Colorado Spousal Maintenance (Alimony) Laws: The Advisory Guideline (2026)
Colorado Spousal Maintenance (Alimony) Laws: The Advisory Guideline (2026)
Colorado calls financial support paid between divorcing spouses "spousal maintenance." An advisory guideline under C.R.S. section 14-10-114 suggests an amount and a duration when the parties' combined annual adjusted gross income is $240,000 or less and the marriage lasted at least three years.
Information last verified on June 1, 2026.
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What is spousal maintenance in Colorado?
Colorado uses the term "spousal maintenance" rather than "alimony" to describe court-ordered financial support paid from one spouse to the other following a divorce or legal separation. The authority to award maintenance comes from C.R.S. section 14-10-114, part of the Uniform Dissolution of Marriage Act.
Maintenance is distinct from the division of marital property. A property award is a one-time transfer; maintenance is an ongoing payment stream intended to help a lower-earning spouse meet reasonable financial needs while transitioning to economic independence or supporting a lifestyle reasonably comparable to the marital standard of living.
Either spouse can seek maintenance. The statute does not presume that a particular spouse is entitled to an award. Courts look first at whether maintenance is appropriate at all, then at amount and duration.
Colorado law also distinguishes temporary maintenance, which can be ordered while a divorce case is pending, from permanent maintenance ordered in the final decree. The advisory guideline discussed in this article applies to both contexts, though courts have particularly wide discretion on temporary awards.
The advisory maintenance guideline
When the guideline applies
The advisory guideline kicks in only when two conditions are both met:
- The parties' combined annual adjusted gross income does not exceed $240,000.
- The marriage lasted at least three years.
If either condition is absent, the guideline does not apply. The court must then determine maintenance, if any, using the 13 statutory factors described below.
How the amount is calculated
The base amount under the guideline equals 40% of the parties' combined monthly adjusted gross income minus the lower-earning spouse's monthly adjusted gross income. This is the formula stated in C.R.S. section 14-10-114(3)(b)(I)(A).
A straightforward example: if the higher-earning spouse earns $8,000 per month and the lower-earning spouse earns $2,000 per month, combined monthly income is $10,000. Forty percent of $10,000 is $4,000. Subtracting the lower earner's $2,000 yields a base guideline amount of $2,000 per month.
If the calculation produces a negative number, the guideline amount is zero.
The non-deductibility adjustment
The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated the income-tax deduction for alimony and the corresponding income inclusion for the recipient, effective for divorce agreements executed after December 31, 2018 (IRS Topic No. 452). Because most current Colorado divorces produce non-deductible maintenance, the statute applies a downward multiplier to the base calculation:
- Combined monthly income of $10,000 or less: guideline amount equals 80% of the base figure.
- Combined monthly income of more than $10,000 and up to $20,000: guideline amount equals 75% of the base figure.
Using the example above ($10,000 combined monthly), the 80% multiplier would reduce the $2,000 base figure to $1,600 per month for a post-2018 non-deductible award.
The 40% income cap
The statute provides that if the formula result would push the recipient spouse's total monthly income above 40% of the parties' combined monthly adjusted gross income, the maintenance amount is reduced to keep the recipient at or below that 40% threshold. This cap prevents the guideline from overcompensating the lower-earning spouse.
The guideline is advisory only
C.R.S. section 14-10-114(3)(b) is explicit: the advisory guidelines "do not create a presumptive amount or term of maintenance." The court has full discretion to award more, less, or no maintenance, and must make written or oral findings addressing the parties' gross incomes, marital property awarded, financial resources, and reasonable financial need as established during the marriage.
How long maintenance lasts
The duration schedule
For marriages of at least three years and not more than 20 years, the guideline suggests a maintenance term equal to a percentage of the total marriage length. That percentage increases with the length of the marriage, starting at 31% for a three-year (36-month) marriage and rising to a cap of 50% once the marriage reaches 12.5 years (150 months). Key reference points from C.R.S. section 14-10-114(3)(b)(II)(B):
| Marriage Length | Guideline Percentage | Advisory Term |
|---|---|---|
| 3 years (36 months) | 31% | approximately 11 months |
| 5 years (60 months) | 35% | approximately 21 months |
| 7 years (84 months) | 39% | approximately 33 months |
| 10 years (120 months) | 45% | approximately 54 months |
| 12.5 years (150 months) | 50% (cap) | approximately 75 months |
| 15 years (180 months) | 50% | approximately 90 months |
| 20 years (240 months) | 50% | approximately 120 months |
The percentage increases roughly 0.165 percentage points per month of marriage between 36 and 150 months.
Marriages over 20 years
When the marriage exceeded 20 years, the court may award maintenance for a specified term of years or for an indefinite term. The statute prohibits the court from specifying a maintenance term shorter than the guideline term for a 20-year marriage (120 months) without making special findings justifying the shorter award.
Duration is also advisory
The duration table, like the amount formula, is advisory. The court may depart from the suggested term based on the statutory factors, the parties' agreement, or any other factor the court considers relevant. A court ordering a deviation must explain its reasoning in findings of fact.
