Colorado Child Support 2026: The Graduated Parenting-Time Credit Explained
Colorado Child Support 2026: The Graduated Parenting-Time Credit Explained
On March 1, 2026, Colorado fundamentally changed how child support is calculated. If you're working with outdated information — anything referencing Worksheet A, Worksheet B, or a hard cutoff at 93 overnights — you're operating under rules that no longer apply to new orders and modifications.
What Changed in March 2026
The old system created what family law practitioners called the "cliff effect." Under the previous framework, a parent with 92 overnights per year received zero parenting-time credit. Jump to 93 overnights — one additional night — and the calculation shifted from Worksheet A to Worksheet B, often reducing child support by hundreds of dollars per month. This single-overnight difference drove bitter litigation and incentivized parents to fight over calendar dates that had nothing to do with their child's wellbeing.
The 2026 overhaul eliminates both worksheets and replaces them with a single, unified calculation. The new system uses a graduated parenting-time credit that scales proportionally from the first overnight. There's no cliff, no threshold, no sudden drop. Every additional night of parenting time adjusts the calculation incrementally.
How the New Calculation Works
Colorado uses the Income Shares Model under C.R.S. § 14-10-115. The basic framework hasn't changed — both parents' monthly gross incomes are combined, and each parent's share of the child support obligation is proportional to their income:
Parent A earns $6,000/month. Parent B earns $4,000/month. Combined: $10,000.
- Parent A's share: 60%
- Parent B's share: 40%
What changed is how overnights affect the final number. Under the old system, a parent with fewer than 93 overnights paid a flat amount regardless of whether they had 10 or 92 overnights. Under the 2026 system, the parenting-time credit scales gradually. A parent with 60 overnights gets a smaller credit than a parent with 120, but both get something — neither is stuck at zero.
Key Changes at a Glance
Income cap expanded. The combined monthly gross income cap increased from $30,000 ($360,000/year) to $40,000 ($480,000/year). High-income families no longer need as much judicial discretion for extrapolation.
Self-support reserve floor. The minimum self-support reserve is now approximately $1,790 per month, reflecting 29 hours per week at Colorado's minimum wage. This protects low-income parents from orders that leave them unable to meet their own basic needs.
Low-income floor. Parents earning $650 or less per month have a flat $10/month child support obligation.
No more worksheet lottery. The single unified calculation eliminates the strategic gaming that surrounded the 93-overnight threshold.
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What Counts as an Overnight
An overnight is any 24-hour period where the child is in a parent's residential care and sleeps at their home. If your child sleeps at your house Tuesday night after school and you drop them off Wednesday morning, that's one overnight.
For parents who work night shifts and provide daytime care, C.R.S. § 14-10-115(8)(e) allows the court to deviate from the standard calculation to credit significant daytime care that isn't captured in overnight counts.
Does This Apply to Existing Orders?
The 2026 changes do not automatically modify existing child support orders. If you have an existing order calculated under the old Worksheet A/B system, it remains in effect until someone files a motion to modify. To justify modification, you generally need to demonstrate that the recalculated amount under the new guidelines differs from your current order by at least 10%.
If you're establishing a new child support order or modifying an existing one, the court will apply the 2026 framework.
Extraordinary Expenses
Beyond the basic support obligation, certain child-related expenses are added and split proportionally between parents based on income share:
- Work-related childcare
- Health insurance premiums for the child
- Uninsured extraordinary medical expenses (orthodontics, therapies, etc.)
Private school tuition, extracurricular fees, clothing, and similar expenses are not included in the standard calculation unless the parents agree or a court orders them.
Making the Numbers Work for Your Situation
Understanding how overnights and income interact under the new graduated system is critical when negotiating your parenting plan. The schedule you agree to in your JDF 1113 directly determines the parenting-time credit in your child support calculation.
The Colorado Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide includes a child support worksheet that walks through the 2026 graduated calculation alongside your parenting time schedule — so you can see how different schedule options affect both daily logistics and monthly support.
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