California vs Colorado taxes

Level on modest pay

On $50,000 a single filer keeps $40,665 in California and $40,643 in Colorado, $22 apart. The two states arrive there by opposite routes.

California’s income tax is the smaller one at this level: $1,040 against Colorado’s $1,492. Colorado charges a flat 4.4% on federal taxable income, so the federal standard deduction of $16,100 comes off first. California’s own deduction is only $5,706, but its first bands are taxed at 1%, 2% and 4%, and its $153 exemption credit comes off the tax itself.

California takes it back in payroll. SDI is 1.3% of every dollar, $650 on $50,000. Colorado’s FAMLI premium is 0.44%, or $220.

The result is a range where California keeps slightly more: between about $22,000 and $51,000 for a single filer, and between about $43,000 and $102,000 for a couple filing jointly. Outside those ranges Colorado does.

Why Colorado pulls away

From the middle of the income range both of California’s lines grow faster than Colorado’s. Its rate reaches 8% at $57,542 of taxable income and 9.3% at $72,724, while Colorado charges 4.4% on every dollar. SDI has no cap; FAMLI stops at $184,500 of wages.

So Colorado keeps $828 more on $75,000, $5,103 on $150,000 and $11,152 on $250,000. At that last salary California’s income tax alone is $19,005, against Colorado’s $10,292.

Couples reach that point later, because California doubles its brackets for joint filers. A couple on $100,000 comes out within $44 of level; on $150,000 the couple keeps $1,656 more in Colorado, and on $250,000 $7,615.

A rate that can move

Colorado’s 4.4% is the statutory rate, and it is what these figures use. Under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, surplus state revenue has to be returned, and one way of returning it is a temporary cut to the income tax rate for a single year. In a year when that happens, the Colorado tax shown here is slightly too high. California instead indexes its bracket thresholds and deduction for inflation each year.

What the take-home figure does not count

The small flat occupational privilege taxes that Denver, Aurora and a few other Colorado cities charge are not included. Nor are sales tax, property tax or housing costs, which differ widely within both states. This page compares only what is taken from wages.

Questions people ask

Do you take home more in California or Colorado on $75,000?

Colorado, by $828 a year, or $69 a month, for a single filer in 2026. That counts federal tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax and every state payroll deduction.

Is the difference the same at every salary?

No. The side that keeps more changes with the salary: $30,000: California by $132; $50,000: California by $22; $75,000: Colorado by $828; $100,000: Colorado by $2,223; $150,000: Colorado by $5,103; $250,000: Colorado by $11,152.

Why does California come out level with Colorado on smaller salaries?

California's first bands are taxed at 1%, 2% and 4%, below Colorado's flat 4.4%, and that more than makes up for California's much smaller standard deduction. What stops California pulling ahead is SDI, which takes 1.3% of every dollar against Colorado's 0.44% FAMLI premium.

What is Colorado FAMLI?

Colorado's Family and Medical Leave Insurance premium. For 2026 the total is 0.88% of wages, split evenly with the employer, so 0.44% comes out of your pay, on wages up to the Social Security wage cap. California's nearest equivalent is SDI, which also funds paid family leave, at 1.3% with no cap.

Does Denver have a city income tax?

No Colorado city levies an income tax on wages. Denver, Aurora and some other cities charge a small flat occupational privilege tax on people who work there, a few dollars a month, which is not included here. No California city levies an income tax either.

What this comparison covers

Income tax and payroll deductions on wages: federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state income tax, every state payroll deduction. It does not compare sales tax, property tax, housing or the cost of living, which can outweigh the difference in take-home pay. Figures assume the standard deduction, no dependents and no pre-tax retirement contributions. See how we calculate.