Colorado Wage Garnishment Calculator

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Colorado Wage Garnishment Calculator

How much a Colorado paycheck can lose to a judgment, support order, tax levy, student loan or Chapter 13 plan. C.R.S. 13-54-104 (HB19-1189), 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677. Estimates only.

Rules encoded (VERIFY): for non-support debts Colorado takes the lesser of 20% of weekly disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 40 times the state minimum wage (C.R.S. 13-54-104, as amended by HB19-1189); at or below that 40x floor nothing is withheld ($606.40 weekly in 2026). All non-support garnishments together share the same 20% pool. Support withholding follows the CCPA tiers 50 / 55 / 60 / 65% of disposable earnings and takes priority. CDOR tax levies are generally set at 25% of disposable pay. IRS levies use Publication 1494. Federal student loan AWG uses 15% with the federal 30x floor. State minimum wage: $14.42 (2024), $14.81 (2025), $15.16 (2026); Denver and other local wages are higher but the statute keys to the state rate. No discharge for one garnishment (15 U.S.C. 1674).

1. Mode, county and pay date

Stack uses the order boxes in section 3.
Sets the 40x floor wage.
County or District Court venue; 64 counties.
C.R.S. 13-54-104 tests run weekly; scaled by 52 / periods.
0 uses the statewide rate for the year. The statute keys to the state rate even where Denver or other local wages are higher (VERIFY).
Select a county to see the venue note, the 40x floor and the 20% pool.

2. Gross pay and legally required withholding

Includes bonuses and commissions.
Voluntary 401(k) excluded.
Take-home only; not in the garnishment base.

3. Order type and amounts

0 applies the statutory maximum.
Informational; support sits outside the 20% pool.
Shares the 20% pool.

4. Balance and payoff

Colorado judgment interest defaults to 8% (C.R.S. 5-12-102 – VERIFY).

How it works

  • Disposable = gross minus deductions required by law; voluntary shown separately.
  • Weekly conversion = 52 / periods (1, 2, 2.1667, 4.3333); C.R.S. 13-54-104 tests run weekly.
  • Floor = 40x state minimum wage per week ($606.40 in 2026); at or below it no non-support garnishment.
  • Consumer cap = least of 20% of disposable, the weekly excess over the floor, and the 20% pool left after other non-support garnishments.
  • Support = lesser of ordered and the CCPA tier 50 / 55 / 60 / 65% of disposable; support sits outside the 20% pool.
  • Student loan = lesser of 15% disposable and above the federal 30x floor, then within the 20% pool in stack mode.
  • IRS = disposable above Pub 1494 exempt; CDOR = 25% of disposable; neither uses the 20% cap.
  • Stack applies ceilings in priority order with the pool shared by student loan and consumer orders.
  • Payoff amortizes at the entered rate and flags non-amortizing or zero-withholding cases.

Sources

  • C.R.S. 13-54-104 (20% cap, 40x state minimum wage floor, HB19-1189 amendments): leg.colorado.gov and findlaw
  • Colorado Judicial Branch self-help: garnishment of wages, income assignments, exemption forms: coloradojudicial.gov
  • Colorado Legal Services garnishment guide ($606.40 weekly floor table for 2026, 20% aggregate): coloradolegalservices.org
  • Colorado Child Support Services income withholding (55% with arrears over 12 weeks): childsupport.colorado.gov
  • CDOR tax levies (25% of disposable pay): tax.colorado.gov
  • CDLE minimum wage ($14.42 / $14.81 / $15.16; $15.71 in 2027): cdle.colorado.gov
  • 15 U.S.C. 1671-1677 and DOL Fact Sheet 30: dol.gov
  • IRS Pub 1494 and Form 668-W: irs.gov
  • 20 U.S.C. 1095a, 34 CFR 34.19: studentaid.gov
  • C.R.S. 5-12-102 (8% judgment interest default): leg.colorado.gov

