Colorado Child Support Schedule: Income, Parenting Time, and Adjustments

The Colorado child support schedule is a dollar-amount table built into C.R.S. § 14-10-115 that converts the parents’ combined monthly income and the number of children into a base support obligation, which is then divided between the parents in proportion to what each one earns.¹ The grid covers combined adjusted gross incomes from $50 to $40,000 per month and one through six or more children. To know what a case will produce, you need three things: how to read the table, what income actually goes into it, and how parenting time shifts the final number.

How the Schedule Turns Income Into a Support Number

Colorado uses an income shares approach. Both parents’ adjusted gross incomes are added together to create one combined figure. That combined figure and the number of children point to a base monthly obligation in the schedule. The obligation is then split between the parents based on each parent’s percentage of the combined income, so a parent earning 60% of the total carries 60% of the base amount.

The schedule itself sits at C.R.S. § 14-10-115(7)(b). One axis lists combined adjusted gross income in $50 increments from $50 up to $40,000 per month. The other axis runs from one child to six or more.¹ Where the row and column meet is the total monthly base obligation for those children at that income level. When combined income falls between two listed rows, the court interpolates rather than rounding.

A few points on the grid show the range. At a combined adjusted gross income of $500 per month, the base obligation is $108 for one child and $165 for two. At $40,000 combined monthly income, the numbers climb to $3,398 for one child and $4,992 for two.²

There is a floor at the bottom. If the paying parent’s adjusted gross income is $650 or less per month, a flat minimum of $10 per month applies regardless of the number of children and regardless of how many overnights that parent has.¹

The base obligation from the schedule is not the whole payment. Health insurance premiums for the child and work-related childcare costs get added on top and shared between the parents in the same income-proportional way.

What Counts as Income for the Calculation

Colorado defines gross income broadly. Salaries, wages, and bonuses are the obvious inputs, but the statute also sweeps in rental income, trust distributions, capital gains, royalties, severance, dividends, interest, and monetary gifts.¹ Social Security benefits a parent receives for their own disability count, and so do workers’ compensation, unemployment benefits, and disability insurance payments. Alimony received from any source is included.

Self-employment income cannot hide behind business deductions. Money a self-employed parent draws for personal use but writes off as a business expense counts as income. Income from partnerships, LLCs, and closely held corporations is generally included, though a truly passive investor with a minority stake and no management role may only need to count actual cash distributions. Expense reimbursements and in-kind employer benefits count when they meaningfully reduce personal living costs.

Overtime is treated carefully. It only counts in gross income if the employer requires it as a condition of employment; voluntary overtime is excluded from the base calculation, though a court can weigh it as a deviation factor. Tips are included at the higher of the amount reported to the IRS or the amount needed to bring earnings to minimum wage for the hours worked.¹

Once gross income is set, the statute allows deductions for preexisting child support obligations for children from other relationships and for alimony or maintenance the parent actually pays. What’s left is each parent’s adjusted gross income, and that is the number that goes into the schedule.

Imputed Income for Underemployed Parents

A parent who is voluntarily unemployed or working below their capacity does not get to plug a low number into the worksheet. Colorado law requires the court to calculate support based on potential income instead.¹ Potential income is set by looking at the parent’s work history, education, professional qualifications, and available job opportunities in their area. The gap between actual earnings and imputed earnings can move an obligation by hundreds of dollars a month, which is why this is one of the most contested pieces of a Colorado case.

The line is voluntary versus involuntary. A parent laid off during an industry downturn and actively searching is in a different position than a parent who left a well-paying job to pursue something else. Courts look at whether the drop in income was within the parent’s control and whether the parent is making real efforts to restore earning capacity.

