Self-Employed Tax Calculator — Colorado (2026)
Self-employed in Colorado? Your tax bill has three layers that a W-2 employee never sees in full: 15.3% self-employment tax on 92.35% of net profit, federal income tax, and Colorado state income tax. This calculator applies all three to your 2026 net profit and shows the quarterly amount you should be setting aside. Colorado uses a flat personal income tax of 4.40% applied to taxable income after a state standard deduction of $16,100.
Colorado Self-Employed Tax Calculator
Gross 1099 income minus business expenses.
Self-employment tax vs Colorado income tax
Self-employment tax is federal and identical in all 50 states: 12.4% Social Security up to $184,500 of net earnings plus 2.9% Medicare with no cap. Half of it is deductible against income tax, which is why the calculator subtracts it before applying brackets.
Colorado then taxes essentially the same profit figure at 4.40%. On $80,000 of net profit that adds roughly $2,563 to the bill.
Several Colorado cities (Denver, Aurora, Greenwood Village, Sheridan, Glendale) charge a flat Occupational Privilege Tax of a few dollars per month.
Deductions that matter for Colorado freelancers
Net profit — not gross revenue — drives every number here. Ordinary and necessary business expenses reduce SE tax, federal tax, and Colorado tax simultaneously: the 2026 standard mileage rate of $0.67/mile, home-office square footage, software, equipment, professional insurance, and the self-employed health insurance deduction.
Retirement plans go further. A SEP-IRA or solo 401(k) reduces income tax (though not SE tax) and is often the largest single deduction available to a profitable tech contractor in Denver.
Working for yourself in Colorado
Colorado's economy leans on tech, aerospace, and energy, which shapes the contractor market around Denver — and your fixed costs. With one-bedroom rent near $1,750, a freelancer needs meaningfully more gross revenue than an employee to reach the same lifestyle, because there is no employer paying half of FICA.
Colorado's flat tax rate is set in the state constitution — voters must approve any increase, which is why it keeps drifting downward.
Local and payroll taxes Colorado adds on top
FAMLI paid-leave premiums take roughly 0.45% of wages from the employee side. That deduction sits outside the federal and state income tax lines, so build it into your own budget on top of the numbers above.
Several Colorado cities (Denver, Aurora, Greenwood Village, Sheridan, Glendale) charge a flat Occupational Privilege Tax of a few dollars per month.
Nobody withholds these for you when you are self-employed in Colorado. Local wage taxes, city business licences and gross-receipts style levies are yours to register for and remit alongside your quarterly federal and state estimates.
Working across a state line from Colorado
Colorado has no income-tax reciprocity agreements, so if you live here and work across a state line you generally file a nonresident return in the work state and claim a credit at home to avoid double taxation.
Remote and hybrid work complicates this further: most states tax income where the work is physically performed, so a Denver resident spending part of the year at a client site in Wyoming may owe a nonresident return there. Keep a day-count log if you split time between states.
The rest of your Colorado tax bill
Colorado charges a 2.9% state sales tax, homeowners pay an average effective property tax of 0.49% of market value, and the minimum wage in force during 2026 is $15.16 an hour.
Home-rule cities add a lot: Denver's combined rate is about 8.81%.
Income tax is only one part of a state's take. Colorado recovers revenue through sales and property tax as well, which is why headline income tax rates alone are a poor guide to how far a salary really goes. Colorado allows a large pension/annuity subtraction ($24,000 at 65+) and fully exempts Social Security for filers 65 and older.
Colorado vs Wyoming on the same salary
On a $90,000 salary, a single filer keeps about $68,893 a year in Colorado against roughly $72,145 in Wyoming — a difference of $3,252, or $271 a month.
Effective combined rates are 23.5% in Colorado and 19.8% in Wyoming. Set that gap against living costs: index 105 here versus 96 there, with property tax at 0.49% and 0.61% respectively.
Colorado income tax brackets 2026 (single filer)
| Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|
| $0 and up | 4.40% |