COUnemployment insurance worksheet
Colorado Unemployment Calculator: Up to $884/Week, 26 Weeks
In Colorado, unemployment pays up to $884 a week for up to 26 weeks; your weekly amount is set by your two highest consecutive quarters, or by annual wages when that method applies.
Checked against primary sources · updated See the sources
How Colorado works out your amount
Colorado: two consecutive quarters and the conditional annual method use different caps. July 2026 caps are $804 and $884. Total wages must meet the $2,500 / forty-weekly-amount test.
Weekly earnings reduction is not modeled here unless your state source gives a rule. Optional withholding is separate from the gross estimate.
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment decides eligibility, base-period wages, payable weeks, reductions, withholding and the final award. Use the official record below to verify this scenario.
Colorado: U.S. DOL July 2026 schedule: consecutive-quarter cap $804 and annual-method cap $884. C.R.S. 8-73-102, 104 and 107 determine formula, balance and wage test. https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/content/sigpros/2020-2029/July2026.pdf (verified 2026-10-01)
Colorado's two limits, seen from a weekly wage
The first method pays 60% of what you averaged per week across your two best consecutive quarters, so $500 a week becomes $300 and $1,000 becomes $600. At $1,500 that method is held at $804. A capped first result can be replaced by the annual-wage method, which goes as high as $884; a paycheck that never changes gets there at $1,768 a week. Every row assumes a claim filed October 25, 2026 and identical quarters.
| Pay every week | Each quarter | Weekly benefit | Share of pay | Weeks | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $6,500 | $300 | 60% | 26 | $7,800 |
| $1,000 | $13,000 | $600 | 60% | 26 | $15,600 |
| $1,500 | $19,500 | $804 | 54% | 26 | $20,904 |
| $3,000 | $39,000 | $884 (cap) | 29% | 26 | $22,984 |
Colorado benefit parameters for claims filed now
A Colorado benefit year starting between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027 pays 60% of the weekly average of your two best back-to-back quarters, from $25 up to $804 a week, or up to $884 when the annual-wage method beats a capped first result.
| Rule | Current value | Applies to | Primary source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consecutive-quarter rate | 60% of one twenty-sixth of the two consecutive base-period quarters with the most wages, dropped to the next lower dollar, never under $25 | Every regular claim | C.R.S. 8-73-102(1)(a) |
| First-method ceiling | $804 a week ($767 for benefit years that began January 1 to June 30, 2026) | Benefit years beginning July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 | U.S. DOL July 2026 provisions |
| Annual-wage rate | 50% of one fifty-second of total base-period wages, rounded down; used only when the first method hits its ceiling and this result is larger | Capped claims only | C.R.S. 8-73-102(2) |
| Annual-wage ceiling | $884 a week ($844 earlier in 2026) | Benefit years beginning July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 | U.S. DOL July 2026 provisions |
| Monetary eligibility | Base-period wages of at least 40 times the weekly amount or $2,500, whichever is greater | Every regular claim | C.R.S. 8-73-107 |
| Benefit-year total | The lesser of 26 weekly amounts or one-third of base-period wage credits | Every regular claim | C.R.S. 8-73-104(1) |
Statute text and the federal July 2026 row re-read on October 12, 2026. A new maximum applies only to benefit years that begin after it takes effect, so an existing claim keeps its rate. Start a claim, request payments and see your monetary determination in MyUI+, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment's claimant system.
Worked example: one October 2026 claim, start to finish
A claim filed October 12, 2026, with base-period quarters of $7,000, $9,500, $10,200 and $8,300, oldest first. Every figure below is what the worksheet above returns for those four entries.
