The Colorado PFL tax, officially the Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) premium, is 0.88% of each employee’s covered wages in 2026, charged on earnings up to $184,500 per year.1Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Update Your Employee Headcount for 2026 Premiums For most businesses, that 0.88% splits evenly: 0.44% comes out of the worker’s paycheck, and 0.44% is paid by the employer. The maximum anyone pays into the program in 2026 is $1,623.60 total per employee for the year.
The 2026 Rate and Wage Cap
The premium rate dropped from 0.9% to 0.88% effective January 1, 2026, after the FAMLI Division recalculated program costs as the statute requires.1Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Update Your Employee Headcount for 2026 Premiums The law caps the rate at 1.2%, so premiums cannot climb above that ceiling in future years no matter what happens to program costs.
The premium only applies to wages up to the federal Social Security wage base, which is $184,500 for 2026.2Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base Any dollar an employee earns above $184,500 in a calendar year is exempt. Payroll systems should stop withholding automatically once year-to-date wages cross that line.
Who Pays: Employer Share vs. Employee Share
How the 0.88% gets divided depends on how many workers the business employs nationwide, not just in Colorado.
- 10 or more employees: the business owes the full 0.88% and may deduct up to half (0.44%) from the employee’s paycheck, splitting the cost 50/50.3Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Employer FAQs
- Fewer than 10 employees: the business owes no employer share. It still must withhold 0.44% from each employee’s wages and remit that amount to the FAMLI Division.3Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Employer FAQs
A larger employer can voluntarily cover the full 0.88% as a benefit and skip the employee deduction. The reverse doesn’t help you: if you forget to withhold the employee’s portion from a paycheck, you can’t make it up on a later check.4Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Employers The employer absorbs any missed deduction, which is one of the most common early mistakes in payroll setup.
Your headcount gets refreshed every year. The FAMLI Division uses whatever number is on file as of each January, so businesses need to update their employee count in the My FAMLI+ Employer portal before the end of February. Skip the update and the Division applies the full 0.88% employer rate regardless of your actual size.1Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Update Your Employee Headcount for 2026 Premiums
How to Calculate the Premium
The math is the same for every paycheck: multiply covered wages by the applicable rate, and stop once the employee’s year-to-date wages hit $184,500. A few examples make the numbers concrete.
Employee Earning $50,000 at a Large Employer
All $50,000 sits below the wage cap, so the full salary is premium-eligible. The annual total is $440.00 ($50,000 × 0.0088). Split evenly, the employer pays $220.00 for the year and withholds $220.00 from the worker. On a biweekly pay schedule, the employee deduction works out to roughly $8.46 per check.
Employee Earning $50,000 at a Small Employer
Same salary, different split. The employer owes nothing. The worker’s annual contribution is $220.00 ($50,000 × 0.0044), spread across the year’s paychecks.
Employee Earning $200,000
Only the first $184,500 is premium-eligible.2Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base The annual premium tops out at $1,623.60 ($184,500 × 0.0088). At a large employer with the standard split, each side pays $811.80. Once the employee’s year-to-date wages pass $184,500, no further premium is due for the rest of the calendar year.
Which Wages Count
Covered wages are gross wages, defined broadly. That includes salaries, hourly pay, overtime, tips, bonuses, and commissions. Severance, profit-sharing distributions, and employer contributions to deferred compensation plans are generally excluded. The rule of thumb: if the compensation appears on a W-2 as wages, it almost certainly counts toward the FAMLI premium.
Self-Employed Workers
Self-employed people and independent contractors are not automatically enrolled. They can opt in through the My FAMLI+ Employer portal. The premium for self-employed participants is 0.44% of gross self-employment income, matching the employee-only share since there is no employer on the other side of the split.5Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Self-Employed Workers The same $184,500 cap applies.
Opting in is a three-year commitment. You cannot drop out before that period ends.5Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Self-Employed Workers Registration requires your most recent IRS tax transcript and any W-2s, and you’ll need to submit updated tax documents by December 1 each year you remain enrolled.
Local Governments Can Opt Out
Local governments are the only employers that can decline FAMLI entirely.6Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Local Governments A governing body can choose to participate fully, decline only the employer premium (while still withholding and remitting the employee portion), or decline all participation. A full opt-out requires a formal vote, registration in My FAMLI+ Employer, and a decision letter uploaded to the portal. That vote has to be revisited every eight years. Private-sector businesses have no equivalent opt-out, though they can satisfy the obligation through an approved private plan.
When and How Employers Pay
Every Colorado employer with at least one qualifying worker must register with the FAMLI Division through the My FAMLI+ Employer portal.7Family and Medical Leave Insurance. My FAMLI+ Employer After registration, the recurring task is quarterly: report wages and remit premiums.
Each quarterly filing lists employee names, contact information, and total covered wages paid during the quarter. You can enter the data by hand or use a bulk upload, and the system calculates the premium owed from the wage data you submit.
Filings are due the last day of the month after each quarter closes.8Family and Medical Leave Insurance. My FAMLI+ Employer User Guide – Wages and Payments The schedule:
- Q1 (January–March): due April 30
- Q2 (April–June): due July 31
- Q3 (July–September): due October 31
- Q4 (October–December): due January 31
Late filings trigger penalties and interest. The Division has not published a standalone penalty schedule separate from Colorado’s general tax penalty framework, so employers who fall behind should expect interest accruing from the original due date until the balance is paid.