Colorado Alimony & Spousal Support (2026)
Colorado is one of the few states with an actual guideline formula for alimony amount, under C.R.S. § 14-10-114. It's still advisory in most cases — a judge can deviate from it — but it gives a real, citable starting point instead of pure guesswork.
The guideline formula
Colorado publishes an official Advisory Maintenance Guidelines worksheet (form FCF 425). The calculation: take 40% of the parties' combined adjusted gross monthly income, then subtract the lower-earning party's own adjusted gross monthly income. If that result is negative, the guideline amount is $0. If maintenance would NOT be tax-deductible to the payor (the current default under federal tax law), the guideline amount is further reduced to 80% of that figure when combined monthly income is $10,000 or less, or 75% when combined monthly income is $10,001-$20,000. The guideline only applies when the parties have been married at least 3 years and combined annual adjusted gross income is $240,000 or less.
Colorado also publishes an advisory duration table that converts the length of the marriage (in months) into a recommended number of months of maintenance, starting around 31% of the marriage length for short marriages and rising toward a 50% plateau (capped at 240 months / 20 years) for marriages of about 150 months or longer.
For an exact figure using your own numbers, use the official Colorado calculator/guideline tool.
What determines alimony in Colorado
Under C.R.S. § 14-10-114 (Colorado Revised Statutes § 14-10-114 (Advisory Maintenance Guidelines)), a court considers:
- Each party's financial resources
- Each party's lifestyle during the marriage
- Distributional effects of taxes on the parties
- Ability of the payor to meet their own needs while paying maintenance
- Actual advisory guideline result, if applicable
- Any other factor the court finds relevant
Good to know
- Colorado's own statute is unusually explicit that this guideline "does not create a presumptive amount or term of maintenance" — the court retains full discretion to award a fair and equitable amount based on the totality of the circumstances, using the guideline only as one advisory reference point.
- This is the only bucket-A state in this dataset whose official form itself states, in its own text, that it creates no presumption — worth knowing before treating the guideline number as authoritative.
Also need a child support estimate?
Alimony and child support are calculated completely separately in Colorado. If you also have children, use our free Colorado child support calculator — that one does compute a real number, based on the official guideline formula.
Frequently asked questions
Does Colorado have a real maintenance formula?
Colorado publishes an official advisory worksheet with a real calculation: 40% of the combined adjusted gross income minus the lower earner's own income (with an additional reduction if maintenance is non-taxable). But the statute itself explicitly says this guideline creates no presumption — it's advisory, and courts have full discretion.
How is Colorado maintenance duration calculated?
Colorado's advisory guidelines include a table converting the marriage length in months into a recommended number of months of maintenance, generally rising from around 31% of the marriage length for shorter marriages up to a 50% plateau for marriages of roughly 12.5 years or more.
Who qualifies for the Colorado maintenance guideline?
The advisory guideline applies only when the parties were married at least 3 years and their combined annual adjusted gross income is $240,000 or less. Outside those bounds, or if a judge finds the guideline result unfair, the court decides based on the statutory factors instead.
Source: Colorado Revised Statutes § 14-10-114 (Advisory Maintenance Guidelines) · Last verified 2026-07-22
Disclaimer: This page explains the general legal framework for alimony in Colorado and is for informational purposes only — it is not legal advice and does not predict the outcome of any specific case. Laws change; always verify with the official source above or a family law attorney licensed in Colorado before making decisions.