Colorado Form DR 1094 W-2 Wage Withholding: Filing and Due Dates

Colorado Form DR 1094 is the wage withholding return employers use to report and remit Colorado income tax withheld from employee paychecks. You file it quarterly, monthly, or weekly on the schedule the Colorado Department of Revenue assigns you, using your eight-digit Colorado Account Number, and you submit it either through the Revenue Online portal or by mail with a paper check. The state’s flat income tax rate is 4.4%, and the amount you withhold from each employee depends on their federal W-4 and Colorado DR 0004 elections.1Department of Revenue – Taxation. Individual Income Tax Guide

What You Need Before You File

You cannot file a DR 1094 without a Colorado Account Number (CAN), the eight-digit identifier the Department assigns to track your withholding payments.2Department of Revenue – Taxation. Income Tax Account Businesses physically located in Colorado can register through MyBizColorado or by submitting Form CR 0100, the Colorado Sales Tax and Withholding Account Application. Out-of-state businesses with employees working in Colorado must use the CR 0100.3Department of Revenue – Taxation. Withholding Accounts On the CR 0100, select “Original Application for a New Business” in Box 1 when opening a new withholding account.4Colorado Department of Revenue. Colorado Sales Tax and Withholding Account Application CR 0100

When the Department processes your application, it assigns your filing frequency based on how much withholding tax it expects you to collect over a year. Your CAN and that frequency appear on every DR 1094 you file.

Completing the Form Line by Line

The return is short: a header block plus six numbered lines. The header is where most errors happen, so get the account number right before anything else.5Colorado Department of Revenue. Completing Colorado W-2 Wage Withholding Tax Return DR 1094

  • Account Number. Your eight-digit Colorado Account Number from your withholding certificate or sales tax license. Do not put your federal EIN or EFT number here.
  • Filing Period. The period-end date matching your assigned frequency: a quarter-end date, month-end date, or the Friday closing your weekly period.
  • Line 1. Total Colorado income tax withheld from employee wages during the period.
  • Line 2. Credit for any overpayment from a prior period in the same calendar year. A worksheet on the form walks through the calculation.
  • Line 3. Net tax due (Line 1 minus Line 2).
  • Line 4. Late-filing penalty, if any. Leave blank when filing on time.
  • Line 5. Interest on any late balance.
  • Line 6. Total due (Lines 3 + 4 + 5).

File a zero return through Revenue Online for any period with no payroll activity. Skipping the filing can generate delinquency notices and complicate later attempts to close or change the account.

Filing Frequency and Due Dates

Your assigned frequency depends on your annual Colorado withholding volume.6Department of Revenue – Taxation. Withholding Filing Frequency and Due Dates

  • Quarterly, for less than $7,000 per year. File after each quarter ending March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. The return and payment are due the last day of the following month; the first-quarter return is due April 30.
  • Monthly, for $7,000 to $50,000 per year. File for each calendar month, due by the 15th of the following month. March, for example, is due April 15.
  • Weekly, for more than $50,000 per year. Each period runs Saturday through Friday, with the return and payment due by the third business day after that Friday.7Department of Revenue – Taxation. Withholding Tax Guide

If your liability grows enough to push you into more frequent filing, the Department notifies you before January of the next calendar year. Moving to a less frequent schedule is not automatic. You have to request it and keep filing at your current frequency until the Department confirms the change.6Department of Revenue – Taxation. Withholding Filing Frequency and Due Dates

How to Submit and Pay

Revenue Online is the Department’s electronic filing portal and the fastest path. Create a login, link your Colorado Account Number, and select the withholding return for the correct period. You can pay through the portal by credit card, debit card, or e-check.8Department of Revenue – Taxation. File Withholding Online Weekly filers must pay by electronic funds transfer; paper checks are not accepted at that frequency.7Department of Revenue – Taxation. Withholding Tax Guide

Quarterly and monthly filers paying by paper check should not file through Revenue Online. Mail the completed DR 1094 with your check to the Colorado Department of Revenue, and write your eight-digit Colorado Account Number and the filing period on the check’s memo line so the payment posts correctly. The mailing address is printed on the form; verify it against the most recent version at tax.colorado.gov because PO Box numbers occasionally change.8Department of Revenue – Taxation. File Withholding Online

Whichever route you use, save your Revenue Online confirmation number or proof of mailing with your permanent tax records. That is your evidence of timely filing if a dispute comes up later.

Penalties and Interest

Late filing carries a penalty of the greater of $5 or 5% of the unpaid tax for the first month or fraction of a month, plus 0.5% for each additional month, capped at 12% of the tax due.7Department of Revenue – Taxation. Withholding Tax Guide Interest also runs on the unpaid balance. For 2026, the interest rate is 8% annually if you pay before or within 30 days of a notice of deficiency, and 11% if you don’t.9Department of Revenue – Taxation. Tax Topics – Penalties and Interest

Ignoring a notice and demand for payment adds a separate collection penalty of 15% of the unpaid tax.7Department of Revenue – Taxation. Withholding Tax Guide The state also holds a lien on all business assets until withheld amounts are fully remitted. Withheld tax is money held in trust for the state, and the Department pursues non-payment aggressively.

Fixing Errors on a Prior Return

Colorado has no separate amended withholding return. How you correct an error depends on its direction.10Department of Revenue – Taxation. Amending a Withholding Return

  • Overpayment. Claim the credit on a later DR 1094 filed in the same calendar year, through Revenue Online or on paper. If you cannot use it before year-end, claim the refund on your annual DR 1093.
  • Underpayment. File another return for the period in which the tax was originally due, reporting only the additional amount owed. Revenue Online or paper both work.

The sooner an underpayment is corrected, the less penalty and interest builds up. Refunds claimed on a timely DR 1093 process automatically unless there are outstanding balances on the account, in which case the Department applies the overpayment to those balances first.

Year-End Reconciliation on Form DR 1093

After the calendar year closes, file Form DR 1093, the Annual Transmittal of State W-2 Forms, by January 31. The DR 1093 reconciles total withholding reported across all your DR 1094 filings against the total state withholding shown on your employees’ W-2s.11Department of Revenue – Taxation. DR 1093 – Annual Transmittal of State W-2 Forms

Line 1 of the DR 1093 shows total state withholding per your W-2s. Line 2 shows total withholding you remitted during the year. If they match, Line 3 is zero. If Line 1 is larger, you under-remitted and owe the difference plus penalty and interest. If Line 2 is larger, the Department issues a refund automatically, assuming the account has no delinquencies.12Colorado Department of Revenue. Annual Transmittal of State W-2 Forms DR 1093

Employers required to file 10 or more federal W-2s must also file their Colorado W-2s electronically.7Department of Revenue – Taxation. Withholding Tax Guide Smaller employers can send paper W-2s with the DR 1093 or file electronically through Revenue Online.