A new law (HB 25-1159) took effect March 1, 2026, the biggest change to Colorado child support in over a decade. Every overnight now counts, the income cap rose, and awards went up about 10%.

Colorado overhauled its child support guidelines effective March 1, 2026, under House Bill 25-1159 (signed May 31, 2025). Now every overnight counts from the first one, on a smooth curve, so a parent's actual time with the kids reduces support proportionally instead of jumping at an arbitrary threshold. This also ends the old strategic fights over reaching 92 overnights, and merges the two old worksheets (A and B) into a single worksheet.

The combined monthly income covered by the guideline schedule rose from $30,000 to $40,000, and the support tables were updated for inflation for the first time since 2014, raising typical awards by roughly 10%. There's also a higher "self-support reserve" (about $1,832/month in 2026) protecting low-income parents. If you ran an old estimate, used an old calculator, or are comparing to a friend who divorced a few years ago, the numbers won't match. Use the current official Colorado calculator, and note that these changes can be grounds to revisit an existing order.

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Colorado, USA