C.R.S. 14-10-115: Colorado Child Support Guidelines

The Colorado child support guidelines in C.R.S. 14-10-115 use an income shares model: the court adds both parents’ adjusted gross incomes together, pulls a base support figure from a statutory schedule tied to the number of children, and splits that figure between the parents in proportion to what each one earns. The guideline number is presumed correct, and a judge can only depart from it by stating specific reasons on the record.¹

How Income Is Counted

Gross income is defined broadly. It includes salaries, wages, tips, commissions, bonuses, self-employment earnings, dividends, interest, capital gains, rental income, trust income, pensions, royalties, Social Security, workers’ compensation, unemployment, disability insurance, and monetary gifts.² If money is coming in from somewhere, assume it counts until you find a rule saying otherwise.

Self-employed parents start from gross receipts and subtract ordinary and necessary business expenses. The statute closes a familiar loophole by adding back any money the parent draws for personal use but writes off as a business expense.² A passive investor holding a minority stake may only have to count the cash actually distributed to them, not their paper share of profits.

Some income does not count. Public assistance such as Supplemental Security Income and food stamps is excluded. Child support received for children from other relationships is excluded. From the remaining gross income, the court subtracts any preexisting child support obligations and any spousal maintenance a parent actually pays.² The number that comes out of this is the adjusted gross income the formula uses.

Imputed Income If a Parent Isn’t Working

A parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed does not get the benefit of a lower paycheck. The court sets a “potential income” using the parent’s work history, job skills, education, age, health, criminal record, and the local job market.¹

Three groups are protected from imputation: a parent who is physically or mentally incapacitated, a parent caring for a child under 24 months old whom both parents share legal responsibility for, and a parent serving a jail or prison sentence of 180 days or more. A parent who took a temporary position expected to lead to higher earnings, made a good-faith career change that does not unreasonably reduce support, or enrolled in an education or vocational program reasonably expected to produce a degree and better future earnings is also not treated as underemployed.¹ Good faith is the test every time.

How the Base Obligation Is Calculated

Once each parent’s adjusted gross income is set, the court combines the two figures into a single monthly amount. That combined income is matched to a statutory schedule that assigns a base support obligation based on how many children are involved. The dollar amount of support rises with income, though the share of income going to children gradually falls as combined income climbs.²

The court then splits the base obligation in proportion to each parent’s share of the combined income. A parent who earns 65% of the combined total is responsible for 65% of the base figure. That proportional split drives the entire calculation.²

Low-Income Floor

The guidelines protect parents at the bottom of the income scale. When the paying parent’s monthly adjusted gross income falls between $650 and $1,500, the standard formula is replaced by a fixed minimum order: $50 for one child, $70 for two, $90 for three, $110 for four, $130 for five, and $150 for six or more.³ Even after any add-ons for childcare or medical costs, the total obligation in this income band cannot exceed 20% of the parent’s adjusted gross income.

For a parent earning $650 or less per month, the minimum order drops to $10 per month regardless of the number of children.³ Colorado does not zero out the obligation, but it recognizes that larger numbers would never actually be collected.

How Overnights Change the Number

Parenting time matters in dollars, not just in days. The number of overnights the child spends with each parent determines which worksheet the court uses, and the gap between the two worksheets is substantial.

If one parent has the child for 92 or fewer overnights a year, the court uses Worksheet A for sole physical care. The parent with fewer overnights pays their proportional share of the base obligation to the other parent, who is absorbing most of the daily cost of running a household around the child.⁴

Once each parent has the child for at least 93 overnights, the case moves to Worksheet B for shared physical care.⁴ Worksheet B multiplies the base support figure by 1.5 to account for the duplicate costs of two households, then offsets each parent’s share by the percentage of overnights each one has.⁵ The output is a net payment from one parent to the other that reflects both income and time.

The jump from 91 to 93 overnights can change the obligation significantly. Parenting schedules near that line tend to be negotiated hard for exactly that reason.

Add-Ons on Top of the Base

The base obligation covers everyday costs like food, clothing, and shelter. Three categories of expenses sit on top and get split between the parents in proportion to their incomes.

Health insurance. The parent who carries insurance for the child gets credit for the child’s portion of the premium, not the whole family premium. If a $600 family plan allocates $150 to the child, the adjustment runs on $150.

