoothing formula just above that reserve so support does not jump sharply as income rises.
Do overnights really change the amount?
Substantially. The parenting time credit is applied to the full basic obligation, so the difference between 80 and 120 overnights a year is meaningful money. You can test different schedules in our parenting time calculator and bring the overnight figure back here.
What if I think the other parent is hiding income?
Courts can impute potential income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, and self-employment income is examined closely. This is one of the most common reasons a real order differs from a calculator estimate, and it is worth discussing with an attorney.
Can a child support order be changed later?
Yes. A support order can be modified when circumstances change substantially and continuingly. A change in income, parenting time, or childcare costs can all justify revisiting the amount.
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