Income and support

Maintenance in Colorado has a formula.

Colorado calls alimony “maintenance,” and for most couples there is an advisory guideline for both the amount and how long it lasts. Judges can depart from it, but it is the starting point in every negotiation. Here is the math, a worked example, and the part lenders care about.

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Who it applies to

3+ years, up to $240,000

Marriages of at least 36 months with combined annual adjusted gross income of $240,000 or less. Above that, the formula does not apply.

The amount

40% of combined, minus the lower income

Then times 80 percent (combined income up to $10,000 a month) or 75 percent ($10,001 to $20,000), because maintenance is no longer tax-deductible.

How long

31% to 50% of the marriage

Eleven months for a 3-year marriage, rising to half the length at 12.5 years and beyond. Over 20 years the court may order an indefinite term.

Taxes

Not deductible, not income

For decrees after 2018, the payer gets no deduction and the recipient owes no tax. Lenders can still count it as income.

The short answer

For a marriage of three years or more with combined income up to $240,000 a year, Colorado’s guideline amount is 40 percent of the combined monthly adjusted gross income, minus the lower earner’s own income, then multiplied by 80 percent (if combined income is $10,000 a month or less) or 75 percent ($10,001 to $20,000). If the result is negative, the guideline is zero. The guideline term runs from 31 percent of the marriage length at three years to 50 percent at twelve and a half years and up. The guideline creates no presumption; the court keeps full discretion and weighs a list of factors that, since August 2025, includes domestic violence, coercive control and economic abuse.

A worked example

Spouse A earns $6,000 a month, Spouse B earns $2,000Combined $8,000. 40 percent is $3,200. Minus B’s $2,000 leaves $1,200. Times 80 percent: $960 a month guideline maintenance from A to B.

Married 10 years (120 months)Guideline term is 45 percent of 120 months: 54 months.

What a lender sees$960 a month for 54 months. If B applies for a mortgage in month 20, only 34 months remain, so it fails the three-year continuance test and cannot be counted. In month 6 it can. Timing matters. What income lenders count.

What the court can still doAward more, less, or nothing after weighing need, ability to pay, the property division, the marital lifestyle, age, health, earning history and, since SB25-116, abuse.

The duration table

Term equals a percentage of the length of the marriage in months. The percentage rises about 0.17 points per month between 36 and 150 months.

3 years (36 months)31 percent: 11 months

5 years35 percent: 21 months

7 years39 percent: 33 months

10 years45 percent: 54 months

12 years49 percent: 71 months

12.5 years and up50 percent: half the length of the marriage (20 years: 120 months)

Under 3 yearsNo guideline term; the court may consider maintenance if the property division is insufficient

Over 20 yearsThe court may set a specific term or order maintenance for an indefinite term; going below the guideline requires written findings

Things that surprise people

The advisement is required even if you waive maintenance in a marriage of 36 months or more; the court wants to know you saw the numbers.
Both spouses can be ordered to work. Income can be imputed to a spouse who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.
Maintenance usually ends on the recipient’s remarriage or either spouse’s death, and it can be modified on a substantial and continuing change unless the agreement makes it non-modifiable.
Temporary maintenance during the case uses the same guideline and counts toward what was paid.
The house and maintenance trade off. A spouse who keeps the house with a big mortgage may need more support; a spouse who gets more of the equity may need less. Run both together.

Questions people ask on this page

Will I get alimony in Colorado?

If your marriage lasted at least three years, your combined income is under $240,000 and your income is well below your spouse’s, the guideline produces a number and a term, and courts commonly follow it. Above $240,000 or under three years it is entirely the judge’s call on the factors.

Is Colorado alimony taxable?

Not for agreements entered after December 31, 2018: the payer cannot deduct it and the recipient does not report it. Older orders keep the old rule unless modified to adopt the new one.

Does child support come first?

Child support is calculated separately under C.R.S. 14-10-115 on an income-shares worksheet (JDF 1821). Maintenance paid or received is factored into each parent’s income for that worksheet.

Can maintenance count as income for a mortgage?

Yes, with the decree, six months of receipt (three for FHA on court-ordered payments) and at least three years of continuance from the closing date. Short guideline terms often fail the three-year test.

We are not lawyers. This page summarizes Colorado statutes and court forms as they read on the date shown at the bottom of the site. It is not legal advice. The Colorado Judicial Branch self-help centers can help you with forms at no cost, and a licensed Colorado family-law attorney can tell you what the rules mean for your case.

Where to go next

Plain-language education, not advice. Divorce Decisions is published by The Kenna Real Estate Group at Keller Williams DTC, a real estate team. Nothing here is legal, tax, lending or financial advice, and reading it does not create any professional relationship. Colorado law and lender rules change; confirm anything that matters to your case with a licensed Colorado attorney, a tax professional, and your lender. See our full disclaimer.

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