Work-related childcare. Daycare, after-school programs, and similar costs incurred so a parent can work or attend school are added to the total obligation and divided proportionally.

Extraordinary medical expenses. Uninsured medical costs above $250 per child per calendar year qualify. The category covers copayments, deductibles, orthodontia, dental care, asthma care, physical therapy, vision care, and mental health counseling. The parent seeking reimbursement has to document the expense and request payment within a reasonable time, or the right to reimbursement is lost.³

When Courts Deviate from the Guideline

The guideline number is presumed correct, but a judge can order a different amount when the formula would produce an unfair result. A deviation requires the judge to state the reasons on the record and to identify what the standard guideline figure would have been.²

The statute lists reasons that can justify a departure:

Parenting time that the raw overnight count does not fully capture.
Extraordinary medical expenses borne by a parent or that parent’s current spouse.
High travel costs tied to exercising parenting time, often when parents live far apart.
A gross income disparity so large that the standard split produces an unreasonable result.
Substantial nonincome-producing assets held by one parent.
Consistent overtime or second-job income not already counted in gross income.

Judges do not grant deviations casually. The written-findings requirement exists because deviations are the exception, and appellate courts review them closely.²

Changing the Order Later

Child support orders are not permanent. Under C.R.S. 14-10-122, either parent can file a motion to modify by showing a “substantial and continuing” change in circumstances.⁶ Job loss, a significant raise, a changed parenting schedule, or a child’s new medical needs are typical triggers.

Colorado uses a bright-line test to prevent endless relitigation: if recalculating under current circumstances would change the monthly amount by less than 10%, the court will not treat the change as substantial.⁶ A modest raise or a slight reduction in hours usually will not clear that bar.

Modifications generally take effect from the date the motion is filed, not from when the underlying change happened. A court cannot make a modification retroactive to a date before filing unless the parents had a mutually agreed-upon change in physical custody.⁶ Every month a parent waits to file is a month locked into the old number.

What Happens If a Parent Doesn’t Pay

Colorado has several tools for collecting unpaid support, and they escalate.

Income withholding is the default. When a court establishes or modifies a support order, it also activates an income assignment directing the paying parent’s employer to withhold support from each paycheck. A judge can waive immediate withholding only on a written finding of good cause based on the parent’s history of timely payment.⁷

When arrears pile up, the state child support enforcement agency can suspend the obligor’s driver’s license. The agency identifies parents who owe past-due support and have not entered into a compliance agreement, then notifies the Department of Revenue to suspend. Reinstatement requires either payment or an approved payment plan, and a parent who has already received one notice and failed to comply must stay current for at least three months before a new plan will restore the license.⁸

At the federal level, the Treasury Offset Program intercepts tax refunds and other federal payments to collect past-due child support automatically.⁹ A court can also hold a nonpaying parent in contempt, with possible fines or jail time.

When Support Ends

Child support in Colorado generally continues until the child turns 19, not 18. If the child has not yet graduated from high school by their 19th birthday, support may continue until graduation under certain conditions.

Support can end earlier if the child is emancipated through marriage, military enlistment, or a court order. It can also continue past 19 if a child is mentally or physically disabled and the disability existed before emancipation; in that case, a court can order ongoing support, including coverage for medical expenses and insurance.¹ The disability has to have been present before age 19. A disability that develops later does not restart the obligation.

Colorado does not build college tuition or other post-secondary costs into the child support formula. Parents can agree to share those expenses in a separation agreement or parenting plan, and courts will enforce the agreement, but the issue has to be addressed up front rather than assumed.

1
Justia Law. Colorado Code 14-10-115 – Child Support Guidelines
2
Justia Law. Colorado Code 14-10-115 – Child Support Guidelines
3
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Domestic Matters 14-10-115 – Child Support Guidelines
4
Colorado Child Support Services. Frequently Asked Questions
5
Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 1821 – Support Worksheet for Child and Spousal Support
6
Justia Law. Colorado Code 14-10-122 – Modification of Child Support
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Justia Law. Colorado Code 14-14-111.5 – Income Assignment
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Justia Law. Colorado Code 26-13-123 – License Suspension for Child Support
9
Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Treasury Offset Program