The FAMLI line on your W-2 is the total you contributed during the year to Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance program, a state-run paid leave fund. It sits in Box 14, which employers use for state-specific items, and it is there for your information only. It does not reduce your taxable wages, and you cannot deduct it on your federal or Colorado return.
Where the Amount Shows Up and What It Means
Most payroll departments label the Box 14 line “FAMLI” or “CO FAMLI.” The figure reflects every dollar withheld from your paychecks over the year for the program.
FAMLI premiums are a post-tax deduction. They come out of your pay after federal and state income taxes have already been calculated, so they do not lower the taxable wages reported in Box 1 or Box 16. The Box 14 entry lets you confirm how much you paid in; it does nothing else on your return.1Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Individuals and Families FAQs
How the Amount Is Calculated
The total FAMLI premium for 2026 is 0.88% of wages, split evenly between employer and employee at 0.44% each.2Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Premium and Benefits Calculator Only the employee half — the 0.44% — comes out of your paycheck and appears in Box 14. For someone earning $60,000, that works out to about $264 for the year, or roughly $22 a month.
Premiums apply only to wages up to the federal Social Security wage cap, which is $184,500 for 2026.2Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Premium and Benefits Calculator Once your year-to-date earnings hit that ceiling, your employer should stop withholding FAMLI for the rest of the year. If your Box 14 total looks lower than 0.44% of your total wages, hitting the cap is one reason why.
Businesses with nine or fewer employees do not owe the employer’s 0.44%, but they still withhold and remit the employee share each quarter.3Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Employers So working for a small employer does not change what shows up on your W-2.
What the Deduction Pays For
FAMLI provides partial wage replacement when you take extended time off for a qualifying reason. Most Colorado employees become eligible for benefits after earning at least $2,500 in FAMLI-covered wages over roughly the prior year, and those wages can come from any Colorado employer.4Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Individuals and Families
The program covers five categories of leave: bonding with a new child; your own serious health condition; caring for a family member with a serious health condition; safe leave related to domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault; and military exigency leave tied to a family member’s deployment.5Family and Medical Leave Insurance. My FAMLI+ User Guide – Reasons for Leave Most workers can take up to 12 weeks per application year, with up to 4 additional weeks for pregnancy or childbirth complications.
Weekly benefits are progressive: lower earners replace a larger share of their wages, and the maximum weekly benefit is $1,381 for 2026.1Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Individuals and Families FAQs
Is the FAMLI Deduction Tax Deductible?
No. The 0.44% employee premium is not deductible on your federal return or your Colorado return. Because it is a post-tax deduction, it already did not reduce your Box 1 or Box 16 wages, and there is no separate write-off on Schedule A or on the Colorado return to claim it again. The Box 14 amount is informational, full stop.
If You Also Received FAMLI Benefits
Contributions and benefits are reported separately. If you received at least $10 in FAMLI benefits during the year, the FAMLI Division issues you a Form 1099-G with the total in Box 1. That is a different document from your W-2, and the taxable treatment of what you received depends on the type of leave, under IRS Revenue Ruling 2025-4:6Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Ruling 2025-4
- Family leave benefits — bonding, caregiving, safe leave, and military exigency — are included in federal gross income. They are not subject to FICA, but federal income tax applies.
- Medical leave benefits are split. The portion tied to your own premium contributions (roughly half) is tax-free federally. The portion tied to your employer’s contributions is treated as taxable third-party sick pay.
Colorado does not tax any FAMLI benefits at the state level.7Family and Medical Leave Insurance. IRS Tax Guidance for Employers So you may owe federal tax on some or all of what you received, but nothing on the Colorado return.
If Your Employer Uses a Private Plan
Some Colorado employers meet the paid leave requirement through an approved private insurance plan instead of the state fund. A private plan must match or exceed the state plan’s benefits, duration, and wage replacement, and an employer using one cannot deduct more from your paycheck than the state plan would.8Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Private Plans If you work under a private plan, your Box 14 line may be labeled differently or may not read “FAMLI” at all. The deduction is still there for the same purpose.
If You Are Self-Employed
You will not see a FAMLI line unless you opted in. Self-employed Coloradans can voluntarily enroll through the My FAMLI+ Employer portal and pay only the 0.44% employee share, but the commitment runs for a minimum of three years, and benefits become available only after you have reported and paid premiums for at least one quarter.9Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Self-Employed Workers Since self-employed income is not reported on a W-2, your contributions will not appear in Box 14 at all; they will show up in your own FAMLI account records.