Colorado Amendment 87: Graduated income tax
Colorado · Constitutional amendment and statute · Taxes · Statewide decision
Explanation reviewed 2026-10-27. AI-written and checked against linked official evidence; not an election-office summary.
AI-written summary
Would replace the flat rate with six marginal brackets from 3.7% to 8.4%, starting in 2027. Additional revenue would supplement education, health and early-childhood programs and be exempt from TABOR. Brackets would not be inflation-indexed; principal-residence sale income retains 4.4% treatment.
What applies now
Colorado’s constitution requires a flat income-tax rate; the current rate is 4.4%.
If yes / for
Adopt graduated rates and dedicated additional revenue.
If no / against
Keep the flat-rate requirement and current rate.
Costs and funding
Blue Book fiscal estimate: $958.4 million additional revenue in 2026–27 and $1.972 billion in 2027–28. The ballot’s $2.7 billion figure is not the current first-full-year estimate.
Timing
Tax years beginning January 1,2027.
Passage rule
A majority of votes cast; the constitutional component is a repeal.
Source notes
- Potential conflict with Proposition136 if both pass; the legislature or a court may need to resolve it. Rates apply only to income within each bracket, not all income.