When the guideline does not apply
Marriages under three years or combined income over $240,000
When the parties' marriage lasted fewer than three years, or when their combined annual adjusted gross income exceeds $240,000, the advisory guideline does not apply. The court proceeds directly to the 13 statutory factors in C.R.S. section 14-10-114(3)(c), which include:
- The financial resources of each party, including income from separate or marital property
- Each party's ability to meet their own reasonable needs independently
- The standard of living established during the marriage
- The distribution of marital property
- Both parties' income, employment history, and employability through reasonable diligence
- Historical patterns of income, including overtime and secondary employment
- The duration of the marriage
- Any temporary maintenance already paid
- The age and health of each party, including significant health-care needs
- Significant economic or non-economic contributions to the marriage
- Whether a nominal maintenance award should be entered to preserve a future claim
- The tax consequences of the award
- Any other factor the court deems relevant
Court discretion within the guideline range
Even when the guideline applies, the 13 factors remain relevant. A party seeking to deviate from the guideline (whether to increase or decrease the amount or term) presents evidence on these factors. The statute does not require the court to start from the guideline figure and then deviate; the guideline is a reference point, not a floor or ceiling.
How maintenance ends or changes
Automatic termination
Under C.R.S. section 14-10-122, a maintenance obligation terminates automatically on the earliest of:
- The death of either party
- The recipient spouse's remarriage or entry into a civil union
- The expiration of the maintenance term stated in the decree (if no modification motion has been filed before expiration)
- A court order expressly terminating the obligation
Colorado law does not make cohabitation an automatic termination event. A paying spouse who believes the recipient's cohabitation amounts to a change of circumstances can file a modification motion, but a court would need to find the cohabitation constitutes a substantial and continuing change making continued maintenance unfair.
Modification
Either party may seek modification of a maintenance order by demonstrating "changed circumstances so substantial and continuing as to make the terms unfair" (C.R.S. section 14-10-122(1)(a)). A modification is effective prospectively from the date the motion was filed, not from the date of the hearing. Courts will not modify arrears.
Job loss, a major health event, significant changes in either party's income, or retirement can all serve as grounds for a modification motion. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act explicitly does not constitute a substantial and continuing change of circumstances for modifying maintenance orders entered before its effective date.
Agreements on modification
Parties may agree in their separation agreement to make maintenance non-modifiable or to limit the grounds for modification. Courts will generally enforce such agreements. A provision making maintenance non-modifiable must be explicit.
Is maintenance taxable, and how it compares to Colorado child support
Federal tax treatment
For divorce or separation agreements executed after December 31, 2018, spousal maintenance is:
- Not deductible by the paying spouse for federal income tax purposes
- Not includable in gross income by the receiving spouse
This is the opposite of the rules that applied to pre-2019 agreements, under which maintenance was deductible by the payor and taxable to the recipient. Pre-2019 orders retain the old tax treatment unless they are modified after 2018 and the modification expressly adopts the new rules (IRS Topic No. 452).
The Colorado guideline formula accounts for this shift through the 80%/75% multipliers described above.
How maintenance differs from Colorado child support
Spousal maintenance and Colorado child support are separate legal obligations governed by separate statutes. Key differences:
- Child support is calculated under a mandatory formula (C.R.S. section 14-10-115) and presumed correct; the maintenance guideline is advisory.
- Child support is based primarily on parenting time and each parent's income; maintenance is based on the standard of living, marriage length, and financial resources.
- Child support terminates when the child reaches adulthood; maintenance terminates on remarriage, death, or expiration of the ordered term.
- Both obligations can be modified on a showing of substantial and continuing changed circumstances.
For a full overview of how Colorado calculates child support, see Colorado child support laws.
For the full national picture, visit our Alimony laws by state guide.
Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about Colorado spousal maintenance laws for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Maintenance determinations are highly fact-specific. If you are involved in a divorce or separation proceeding, consult a licensed Colorado family law attorney for guidance on your individual circumstances.
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Sources
- Colorado General Assembly, C.R.S. section 14-10-114 - Spousal maintenance - advisory guidelines: https://colorado.public.law/statutes/crs_14-10-114
- Colorado General Assembly, C.R.S. section 14-10-122 - Modification and termination of provisions for maintenance: https://colorado.public.law/statutes/crs_14-10-122
- Colorado Judicial Branch, Spousal/Partner Maintenance Advisement Worksheet (updated November 2025): https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/sites/default/files/2025-11/Spousal_Partner_Maintenance_Advisement_New_Fillable_(v6%2011.13.25).pdf
- Colorado Judicial Branch, Maintenance Guideline Information (July 2, 2024): https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/sites/default/files/2025-10/Maintenance%20Guideline%20Info%20-%2007%2002%202024.pdf
- Internal Revenue Service, Topic No. 452, Alimony and Separate Maintenance: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc452
Last updated: June 1, 2026.