Skip to main content
Independent and nonpartisan. SaveYourState is a civic information resource. It is not a government website and is not affiliated with any government agency, party, or campaign.

Colorado · November 3, 2026 general election · Statewide ballot measure

Amendment 87: what your vote means

Graduated income tax. On every Colorado ballot. Official sources checked October 22, 2026.

Amendment 87 · Citizen-initiated constitutional amendment and statute (majority vote, tax measure)

Graduated income tax

Heads up: voting YES on this measure removes the constitutional requirement that Colorado have a single flat income tax rate. Voting NO keeps the flat-rate requirement.

Official ballot title (quoted exactly)

SHALL STATE TAXES BE INCREASED $2.7 BILLION ANNUALLY, IN ORDER TO INCREASE OR IMPROVE LEVELS OF PUBLIC SERVICES, INCLUDING K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE, AND EARLY CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION SERVICES, BY AN AMENDMENT TO THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION AND A CHANGE TO THE COLORADO REVISED STATUTES REPEALING EXISTING LAW AND CREATING NEW LAW TO REPLACE THE UNIFORM STATE INCOME TAX RATE WITH A GRADUATED INCOME TAX STRUCTURE, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, AMENDING THE TAXPAYER’S BILL OF RIGHTS TO ELIMINATE THE CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR ALL TAXABLE NET INCOME TO BE TAXED AT ONE RATE WITH NO ADDED TAX ON INCOME; ESTABLISHING VARIOUS INCOME TAX RATES BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF TAXABLE INCOME EARNED BY INDIVIDUALS, ESTATES, TRUSTS, AND CORPORATIONS, WHILE MAINTAINING THE CURRENT 4.4% TAX ON INCOME FROM THE SALE OF A PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE, WHICH WILL RESULT IN THE ESTIMATED CHANGE IN INCOME TAXES OWED BY INDIVIDUALS AS IDENTIFIED IN THE FOLLOWING TABLE; AND AUTHORIZING THE STATE TO RETAIN AND SPEND ANY INCREASED REVENUE FROM THE NEW TAX STRUCTURE, AS A VOTER-APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE, TO SUPPLEMENT CURRENT LEVELS OF FUNDING FOR K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE, AND EARLY CHILD CARE AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS?

Ballot title as printed in the 2026 State Ballot Information Booklet (Blue Book), Colorado Legislative Council Staff.

A YES vote means:

Colorado’s single 4.4% income tax rate would be replaced, starting in 2027, with six brackets from 3.7% to 8.4%, lowering taxes on taxable income below about $500,000 and raising them above it. The added revenue would go to K-12 education, health care, and early childhood programs and would be exempt from the TABOR revenue limit.

A NO vote means:

The constitutional requirement for a single flat state income tax rate stays in place.

What it would change

  • Who is affected: individuals, estates, trusts, and corporations that pay Colorado income tax; the 4.4% rate on income from selling a principal residence stays the same.
  • Taxes: rates of 3.7% (up to $25,000), 4.2%, 4.4%, 7.4%, 7.9%, and 8.4% (over $1,000,000); brackets are not adjusted for inflation.
  • Taxpayer impact (Legislative Council Staff): tax owed goes down for Colorado taxable income below $510,834 and up at or above it; no effect on current TABOR refunds.
  • Fiscal impact (Legislative Council Staff): state revenue and spending estimated to increase by $2.7 billion in budget year 2027-28.

Official arguments, summarized

Short neutral summaries of the arguments printed in the official voters’ pamphlet. The committees that wrote them are responsible for their content. Read the full text at the link below.

Argument for

Supporters say it lowers taxes for most households and small businesses while raising them on top earners, funds education, health care, and child care, and uses a graduated structure that the federal government and 27 other states already have.

Argument against

Opponents say it is a multibillion-dollar tax increase that could push employers and high earners out of the state, that brackets not adjusted for inflation will reach more taxpayers over time, and that it would expand government spending.

Arguments for and against Amendment 87, 2026 Blue Book, Colorado Legislative Council Staff (PDF, p. 36)

Who supports it and who opposes it

These lists come from official campaign filings (registered committees) and public endorsements, each linked to its source. They are not complete, and SaveYourState does not endorse anyone listed. Lists checked October 30, 2026.

Who supports it

Who opposes it

Official sources

SaveYourState is independent and nonpartisan, not a government site, and does not take positions on ballot measures. This explainer describes effects only, using the official ballot title, explanatory statement, full text, and fiscal impact statement. If anything here differs from those documents, the official documents control.