Test cases

TC1 Denver County, 2026, weekly. Gross $1,200.00; required $240.00; disposable $960.00. 20% cap $192.00; 40x floor room $960.00 minus $606.40 = $353.60. Withheld $192.00, take-home $768.00, 20.00%. $4,000 at 8% clears in 22 weeks, total $4,224.00, interest $224.00.
TC2 Pueblo County, 2026, weekly. Gross $700.00; required $140.00; disposable $560.00, at or below the 40x floor of $606.40. Withheld $0.00. The 20% cap would have allowed $112.00 had the floor not barred it.
TC3 El Paso County, 2026, biweekly. Gross $3,000.00; required $700.00; disposable $2,300.00. Child support, no second family, arrears over 12 weeks: 65% ceiling $1,495.00; ordered $1,600.00. Withheld $1,495.00, take-home $805.00.
TC4 Larimer County, 2026, biweekly, stack. Gross $3,000.00; required $700.00; disposable $2,300.00. Support $300.00 outside the pool; no IRS or CDOR order; student loan $200.00 inside the $460.00 pool; consumer requested $500.00 but only $260.00 of pool remains. Total $760.00, take-home $1,540.00.
TC5 Jefferson County, 2026, semimonthly. Gross $2,600.00; required $600.00; disposable $2,000.00. Federal student loan AWG 15% = $300.00; federal floor $471.25 per period leaves $1,528.75; federal AWG is not reduced by the state 20% pool (VERIFY). Withheld $300.00, take-home $1,700.00. $9,000 at 0% clears in 30 periods, about 1.25 years.
Estimates only; not legal advice. All figures VERIFY, including the 20% and 40x state minimum wage formula of C.R.S. 13-54-104, the 20% aggregate pool across non-support garnishments, the CCPA support tiers as applied by Colorado Child Support Services, the CDOR 25% levy practice, local minimum wage interaction, exemption claim deadlines and the 8% judgment interest default. Pub 1494 estimate uses 2026 standard deductions ($16,100 / $24,150 / $32,200) plus $5,300 per dependent plus $1,600 per age-65 or blind box. Not modeled: service-date priority, contested exemption hearings, automatic stays, self-employment income, bonuses, severance, pensions, unemployment or workers compensation, and marital or community claims. Consult a Colorado attorney or Colorado Legal Services. Deploy: replace the block, Update, purge cache, hard refresh; verify document.getElementById(“colorado-wage-garnishment-calculator”).getAttribute(“data-js-ready”) returns “true” with no SyntaxError.

What Is a Colorado Wage Garnishment Calculator?

A Colorado wage garnishment calculator estimates paycheck withholding by calculating disposable earnings and applying the programmed limit for the selected order. For an ordinary consumer judgment, this tool compares 20% of disposable earnings, earnings above a 40-times-state-minimum-wage floor, and the remaining 20% pool after other non-support garnishments.

The calculator has three modes. Single Order calculates one selected order type. Stacking processes five entered order categories in a priority sequence. Payoff Timeline treats the calculated withholding as a recurring payment and estimates how many pay periods are needed to satisfy an entered balance at the selected annual interest rate.

A Colorado county is required. The calculator includes all 64 counties and uses the selection for its displayed County or District Court venue information. The county itself does not change the monetary garnishment formula.

How the Colorado Wage Garnishment Calculation Works

The calculation begins with disposable earnings. The calculator adds federal income tax, Colorado income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding. If those deductions exceed gross pay, the required-withholding total is limited to gross pay.

D=max⁡(G−min⁡(G,R),0)D=\max\left(G-\min(G,R),0\right)

Here, G is gross pay, R is total required withholding, and D is disposable earnings. Voluntary deductions are not included in the garnishment base. They are used later when the calculator estimates take-home pay.

Pay frequency determines how weekly limits are converted to one pay period. The code uses 52 pay periods for weekly pay, 26 for biweekly pay, 24 for semimonthly pay, and 12 for monthly pay.

w=52Nw=\frac{52}{N}

N is the number of annual pay periods and w is the number of weeks represented by one pay period.

For a consumer or contract judgment and a private student loan judgment, the calculator first computes 20% of disposable earnings.

C20=0.20DC_{20}=0.20D

It then calculates the amount above 40 times the state minimum wage. The programmed statewide rates are $14.42 for 2024, $14.81 for 2025, and $15.16 for 2026. A positive State Minimum Wage Override replaces the selected statewide value in the calculation.

Cfloor=max⁡(Dw−40M,0)wC_{floor}=\max\left(\frac{D}{w}-40M,0\right)w

M is the state minimum wage value used by the calculator. If weekly disposable earnings are at or below the 40-times floor, this part of the calculation is zero.

The calculator also creates a 20% pool for ordinary non-support garnishments. In Single Order mode, Other Non-Support Garnishments reduce this pool. The separate Support Already Withheld field is displayed but does not reduce that pool in the code.

Cpool=max⁡(0,0.20D−O)C_{pool}=\max\left(0,0.20D-O\right)

O is the amount entered for Other Non-Support Garnishments. The consumer-style cap is the smallest of the 20% amount, the amount above the 40-times floor, and the pool that remains.

Cconsumer=min⁡(C20,Cfloor,Cpool)C_{consumer}=\min\left(C_{20},C_{floor},C_{pool}\right)

A positive Amount Demanded below the calculated cap reduces the withholding to that amount. Entering zero causes Single Order mode to use the programmed maximum.