How Parenting Time Changes the Result

Colorado uses two worksheets, and the dividing line is 92 overnights per year. When one parent has the child for 92 overnights or fewer, the court uses Worksheet A, designed for sole physical care. When both parents have the child for more than 92 overnights each, the court uses Worksheet B, designed for shared physical care.³

The reason for the switch is practical. A parent who has the child roughly 40% of the time is buying groceries, paying utilities, and covering daily costs during those overnights. Worksheet B applies a multiplier to the base obligation that reflects two households both spending on the child. As the non-primary parent’s overnights climb past 92, their monthly payment generally decreases because they are already providing direct financial support through daily caregiving.

Both worksheets are official Colorado Judicial Branch forms: Worksheet A is JDF 1820 and Worksheet B is JDF 1821.⁴ To fill either one out, you need each parent’s monthly adjusted gross income, the number of overnights per year with each parent, the monthly cost of health insurance for the child, and any work-related childcare expenses. The forms walk through the math, but a wrong input at the top throws the whole result off. Pay stubs, tax returns, and records of other income should be in front of you before you start.

When Courts Can Order a Different Amount

The schedule creates a presumption, not a ceiling or a floor. A judge can order a different amount when applying the schedule would be unjust or inappropriate, but the court must state on the record what the standard amount would have been and why it is deviating.¹

The statute identifies grounds that may support a deviation:

Time with the child that substantially exceeds what the overnight count captures, for example a parent who has the child every day after school but returns them at bedtime.
Extraordinary medical expenses for either parent or a current spouse.
Extraordinary parenting-time costs, such as significant travel when parents live far apart.
A very large gross income disparity between the parents that makes the standard calculation produce an unfair result.
Substantial non-income-producing assets that reflect real financial capacity without generating regular income.
Consistent voluntary overtime or second-job earnings that were left out of gross income.

None of these factors automatically triggers a deviation. The court has discretion and can also deviate for reasons not on the list. If you think the schedule produces a number that does not fit your situation, you need to make a specific argument with evidence.

Changing the Order Later

Circumstances change, and child support orders can too. To modify an existing order, you must show a substantial and continuing change in circumstances. Colorado sets a hard floor: if recalculating under the current guidelines would change the monthly obligation by less than 10%, the court will treat that as insufficient to justify modification.⁵ A significant job loss, a substantial raise, additional children, or a major shift in parenting time can all clear that bar.

A modification only applies to payments coming due after the motion is filed. You cannot retroactively reduce what you already owe, so filing quickly matters when circumstances change. The court generally makes the modification effective as of the filing date unless doing so would cause undue hardship.

One trap is worth flagging. An informal agreement with your co-parent does not replace a court order. If you lose your job and stop paying the full amount based on a handshake deal but never file a modification motion, the unpaid amounts accumulate as enforceable arrears. The court’s order controls until a judge changes it.

When Child Support Ends

In Colorado, child support automatically terminates when the child turns 19, and neither parent needs to file a motion for that to happen.¹ Several exceptions apply:

If the child is still in high school at 19, support continues until the end of the month following graduation but cannot extend past age 21.
A court can order support to continue past 19 if the child has a mental or physical disability that limits their ability to become self-supporting, and the order can include medical expenses and insurance coverage.
Parents can agree in writing to extend support past 19 or to cover postsecondary education expenses, and the agreement is enforceable once incorporated into a court order.
A child who marries before 19 is emancipated as of the wedding date; if the marriage is later annulled or dissolved, support can be reinstated.
A child who enters active military service before 19 is emancipated.

The postsecondary piece deserves attention. Colorado courts cannot order a parent to pay for college over their objection. Extending support past 19 for education expenses only happens when both parents agree in writing, and the moment to negotiate that is during the initial divorce or custody proceeding, not after a child has been accepted somewhere.

1
Justia. Colorado Code 14-10-115 – Child Support Guidelines
2
Colorado General Assembly. House Bill 25-1159 – Child Support Schedule
3
Colorado Child Support Services. Frequently Asked Questions
4
Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 1821 – Support Worksheet
5
Justia. Colorado Code 14-10-122 – Modification of Child Support