By April D. Jones, Founder and CEO, Jones Law Firm, PC
Updated June 2026
For years, I watched parents build an entire parenting schedule around a single number, ninety-three, because that was the overnight count where Colorado child support flipped to a different formula, and a parent would fight over that one night the way you fight over a tax bracket, with ninety-two overnights producing one amount and ninety-three producing another. The fight was about money.
As of March 1, 2026, that line is gone.
House Bill 25-1159 took effect that day, the largest set of changes to Colorado child support since the schedule was last updated in 2014. If you have a case open now, an order from before, or a number in your head from a calculator or a friend’s divorce, the rules you think you know may have changed. Here is what actually changed, who it affects, and whether it touches an order you already have.
Did Colorado Child Support Law Change in 2026?
Yes. House Bill 25-1159 took effect March 1, 2026, and amended C.R.S. § 14-10-115, the child support guideline statute. It updated the support schedule, raised the income range the guidelines cover, revised the low-income provisions, and replaced the old parenting-time credit with a formula that gives credit for every overnight. The changes apply to orders entered or modified on or after that date.
What HB25-1159 Changed
The 2026 law reworked several parts of the calculation at once. Here is each change, the old rule beside the new one.
| Before March 1, 2026 | Starting March 1, 2026 |
| A 93-overnight threshold decided whether you got shared-parenting credit at all | Parenting-time credit starts with the first overnight and scales with actual time |
| A 1.5x multiplier applied in shared-parenting cases | The multiplier is gone, replaced by a credit that tracks the real number of overnights |
| The guideline schedule topped out at $30,000 combined monthly income | The schedule now runs to $40,000 combined monthly income |
| The first $250 per child each year in medical costs sat outside the split | Extraordinary medical costs are shared from the first dollar, and the definition is broader |
| Two separate worksheets, A and B, depending on overnights | One unified worksheet |
| Schedule amounts were built on 2010 cost data | Schedule amounts were updated to current costs, and many went up |
Together these change who owes support, how much, and how the number responds to the parenting schedule. The guideline number is still presumed correct, and a court can depart from it only with specific findings that applying it would be unfair on the facts. The full calculation, step by step, is in our article on how child support is calculated in Colorado.
The End of the 93-Overnight Cliff
The cliff is the change with the widest reach. Under the old law, the shared-care calculation turned on whether a parent reached ninety-three overnights in a year, so below that line you used one worksheet and at or above it you used a different one that often produced a very different number. That single night became a financial cliff, and it distorted how parents negotiated, because I sat across from people letting a dollar figure decide their parenting schedule.
The 2026 law removes the cliff, so parenting-time credit can now begin with the first overnight and scale as the time changes, instead of switching all at once at a single threshold. The credit is set by the statutory table and formula, so it is not a flat dollar reduction for each additional night. It also ends the reason to fight over a single overnight just to move the money.
Who the 2026 Changes Affect
Three groups are affected more than anyone else.
Parents with shared or near-equal time. With the cliff gone and credit running from the first overnight, the number now moves a little with each overnight, so the support figure can come out different from the old worksheets.
Higher earners. The guideline schedule used to stop at thirty thousand dollars in combined monthly income, which left higher-income families in a gray zone where courts extrapolated above the table, and the schedule now runs to forty thousand dollars, so more families fall inside the guideline and get a more predictable number.
Lower-income paying parents. The revised low-income provisions and the statutory self-support reserve set aside a basic amount for the paying parent’s own living needs before support is calculated, so the obligation stays tied to what a parent can actually pay while still preserving the duty to support the children.
Does the New Law Change My Existing Order?
Parents keep asking the same question since March: the law changed, so my child support changes too, right? Not on its own.
An existing order stays in force until a court changes it, because the new law applies to orders entered or modified on or after March 1, 2026 and does not reach back to recalculate an older order on its own, so no money moves until a judge enters a new order.
The fact that the law changed is not, by itself, the kind of changed circumstance that supports a modification. But if you run your case under the new guidelines and the result comes out at least ten percent different from your current order, that difference can support a motion to modify under C.R.S. § 14-10-122. Whether filing makes sense depends on the size of the swing and your specific facts. When an existing order is being ignored rather than recalculated, our enforcement page walks through that side of it.
Timing matters. The new law lowers exposure for some parents and raises it for others, and the date an order is entered or modified decides which set of rules applies to you, so run the numbers under the new law before you file anything and know which direction you are actually moving.
Be Careful With Old Calculators and Old Advice
One mistake I keep seeing is relying on rules that expired on March 1. An online calculator still running the old worksheets, the ninety-three-overnight cliff, and the thirty-thousand-dollar cap will hand you an official-looking number that is wrong, and a friend’s order from a few years ago was built on a formula that no longer exists. To see how the current calculation works, our Colorado child support page lays out the framework under the new law.
Common Questions About the 2026 Colorado Child Support Law
Did Colorado child support law change in 2026?
Yes. House Bill 25-1159 took effect March 1, 2026, and changed several parts of the child support guidelines, including the support schedule, the income range, the low-income provisions, and how parenting time is credited.
What is the biggest change in the 2026 law?
The end of the 93-overnight cliff. Parenting-time credit now begins with the first overnight and scales with the schedule, instead of switching to a different worksheet after a parent reaches ninety-three overnights.
Did the income limit for the guidelines go up?
Yes. The guideline schedule now covers combined monthly income up to forty thousand dollars, raised from thirty thousand. Above that, a court has discretion but generally cannot order less than the top-of-schedule amount.
Will my existing child support order change automatically?
No. An existing order stays in force until a court modifies it. The new law applies to orders entered or modified on or after March 1, 2026, and does not recalculate older orders on its own.
Can I modify my order because of the new law?
The law change by itself is not a changed circumstance. But if the new guidelines produce a number at least ten percent different from your current order, that can support a motion to modify under C.R.S. § 14-10-122.
Are online child support calculators accurate now?
Only if they have been updated for the 2026 rules. A calculator still using the old worksheets, the 93-overnight cliff, or the thirty-thousand-dollar cap will give you a misleading number.
The End of the Single-Night Fight
For years, the smartest financial move a parent could make was to chase ninety-three overnights, whatever that did to the parenting schedule. That era is over. The 2026 law ties the number to the real schedule and the real incomes. If you are setting up a new order, or wondering whether an old one should change, the first step is to run your case under the current law and see what the number actually is.
If you want to know what the 2026 law means for your number, whether you are starting a case or rethinking an existing order, schedule a free consultation with our team. We choose sides. Yours.
This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Every family law matter is different, and the application of Colorado law depends on the specific facts of each case.
Sources reviewed (June 2026)
- C.R.S. § 14-10-115, child support guidelines, as amended by HB25-1159
- C.R.S. § 14-10-122, modification of support
- House Bill 25-1159 (2025), effective March 1, 2026
- Colorado General Assembly bill summary and 2025 session law (Ch. 334) for HB25-1159