2026 tax year · Colorado
Rental host taxes in Colorado
Airbnb, Turo and the rest report your gross and withhold nothing. The gap between that and what you are taxed on is your costs, in Colorado that gap is worth $2,628 in tax.
Take a driver who grossed $39,000 over 18,000 business miles. After mileage at 74.3 cents and the rest of the stack, worked through on the rental host page $10,100 comes off and $28,900 is left as taxable profit. That profit is what Colorado and the IRS charge against.
What that leaves you owing in Colorado
Colorado taxes income at a flat 4% for 2026, applied on top of federal income tax and self-employment tax.
| Self-employment tax | $4,083 |
| Federal income tax | $861 |
| Colorado income tax | $1,074 |
| Total tax | $6,018 |
| Effective rate on gross | 15.4% |
Earning more in Colorado
A single filer taking the standard deduction, this work as the only income, the calculator above handles the other filing statuses. Miles rise with earnings, so the deduction rises too, and the effective rate on gross climbs more slowly than it would for someone whose income grew without expenses attached:
| Volume | Gross | Mileage off | Taxable profit | Colorado tax | Total tax | Rate on gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part-time | $13,000 | $0 | $13,000 | $483 | $2,320 | 17.8% |
| Steady side income | $39,000 | $0 | $39,000 | $1,450 | $8,646 | 22.2% |
| Full-time | $63,000 | $0 | $63,000 | $2,342 | $15,071 | 23.9% |
Colorado specifics that change the number
Colorado is one of the twelve states that still taxes Social Security benefits, which matters if you are drawing benefits alongside self-employment income.
Local taxes on a Colorado let
The income tax below is only part of it. Short-term lets attract occupancy, lodging or transient taxes levied by the city or county rather than Colorado, often at rates that dwarf the state income tax. Some platforms collect and remit them; some collect only part; in some places the host is on the hook entirely. That is a local question this calculator cannot answer, and it is the one hosts most often get wrong.
On $28,900 of profit, what the states around Colorado would charge:
| State | Its tax | vs Colorado |
|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | No income tax | −$1,156 |
| Nebraska | $1,014 | −$142 |
| New Mexico | $1,126 | −$30 |
| Kansas | $1,257 | +$101 |
| Oklahoma | $1,266 | +$110 |
| Utah | $1,301 | +$145 |
- Wyoming has no income tax at all, so the same work done there costs $1,156 less in state tax than it does in Colorado.
- Nebraska would take $142 less, $1,014 against Colorado's $1,156.
- New Mexico would take $30 less, $1,126 against Colorado's $1,156.
- Kansas would take $101 more, $1,257 against Colorado's $1,156.
- Oklahoma would take $110 more, $1,266 against Colorado's $1,156.
- Utah would take $145 more, $1,301 against Colorado's $1,156.
Rental host tax questions in Colorado
How much should a Colorado host set aside?
About 15.4% of gross on the $39,000 example, $6,018 across self-employment tax, federal income tax and $1,074 to Colorado. In practice that means moving about $154 of every $1,000 payout into a separate account the day it lands, and sending roughly $1,505 to the IRS each quarter, no platform withholds any of this for you. Set aside from each payout rather than finding it in April.
Does the $39,000 on my 1099-NEC match what Colorado taxes?
No. Colorado taxes profit, not gross. After $10,100 of deductions the taxable figure is $28,900, so the Colorado bill is $1,074 rather than what gross alone would suggest. The form reports what the platform paid out, it knows nothing about your costs, and no one subtracts them for you. On this example 26% of the gross never becomes taxable income, but only for the host who kept the records to prove it.