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Adjacent quarter pairs | Q1+Q2 $16,500; Q2+Q3 $19,700; Q3+Q4 $18,500 | $19,700 |
| Consecutive-quarter rate | $19,700 ÷ 26 × 60%, dropped to whole dollars; under the $804 ceiling | $454 |
| Annual-wage method | Not reached: it applies only when the first result is capped | Not used |
| Base-period wages | $7,000 + $9,500 + $10,200 + $8,300 | $35,000 |
| Wage requirement | Greater of $2,500 or 40 × $454; $35,000 clears it | $18,160 |
| 26 weekly payments | 26 × $454 | $11,804 |
| One-third of wage credits | $35,000 ÷ 3 | $11,666.67 |
| Benefit-year total | The smaller of the two lines above | $11,666.67 |
The best pair is Q2 and Q3, not the two largest quarters overall, so the order of entry matters. Here the one-third limit, not 26 full payments, sets the total: $11,666.67 is a little under 26 × $454. Enter the same quarters and date in the worksheet to reproduce each line.
July 2026 changed both formula caps
The U.S. Department of Labor's latest state-law comparison lists Colorado's July 2026 maximums as $804 under the consecutive-quarter method and $884 under the annual-wage method. Its January 2026 publication lists the earlier $767 and $844 limits. C.R.S. 8-73-102 makes the annual recalculation effective July 1 for new benefit years.
Enter the effective claim date so an earlier 2026 claim uses the earlier caps. A blank date uses your current local date. The July schedule supports claim dates through June 30, 2027; later dates require the official-award worksheet rather than an inferred next-year cap. These ceilings are not automatic awards.
Method one needs consecutive quarters
Add quarters 1 and 2, then 2 and 3, then 3 and 4. Select the largest adjacent pair. Divide its sum by 26, take 60%, round down to a whole dollar, then apply the $25 minimum and the applicable first-method cap.
Example: $12,000, $1,000, $12,000 and $1,000 produces a largest adjacent sum of $13,000. Sixty percent of $13,000 ÷ 26 is $300 weekly. Picking the two $12,000 quarters would be incorrect because they are not consecutive. Enter quarter 1 as the oldest selected quarter.
The annual method can raise a capped result
When the first method reaches its cap, the statute also calculates 50% of total base-period wages divided by 52, rounded down. That second result is limited by the higher cap and is used only when it exceeds the first result. The annual calculation is 50% of the claimant's average; the 55% figure in the law describes how the state's ceiling is set.
Four $25,000 quarters reach the July first-method cap of $804. The annual calculation exceeds $884 and is capped there, producing the larger $884 weekly estimate. A full regular 26-week balance is $22,984 if all other requirements are met.
The wage test and balance are separate
C.R.S. 8-73-107 requires covered base-period wages of at least $2,500 or 40 times the weekly amount, whichever is greater. The form applies that check before showing a payable estimate. A blank quarter leaves the calculation unresolved.
Under §8-73-104, the regular balance is the lesser of 26 weekly amounts and one-third of the base-period wage credits. For the alternating-quarter $300 example, the balance is $7,800. Some wage patterns produce a one-third amount with fractions of a cent; this worksheet rounds that estimate to cents and the agency determines its actual payment rounding.
What this scenario leaves to CDLE
The calculation assumes regular covered wages in the selected base period and full eligible weeks. Seasonal wage restrictions, alternative periods, pensions, current earnings, separation, work search and offsets need the agency's determination. The optional withholding field illustrates an entered percentage and does not calculate taxes owed.
Colorado primary sources
- U.S. DOL July 2026 significant provisions, Colorado row
- January 2026 comparison for earlier claims
- Colorado Revised Statutes Title 8, §§8-73-102, 104 and 107
- CDLE claimant guide and claim records
Verified October 1, 2026 using the federal schedule and state statute. Read methodology or prepare your wage inputs.
Worked in a nearby state too?
Each state pays from the wages reported to it, so a claim follows where the covered work was done. If some of your base-period wages were earned in one of these states, open its worksheet, or compare every state on the unemployment benefits calculator.
Supported claim periods and annual handoff
The Colorado wage-estimate calendar supports 2026-01-01 to 2026-06-30; 2026-07-01 to 2027-06-30. Source dates describe when evidence was checked; they do not create a legal expiration. A blank claim date uses the current local date. After a finite schedule ends, the form shows an explicit official-award worksheet. Enter the weekly award, maximum account and authorized weeks from the determination. An unverified successor rate is never copied from the previous annual table.
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