MA PFML Calculator

Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave

How DFML figures your weekly benefit

DFML starts with your individual average weekly wage (IAWW). It takes your base period, which is the last four completed calendar quarters before your benefit year starts, adds the wages from the two quarters in which you earned the most and divides by 26. If you had wages in only one or two quarters, it uses the single highest quarter divided by 13 instead. Any cents are raised to the next whole dollar.

Your benefit then has two tiers based on the state average weekly wage (SAWW), a figure set for each calendar year. The part of your IAWW up to half of the SAWW is replaced at 80 percent, and the part above half is replaced at 50 percent. The result cannot exceed the maximum weekly benefit, which is 64 percent of the SAWW. DFML uses the SAWW of the calendar year in which your benefit year starts. For 2026 the SAWW is $1,922.48, so the 80 percent tier covers the first $961.24 of your IAWW and the maximum is $1,230.39 a week.

In the default example the two best quarters are $16,000 and $16,250. Together that is $32,250, which divided by 26 is $1,240.38, raised to $1,241. The benefit is 80 percent of $961.24, or $768.99, plus 50 percent of the $279.76 above it, or $139.88, for $908.87 a week. The calculator matches DFML's own benefit calculator on 20,000 random wage histories.

Source: DFML, How PFML weekly benefit amounts are calculated. The 80% tier ends at half of the SAWW; the maximum is 64% of the SAWW under M.G.L. c.175M, section 3.

What different wages pay in 2026

Because only the first $961.24 of your IAWW is replaced at 80 percent, the share of pay you keep falls as your wages rise. You reach the $1,230.39 maximum at an IAWW of $1,885, which means your two best quarters total more than $48,984.

Calculated with the DFML formula for benefit years that start in 2026. Shares are rounded to the nearest percent.

Do you qualify?

You must meet two earnings tests over your base period. First, your wages must reach the minimum set each year by the Department of Unemployment Assistance; DFML's own calculator uses $6,300 for benefit years in 2026. Second, your base period wages must be at least 30 times the weekly benefit you would receive. The second test catches people who earned well in only a quarter or two. With $5,000 in one quarter and $1,500 in another, the IAWW is the $5,000 quarter divided by 13, or $385, the benefit would be $308 a week, and 30 times that is $9,240, more than the $6,500 earned, so the claim does not qualify. You also need a qualifying reason for the leave, and if your employer has a DFML-approved private plan, you claim from that plan instead.

Benefit year and base period

Your benefit year starts on the Sunday before your first day of leave and lasts 52 weeks. DFML's example is a parent whose bonding leave starts on Monday, May 4, 2026, so the benefit year runs from Sunday, May 3, 2026 through Saturday, May 1, 2027. The benefit year fixes both your weekly rate, which stays the same for the whole year even if you file again for a different reason, and the SAWW that applies. The calculator accepts first days of leave from January 5 to December 31, 2026, which all start a 2026 benefit year.

How much leave you get and the waiting week

In a benefit year you can take up to 20 weeks of medical leave for your own serious health condition, up to 12 weeks of family leave to bond with a child or care for a family member, and no more than 26 weeks of the two combined. Family leave to care for a covered service member can run up to 26 weeks. In most cases the first 7 calendar days of leave are an unpaid waiting period, and those days count against your leave. You can use paid time off during the waiting week and keep your job protection. That is why 12 weeks of bonding leave pays 11 weeks, or $9,997.57 in the default example, and 20 weeks of medical leave at the same rate pays 19 weeks, or $17,268.53.

Reduced and intermittent leave

You can take leave on a reduced schedule or a few days at a time; the weekly benefit is then prorated. DFML counts leave in weeks based on your average work week: if you normally work 30 hours and take 45 hours of leave, that is 1.5 weeks. When your schedule varies, your average work week is the hours you worked in your two highest earning quarters of the last 12 months divided by 26.

Taxes on PFML benefits

When you apply you can have income tax withheld, most often 5 percent for Massachusetts and 10 percent for federal tax, which is the last line of the result. Medical leave payments made on or after January 1, 2026 can have Social Security and Medicare withheld when your employer has 25 or more employees, while family leave payments are not subject to those taxes. For income tax, the IRS explained in Revenue Ruling 2025-4 that family leave benefits paid by a state program are taxable income, while medical leave benefits are excluded except the part that comes from employer contributions. Ask a tax professional about your own return. For pay when you are back at work, see the Massachusetts salary calculator and the Boston salary calculator. Leave programs in other states work differently: compare the Washington paid family leave calculator, the CA SDI calculator and the maternity leave pay calculator.