Support, Student Loan, Tax, and Chapter 13 Formulas

Child support and spousal maintenance use one of four percentages of disposable earnings. The calculator starts at 50% when the worker supports a second spouse or child and 60% otherwise. Arrears of 12 weeks or more add 5 percentage points.

Wsupport=rDW_{support}=rD

The programmed support rate r is therefore 50%, 55%, 60%, or 65%. A smaller positive Amount Demanded reduces the withholding below that ceiling.

Federal student loan administrative wage garnishment uses the smaller of 15% of disposable earnings and disposable earnings above 30 times the encoded federal minimum wage of $7.25.

Wstudent=min⁡(0.15D,max⁡(Dw−30×7.25,0)w)W_{student}=\min\left(0.15D,\max\left(\frac{D}{w}-30\times7.25,0\right)w\right)

In Single Order mode, this federal student loan amount is not reduced by Colorado's programmed 20% pool.

The Colorado Department of Revenue levy branch uses 25% of disposable earnings.

WCDOR=0.25DW_{CDOR}=0.25D

An IRS levy instead uses disposable earnings above an estimated exempt amount. A positive Override Exempt Amount is used directly. Otherwise, the calculator combines its built-in standard deduction for the selected year and filing status with $5,300 per dependent and $1,600 for each age-65-or-blind box.

EIRS=SD+5300d+1600bNE_{IRS}=\frac{SD+5300d+1600b}{N}
WIRS=max⁡(D−EIRS,0)W_{IRS}=\max(D-E_{IRS},0)

For Chapter 13, the entered monthly plan payment is converted to the selected pay frequency and capped at disposable earnings.

W13=min⁡(12PmN,D)W_{13}=\min\left(\frac{12P_m}{N},D\right)

Worked Example

Suppose a worker is paid weekly in 2026, earns $1,200 gross, and has $240 in legally required withholding. Assume a consumer judgment, no other non-support garnishments, no voluntary deductions, no minimum-wage override, and an Amount Demanded of zero.

Disposable earnings are $960. Twenty percent is $192. The calculator's 2026 state minimum wage is $15.16, so the 40-times weekly floor is $606.40. Disposable earnings exceed that floor by $353.60. The full 20% pool is also $192.

min⁡(192.00,353.60,192.00)=192.00\min(192.00,353.60,192.00)=192.00

The calculator therefore displays $192.00 withheld for the week. With no voluntary deductions, estimated take-home pay is $768.00. The withheld amount equals 20.00% of disposable earnings.

How to Use the Colorado Wage Garnishment Calculator

  1. Select Single Order, Stacking, or Payoff Timeline mode.
  2. Select the year wages are payable, one of Colorado's 64 counties, and the pay frequency.
  3. Leave State Minimum Wage Override at zero to use the calculator's built-in rate, or enter a positive override value to replace it.
  4. Enter gross pay and the amounts for federal income tax, Colorado income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding.
  5. Enter voluntary deductions separately. They affect estimated take-home pay but not disposable earnings.
  6. Select the order type and enter an Amount Demanded if applicable. Zero generally allows Single Order mode to use its programmed maximum.
  7. Enter Support Already Withheld and Other Non-Support Garnishments when those amounts are relevant to the result you are modeling.
  8. For support, select the Second Family and Arrears 12 Weeks options when applicable to the calculation.
  9. Complete the IRS or Chapter 13 fields when those order types are selected.
  10. In Stacking mode, enter separate requested amounts for support, IRS levy, CDOR levy, student loan, and consumer judgment.
  11. For Payoff Timeline mode, enter the Balance Owed and Interest per Year.
  12. Check the required acknowledgment and select Calculate.

The primary result is Withheld per Pay Period. The calculator also shows weekly and annual withholding, disposable earnings, the state minimum-wage floor, the federal reference floor, the 20% pool, estimated take-home pay, the share of disposable earnings withheld, and the factor identified as controlling the calculation.

Important Assumptions and How to Read the Results

The pay-year selector controls the state minimum wage used for the 40-times floor. A positive minimum-wage override replaces that value even though the calculator's explanatory text says the underlying rule keys to the state rate. The code does not check whether an override matches an official wage.

Support Already Withheld is informational in the Single Order consumer calculation. The consumer-cap function subtracts Other Non-Support Garnishments from the 20% pool but does not subtract the support amount. The results still display both entered figures.

Voluntary deductions affect take-home pay only. The calculator subtracts required withholding, voluntary deductions, and the calculated garnishment from gross pay, with a minimum take-home result of zero.

T=max⁡(G−R−V−W,0)T=\max(G-R-V-W,0)

V is voluntary deductions and W is calculated withholding.

