Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave in 2026: the first benefits
Maine collected premiums for more than a year before paying anything; benefits cover time off from May 1, 2026. The weekly cap is the one figure still unclear.
Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave, bonding with a new child
$1,013
a week · $12,156 for 12 weeks
| Weekly benefit | $1,013 |
| Average weekly wage used | $1,308 |
| Weeks paid (up to 12 weeks for this reason) | 12 weeks |
| Total for this leave | $12,156 |
| Federal income tax on it, about | $1,459 |
| Your take-home pay now, a week | $1,083 |
| Share of take-home pay replaced | 94 % before tax |
Maine: 90% of the weekly wage up to half the state average weekly wage, plus 66% above, capped at the state average weekly wage, for leave from May 1, 2026. The engine averages your two highest quarters. The law caps the benefit at the state average weekly wage, $1,249.12 from July 1, 2026; Maine's own chart rounds it to $1,250, and the cap at the May 2026 launch was $1,199.
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the estimates are built · state laws and agency pages read October 20, 2026
Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave pays for time out of work on or after May 1, 2026, after premiums started on January 1, 2025. The law replaces 90 % of the part of your average weekly wage up to half of the state average weekly wage, $624.56, and 66 % of the part above. The maximum is the state average weekly wage itself, which the Workers' Compensation Board gives as $1,249.12 from July 1, 2026; the program's own chart rounds it to $1,250, and the cap at launch was $1,199. Treat the exact cap as uncertain until Maine states it plainly. A $38,000 salary translates into a check near $632; a $68,000 salary, near $1,013. Family and medical leave together are limited to 12 weeks in a benefit year. The premium is 1 % of wages at employers with 15 or more employees, and no more than 0.5 % can come from the worker.
A launch year with a moving cap
Benefits are paid only for time out of work occurring on or after May 1, 2026 (Maine Paid Leave). The statute ties the maximum weekly benefit to the state average weekly wage (26 M.R.S. § 850-C). That wage was the basis of a $1,199 cap in the spring; the Workers' Compensation Board then published $1,249.12 as of July 1, 2026 (state average weekly wage), and the program's benefit chart uses $1,250, rounded. No official page says clearly which figure applies to a claim filed today, or from which date. This site uses $1,249.12 and flags it as uncertain.
The difference matters only near the top. A worker below about $1,665 a week of wages is not affected, because the formula gives less than any of the three caps.
Maine leave at your pay
Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave, bonding with a new child
$1,013
| Weekly benefit | $1,013 |
| Average weekly wage used | $1,308 |
| Weeks paid (up to 12 weeks for this reason) | 12 weeks |
| Total for this leave | $12,156 |
66 % above the first tier
The second tier is 66 %, as written in section 850-C; check that figure if you read an older summary. Below $624.56 a week, a worker keeps 90 % of wages; above it, each extra dollar adds $0.66. Take $68,000 a year, or $1,308 weekly: the formula yields $1,013, about 77 % of gross pay, and a full 12 weeks of bonding is worth about $12,156.
One pool of 12 weeks
A covered worker may not take more than 12 weeks, in the aggregate, of family leave and medical leave in the same benefit year (26 M.R.S. § 850-B). There is no larger allowance for your own health and no extra weeks for pregnancy complications, as Washington or Colorado provide. A birth mother who uses medical leave around the delivery has that much less for bonding.
Premiums by employer size
Employers with 15 or more employees remit 1 % of wages, and smaller employers 0.5 %. In both cases, no more than 0.5 % can come from the employee (employer FAQ). A worker earning $38,000 pays at most about $190 a year.
Tax
Family leave benefits are federal income under Revenue Ruling 2025-4; medical leave is taxable for the part funded by the employer. The paid leave tax page covers the details, and the state comparison places Maine among the other programs.
Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave: the 2026 figures
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Benefit rule | 90% of the weekly wage up to half the state average weekly wage, plus 66% above, capped at the state average weekly wage, for leave from May 1, 2026 |
| Weekly benefit, 2026 | up to $1,249.12 |
| Weeks: Own health or pregnancy | 12 |
| Weeks: Bonding with a new child | 12 |
| Weeks: Caring for a relative | 12 |
| Employee premium, 2026 | 0.5% of wages (at most half of the 1% premium) |