Key figures
Colorado payroll
2026, with sources
Three state accounts
A Colorado employer opens a withholding account with the Department of Revenue, an unemployment insurance account with CDLE and a FAMLI account with the FAMLI Division. Each has its own quarterly filing. The 2026 UI wage base is $30,600, and new employers in most industries start at 3.05%, which includes a 1.35% solvency surcharge that CDLE says triggers off in 2027.
FAMLI premiums are 0.88% of wages for 2026, down from 0.9%, split evenly. Employers with fewer than ten employees owe only the employee half, which they still withhold and remit. From 2027 the FAMLI director sets the rate each year, up to a statutory ceiling of 1.2%.
A worked example for one $120,000 engineer at a five-person startup in 2026: UI is 3.05% of $30,600, $933.30; FAMLI is 0.88% of $120,000, $1,056, all of it withheld from the employee because the company has fewer than ten employees; and state withholding runs at the 4.4% flat rate. At ten employees the company starts paying its own 0.44% half, $528 for the same salary.
Wage rules
The state minimum wage is $15.16 an hour in 2026 and is indexed each January. Denver sets its own, $19.29 for 2026, and other cities and Boulder County have adopted local minimums. Workers’ compensation is required from the first employee.
- Sick leave: Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, 1 hour per 30 worked, up to 48 hours a year.
- Overtime: over 40 hours a week or 12 hours a day.
- Paydays: at least monthly.
- Final pay: immediately on termination; next regular payday on a resignation.
- Pay ranges: job postings must include the pay range and benefits.
Deadlines
- Last day of the month after the quarterUI premium and wage report
- Last day of the month after the quarterFAMLI premium and wage report
- Jan 31Annual withholding reconciliation and W-2sDR 1093
- Within 20 days of hireNew-hire report
The federal baseline
This page covers what Colorado adds. The federal rules underneath it apply here too.
Common questions
Do we pay FAMLI with only a few employees?
Yes, unless you have fewer than ten employees, in which case you pay no employer share but still register, report wages and remit the employees’ 0.44%. The 2026 premium is 0.88% of wages up to the Social Security wage base.
Are there local payroll taxes in Colorado?
Only in a handful of cities. Denver, Glendale, Greenwood Village and Sheridan levy an occupational privilege tax, a flat monthly amount per employee that the employer withholds and also pays. Aurora repealed its tax from January 1, 2025.
Payroll next door
- WYWyoming payrollWyoming payroll has no income tax withholding: UI on the first $33,800 at an industry rate, state-fund workers’ comp for extra-hazardous industries, and final pay on the next payday.
- NENebraska payrollNebraska’s minimum wage is $15.00 in 2026 and rises 1.75% a year from 2027. Paid sick time applies at 11 employees, and new employers pay 1.25% on $9,000.
- KSKansas payrollKansas withholds at 5.2% and 5.58%, charges new employers 1.75% on a $15,100 wage base that rises each year to 2030, and has no local payroll tax.
- OKOklahoma payrollOklahoma withholds at up to 4.5% in 2026 and charges new employers 1.5% on a $25,000 wage base — high for the region. There is no local payroll tax or paid leave program.
- NMNew Mexico payrollGraduated withholding up to 5.9%, UI on a $34,800 wage base, a $12.00 minimum wage with higher local rates, and paid sick leave under the Healthy Workplaces Act — but no paid family leave program.
- AZArizona payrollA flat 2.5% income tax withheld at the employee’s Form A-4 election, UI on the first $8,000 of wages, a $15.15 minimum wage and earned paid sick time from the first employee.
- UTUtah payrollA flat 4.45% income tax, a $50,700 UI wage base with industry-average rates for new employers, the federal minimum wage and a 24-hour final-pay rule.
How Colorado compares
- No tax on wagesStates with no state income tax on wagesColorado: withholds state income tax. 9 of 51 states are on the list.
- Paid leave payrollStates with a paid leave or disability payroll programColorado: state paid leave or disability program. 16 of 51 states are on the list.
- Local payroll taxStates with city, county or district payroll taxesColorado: city, county or district taxes on wages. 14 of 51 states are on the list.
Founder guides on this
- PeopleContractor or employee? Classification for startupsContractor or employee depends on control, not the contract. The IRS test, state rules, 1099s, payroll registration and the cost of getting it wrong.
- ComplianceFirst-year compliance calendar for a Delaware C-corpDelaware franchise tax, 1099s, the federal return, payroll filings, state annual reports and sales tax: the deadlines a young C-corp misses most, by month.
More of the Colorado guide
- AccountingAccounting and state tax in ColoradoCorporate tax, conformity to federal rules, apportionment and what it does to your books
- ReceivablesReceivables and sales tax in ColoradoSales tax registration, economic nexus, whether SaaS is taxable, and collecting from customers
- PayablesPayables and contractors in ColoradoPaying vendors and contractors: 1099 filing, use tax, contractor tests and withholding
- ComplianceCompliance and filings in ColoradoRegistering to do business, annual reports, franchise tax and the filing calendar
- AdvisoryAdvisory: credits and decisions in ColoradoCredits, incentives and the decisions that are cheaper to get right the first time
Sources
Checked against each agency’s own page on . Rates and thresholds change, usually on January 1.
- Colorado Legislative Council — Federal tax law changes and their impact on Colorado (2026)
- CDLE — UI Employer Account Management
- CDLE — Introductory Rates
- Colorado FAMLI — Premium and Benefits Calculator
- CDLE — Division of Labor Standards and Statistics
- City and County of Denver — 2026 minimum wage
- City and County of Denver — Occupational Privilege Tax
General information for US companies, not tax, legal or accounting advice for yours. Rules and thresholds change; confirm the specifics with a CPA or the agency before you act on them.