Most money inputs allow values from $0 through $10,000,000. Balance Owed allows up to $100,000,000. State Minimum Wage Override allows up to $100 per hour. Interest per Year accepts 0% through 40%. IRS Dependents accepts 0 through 20, while Age 65 or Blind accepts 0 through 2. Gross pay must be greater than zero.

Currency results are displayed with two decimal places. The share of disposable earnings withheld is displayed with two decimal places as a percentage. The calculator also converts the withholding to weekly and yearly amounts.

How Stacking Mode Works

Stacking mode processes five categories in this order: support, IRS levy, CDOR levy, federal student loan, and consumer judgment. These dedicated stack fields are separate from the main Amount Demanded field.

Support is limited by the applicable 50%, 55%, 60%, or 65% ceiling and the disposable earnings remaining at that point. The IRS step then uses the remaining amount above the estimated IRS exemption. The CDOR step is limited to 25% of original disposable earnings and the amount still remaining.

The student loan and consumer judgment share a separate 20% pool in Stack mode. The student loan amount is limited by the requested amount, its 15% or federal-floor cap, and the original 20% pool. The amount used for the student loan is then removed from the pool before the consumer judgment is calculated.

The student-loan step is not separately limited to the remaining disposable earnings after the earlier support, IRS, and CDOR steps before it is subtracted. This means some input combinations can make the calculator's internal remaining amount negative. The later consumer amount is then prevented from becoming negative, and displayed take-home pay is floored at zero.

The separate Other Non-Support Garnishments input used in Single Order mode is not subtracted from the Stack mode pool. Stack mode starts its pool at 20% of original disposable earnings and reduces it only by the stacked student-loan amount before calculating the stacked consumer judgment.

How the Payoff Timeline Works

Payoff Timeline mode treats the calculated withholding as a recurring payment. The annual percentage rate is divided by the number of annual pay periods to create a periodic interest rate.

i=APR100Ni=\frac{APR}{100N}

If the recurring payment is greater than one period of interest on the balance, the calculator estimates the number of required payments with an amortization formula and rounds upward to a whole pay period.

n=⌈−ln⁡(1−BiP)ln⁡(1+i)⌉n=\left\lceil\frac{-\ln\left(1-\frac{Bi}{P}\right)}{\ln(1+i)}\right\rceil

B is the balance, P is the payment per period, i is the periodic rate, and n is the number of pay periods. If the payment does not exceed one period of interest, the calculator reports that the balance never amortizes.

At 0% interest, the calculator divides the balance by the recurring payment and rounds up. It displays Pay Periods to Satisfy, approximate Calendar Time, Total Paid, and Interest Paid. With a positive APR, Total Paid is calculated as the rounded number of periods multiplied by the full recurring payment.

Stack mode also displays the payoff panel and uses Total Withheld from the stack as its periodic payment. Balance Owed is required only when Payoff Timeline mode itself is selected.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are disposable earnings in this calculator?

Disposable earnings are gross pay minus the deductions entered as legally required. Those inputs are federal income tax, Colorado income tax, Social Security and Medicare, mandatory retirement, and other required withholding. Voluntary health, 401(k), and dues deductions do not reduce this garnishment base.

How does the 40-times-minimum-wage floor work?

The calculator multiplies its state minimum wage value by 40 and compares that weekly floor with weekly disposable earnings. For a consumer-style judgment, only the amount above the floor can be available under that part of the calculation. If weekly disposable earnings are at or below the floor, the consumer-style withholding is zero.

Does a Colorado county change the garnishment amount?

No. County selection is required, but the code uses it for venue information rather than a county-specific percentage or wage floor. The monetary calculation instead uses the selected pay year, any wage override, pay frequency, paycheck amounts, order type, and related inputs.

How does the 20% pool work?

In Single Order mode, the calculator starts with 20% of disposable earnings and subtracts Other Non-Support Garnishments. Support Already Withheld is outside this programmed pool. In Stack mode, the 20% pool is shared by the stacked federal student loan and consumer judgment amounts.

What happens when Amount Demanded is zero?

In Single Order mode, zero generally means the calculator uses the maximum amount produced by the programmed formula for that order type. A positive amount reduces the result only when it is below that maximum. In the dedicated Stack fields, zero means no requested withholding for that category.

How are support withholding percentages selected?

The calculator uses 50% when the Second Family box is checked and 60% when it is not. Checking Arrears 12 Weeks adds another 5 percentage points. The four possible programmed support ceilings are therefore 50%, 55%, 60%, and 65% of disposable earnings.

How accurate is the payoff estimate?

The payoff result follows the entered balance, APR, pay frequency, and recurring withholding used by the calculator. It assumes that payment remains unchanged. Changes in withholding, interest, court orders, exemptions, or other payments are not automatically modeled, so the displayed payoff period is an estimate rather than a guaranteed date.

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