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Individual Wage Withholding, W-2 & 1099 Statements

DR 0004 Information

Learn more about form DR 0004 with our Employee Resources page

W-2 Statements

When filing a paper return, all W-2s and/or 1099s that show Colorado income tax withholding must be stapled to the front of the form where indicated. When filing an electronic return, attach scanned copies of all W-2s and/or 1099s that show Colorado income tax withholding to the e-filed tax return. If you are unable to attach W-2s and/or 1099s to your e-filed return, submit through Revenue Online.

1099 Statements

The Department requires you to attach to your return any 1099 statements with Colorado withholding. Following are examples of different 1099 statements a taxpayer might receive:

  • 1099-G from government agencies. 
  • 1099-INT from financial institutions and government agencies showing interest earned.
  • 1099-DIV from brokerage companies showing dividend income.
  • 1099-MISC from management companies showing rental income.
  • 1099-R from pension organizations showing pension income.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

The Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) is aware of the recent IRS change to allow for the masking or truncation of part of the Social Security Number (SSN) on the federal W-2 form. CDOR requires that the SSN be revealed in full on the W-2 so that our systems can process the information. Masked or truncated W-2 forms will not be processed.

CDOR collects personally identifiable information (PII) and other information only as necessary to administer our programs. The information provided to CDOR will be used only for that purpose. For more information on how we safeguard PII visit our Taxpayer Security Safeguards page.

Frequently Asked Questions

You can change your withholding for both federal and state on federal form W-4, and you can change your withholding only for Colorado on Colorado form DR 0004. You may obtain both of these forms from your employer. 

Yes. Starting in 2022, an employee may complete a Colorado Employee Withholding Certificate (form DR 0004), but it is not required. If an employee completes form DR 0004, the employer must calculate Colorado withholding based on the amounts the employee entered. If an employee does not complete form DR 0004, the employer must calculate Colorado withholding based on IRS form W-4.

For more information about the withholding calculation, see the Colorado Withholding Worksheet For Employers (form DR 1098) on the Withholding Tax Forms web page. Additional frequently asked questions about the DR 0004 can be found here

You must file a Colorado income tax return if you wish to receive a refund on wage withholding reported on your W-2 form regardless of whether you are a part-year resident, full-year resident or nonresident. If Colorado income tax withholding should not occur through your pay because you do not live or work in Colorado, contact your employer to request the correction for the future.

No, because pay stubs do not usually have the employer's FEIN on them. The FEIN is required when taxpayers file their income tax, whether electronically or on paper. The Colorado Department of Revenue verifies the FEINs to ensure the employer has paid the taxpayer's withholding tax. When there is no FEIN with the income tax filing or the FEIN is incorrect, the taxpayer will be required to communicate with the department to verify withholding, which will delay tax return processing.

The state does not retain paper copies of taxpayers W-2s. However, there are several options for obtaining this information:

  • Contact your employer or previous employer to obtain a copy.
  • If you have your final pay stub that includes the amount of taxes withheld for Colorado, you can use this information to electronically file your state income tax return or to fill out a Substitute Colorado W-2 Form (DR 0084) to send with your paper return.

For federal W-2 information you must contact the IRS.

If you filed your Colorado income tax return and now have an additional W-2 which change your tax due or refund amount, you must amend your Individual Income Tax Return with a DR 0104X form. Filing an incorrect form will not correct your return, and it may cause delays in processing your refund or cause you to be billed for income tax due.

Year-end 1099 statements are mailed in January to inform recipients about income they received during the previous year. The 1099-G is issued by government agencies such as the Department of Revenue and the Department of Labor and Employment for use in filling out your federal income tax return. 

The IRS requires the Colorado Department of Revenue to provide Form 1099-G to taxpayers who may have itemized deductions on their federal return the previous year. The form is in postcard format. A separate copy of your 1099-G is sent to the IRS.

Taxpayers who itemized their deductions using Schedule A on last year's federal return must use this information to complete their federal return this year. Taxpayers who took the standard deduction on last year's federal return generally will not report the refund on their federal return.

Amounts on this form include:

  • Colorado income tax refund you received the prior year
  • Consumer Use Tax paid on the DR 0104
  • Overpayment credited to the following year's estimated tax
  • Overpayment applied to a prior year's balance due
  • Overpayment intercepted by the IRS or by a state agency
  • Contributions to any of the voluntary checkoff funds

The 1099-G forms are mailed by January 31 of each year. You should receive the form (which is in a postcard format) by mid-February. The 1099-G forms are sent only to taxpayers who itemized deductions last year on their federal schedule A and received a state income tax refund of more than $10. To determine if last year's refund was large enough to be reported on a 1099-G, add the amount of last year's refund check you received with:

  • amounts donated to charitable contributions on form 104
  • amounts intercepted as payment for back taxes or debts to other state agencies
  • amount applied to next year\'s estimated taxes

If you do not receive the 1099-G in the mail, sign up for access and log in to your account through our Revenue Online service to view the amount of last year's Colorado refund that was reported to you on Form 1099-G. If there is no record of a 1099-G in your account, you may not have received a taxable income tax refund last year. You will need to first sign (Create a Login ID and Password) up through Revenue Online to view this information.

Taxpayers who receive an incorrect 1099-G form for unemployment benefits they did not receive should contact the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment (CDLE) to request a revised Form 1099-G showing they did not receive unemployment benefits. To report that you have received an incorrect/invalid 1099-G to CDLE, complete the Report Invalid 1099-G Form. For more information, visit the CDLE websiteTaxpayers should still file an accurate tax return, reporting only the income they received