Does Colorado Tax Social Security?
Colorado taxes Social Security only for younger or higher-income recipients: residents 65+ deduct 100% of federally taxed benefits, and 55–64-year-olds can too if AGI is $75,000 or less ($95,000 married filing jointly).
Colorado is one of only 8 states that tax Social Security benefits in 2026.
State Tax Rate
4.40% flat
Who's Exempt
Fully deductible at 65+; 55–64 within income limits
Who is exempt from Colorado's Social Security tax?
Available Exemptions & Deductions
- Age 65+: deduct 100% of Social Security benefits included in federal taxable income — no income limit.
- Age 55–64: deduct 100% of benefits if federal AGI is $75,000 or less (single) / $95,000 or less (married filing jointly).
- Age 55–64 above those income limits: benefits count toward the $20,000 pension/annuity subtraction cap.
Key facts about Colorado and Social Security
Colorado applies a flat 4.40% income tax rate to taxable income.
Most Colorado retirees 65+ pay no state tax on Social Security at all.
The 55–64 full deduction (within AGI limits) is recent — many one-year-old guides still show the old $20,000 cap for everyone under 65.
Tax-smart strategy for Colorado residents
If you are 55–64 and near the AGI cliff, the timing of IRA withdrawals and capital gains can decide whether your entire Social Security benefit is state-tax-free. Modeling claiming age and withdrawal order together matters more here than in almost any other state.
Frequently Asked Questions
About Colorado Social Security tax
Social Security tax rules in other states, 2026
Beyond state tax: the numbers that move more
The state tax on benefits is usually a few hundred dollars a year. These decide thousands — and three of them are set in Washington, not in the statehouse.
- Optimal Social Security Strategy for Married CouplesCoordinate both records — spousal excess, survivor protection, and the claiming-age combinations that maximize the household's lifetime benefit.
- Social Security & Medicare 2027: Every Number in One PlaceCOLA, Part B, IRMAA brackets, Part D, earnings-test limits — each figure labeled official or projected, updated in place as agencies announce.
- Social Security Claiming Timing and the IRMAA LookbackOne dollar over a threshold applies the surcharge for the whole year — decided by a tax return from two years ago. How claiming feeds in.
- SECURE 2.0's Roth Catch-Up and Your Social Security TaxHow the forced-Roth catch-up rule, effective 2026, quietly changes how high earners' benefits are taxed.