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. On a temporary request the court may apply the provisions of subsection (3) that are relevant to that determination, but the duration schedule described in this article does not reach temporary awards: C.R.S. section 14-10-114(4)(a)(II) provides that the guideline term of maintenance "does not apply to temporary maintenance orders" and that the court "shall determine the term for payment of temporary maintenance" itself.

The advisory maintenance guideline

When the guideline applies

The advisory guideline kicks in only when two conditions are both met:

1. The parties' combined annual adjusted gross income does not exceed $240,000.
2. The marriage lasted at least three years.

If either condition is absent, the guideline amount calculation does not apply, and the court determines maintenance, if any, using the 14 statutory factors described below. Two statutory qualifications soften that result, and both are covered later on this page: above the income threshold the court may still consider the guideline term, and a marriage shorter than three years can still support an award.

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 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):

The percentage increases roughly 0.167 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' combined annual adjusted gross income exceeds $240,000, C.R.S. section 14-10-114(3.5) switches off only the amount methodology in subsection (3)(b)(I). The court sets the amount from the statutory factors instead, but the same provision adds that the court "may consider the advisory guideline term of maintenance set forth in subsection (3)(b)(II)." The duration schedule above therefore stays on the table above the income threshold, even though the amount formula does not.

When the marriage lasted fewer than three years, the guideline calculation does not apply either, but maintenance is not off the table. C.R.S. section 14-10-114(3)(h) expressly permits an award "in short-term marriages, including marriages of less than three years in duration," where the distribution of marital property is insufficient to achieve an equitable result, and it allows the court to "consider the maintenance guidelines" and the statutory factors in setting that award.

In both situations the court works from the 14 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
• Whether a spouse has engaged in domestic violence, coercive control, economic abuse, litigation abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, or unlawful sexual behavior against the other spouse
• Any other factor the court deems relevant

Court discretion within the guideline range

Even when the guideline applies, the 14 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.

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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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Last updated: June 1, 2026.

More Colorado Laws

• Colorado Child Custody Laws
• Colorado Child Support Laws
• Colorado Common Law Marriage Laws
• Colorado Divorce Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Colorado call it alimony or spousal maintenance?

Colorado uses the term spousal maintenance. The word alimony does not appear in C.R.S. section 14-10-114. The concept is the same: one spouse pays ongoing financial support to the other after divorce or legal separation.

Is the Colorado maintenance guideline mandatory?

No. The advisory guideline under C.R.S. section 14-10-114 explicitly does not create a presumption that maintenance will be awarded or that any particular amount or duration is appropriate. The court has full discretion to award more, less, or no maintenance based on the statutory factors.

What is the income threshold for the Colorado guideline?

The guideline amount formula applies only when the parties' combined annual adjusted gross income is $240,000 or less. Above that threshold, C.R.S. section 14-10-114(3.5) switches off only the amount methodology, so the court sets the amount from the 14 statutory factors, but the statute expressly allows the court to still consider the advisory guideline term of maintenance.

How is the guideline maintenance amount calculated?

The base figure equals 40% of the parties' combined monthly adjusted gross income minus the lower-earning spouse's monthly adjusted gross income. For post-2018 non-deductible awards, this base is multiplied by 80% if combined monthly income is $10,000 or less, or by 75% if combined monthly income is between $10,001 and $20,000.

Does Colorado maintenance end if the recipient moves in with a new partner?

Not automatically. Colorado law terminates maintenance automatically on death or the recipient's remarriage or civil union, but does not list cohabitation as an automatic termination trigger. A paying spouse who believes cohabitation represents a material change in circumstances can file a motion to modify or terminate maintenance under C.R.S. section 14-10-122.

Can a Colorado maintenance order be modified after the divorce?

Yes, unless the parties' agreement expressly makes it non-modifiable. Either party may seek modification by showing changed circumstances so substantial and continuing as to make the existing terms unfair. Modifications are effective from the date the motion is filed, not the date of the hearing.

Is Colorado spousal maintenance taxable income?

For divorce agreements executed after December 31, 2018, maintenance is neither deductible by the paying spouse nor taxable to the receiving spouse under federal law. Agreements executed before January 1, 2019 follow the prior rules unless later modified to adopt the new tax treatment.