Colorado's Spousal Maintenance Guideline in 2026: What the Formula Really Tells You

Colorado's spousal-maintenance statute (C.R.S. § 14-10-114) gives judges an advisory guideline for marriages of at least three years: 40% of the spouses' combined monthly adjusted gross income minus the lower-income spouse's monthly adjusted gross income (zero if the result is negative) (C.R.S. § 14-10-114(3)(b)(I)(A)). If the award is not tax-deductible for the payor, the result is reduced to 80% when combined income is $10,000 a month or less, or 75% when it is more than $10,000 and up to $20,000 ((3)(b)(I)(B)-(C)). The guideline term comes from a statutory table based on the length of the marriage in months.

What the number on a calculator won't tell you is that the guideline is exactly that — advisory. A court can award more, less, or nothing at all based on the statutory factors: the standard of living during the marriage, each spouse's earning capacity, contributions as a homemaker, and more. For couples with combined incomes above $240,000 a year, the amount formula does not apply; the court sets the amount from the statutory factors and may still use the guideline term (C.R.S. § 14-10-114(3.5)).

The practical takeaway: run the maintenance calculator to set your expectations, then talk to a lawyer about the factors that move your case off the guideline in either direction. That gap — between the formula and the factors — is where maintenance cases are decided.