Massachusetts paid family and medical leave in 2026
The Department of Family and Medical Leave pays Massachusetts workers during their own serious health condition, while bonding with a child or while caring for a relative. Medical leave runs longer than family leave here.
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave, your own illness, injury or pregnancy
$1,106
a week · $21,008 for 20 weeks
| Weekly benefit | $1,106 |
| Average weekly wage used | $1,635 |
| Weeks paid (up to 20 weeks for this reason) | 19 weeks after a 7-day wait |
| Total for this leave | $21,008 |
| Federal income tax | depends on who paid the premiums |
| Your take-home pay now, a week | $1,312 |
| Share of take-home pay replaced | 84 % |
Massachusetts: 80% of the weekly wage up to half the 2026 state average weekly wage of $1,922.48, plus 50% above, up to $1,230.39 a week. The engine averages your two highest quarters, the individual average weekly wage Massachusetts describes.
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the estimates are built · state laws and agency pages read October 20, 2026
Massachusetts PFML replaces 80 % of the part of your individual average weekly wage that is equal to or less than half of the state average weekly wage, and 50 % of the part above. For 2026 the state average weekly wage is $1,922.48, so the first tier ends at $961.24 and the maximum benefit, 64 % of the state average, is $1,230.39 a week. You reach it at about $1,884 a week of wages. A worker earning $44,000 a year receives about $677 a week, and one earning $85,000 about $1,106. Leave lasts up to 20 weeks for your own health, 12 for family reasons, and 26 weeks in total in a benefit year. Every leave starts with a 7-day waiting period. The 2026 contribution is 0.88 % of wages for employers with 25 or more workers, of which employees may be charged up to 0.46 %.
20 weeks for your health, 12 for family
Massachusetts is the program with the longest medical leave on this site among the combined family and medical programs: up to 20 weeks for a serious health condition of your own, including pregnancy and recovery from childbirth. Family leave, for bonding or caring for a relative, stops at 12 weeks. Combined, a worker cannot take more than 26 weeks in a benefit year (DFML, how weekly benefits are calculated). At $85,000 a year, the full medical leave is worth about $21,008 and the full family leave about $12,162.
Medical or family leave in Massachusetts
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave, your own illness, injury or pregnancy
$1,106
| Weekly benefit | $1,106 |
| Average weekly wage used | $1,635 |
| Weeks paid (up to 20 weeks for this reason) | 19 weeks after a 7-day wait |
| Total for this leave | $21,008 |
The IAWW and the two tiers
The Department computes an individual average weekly wage, the IAWW, from your wages in the base period; the calculator approximates it from your two best quarters. The part of the IAWW up to $961.24 is replaced at 80 %, the rest at 50 %. The result is then capped at $1,230.39. A worker with an IAWW of $961 or less receives 80 % of wages; at $85,000 a year, the combined effect is about 68 % of gross weekly pay.
The Department publishes its own benefit calculator, linked in the table below. Its result is the reference if it differs from this estimate.
A waiting week for every leave
Unlike Washington or California, Massachusetts applies its 7-day waiting period to every type of leave, bonding included. No benefit is paid for those days. The weeks you enter in the calculator include them, and the amount paid is for the weeks after.
Contributions in 2026
For employers with 25 or more covered individuals, the total contribution is 0.88 % of wages: 0.18 % for family leave and 0.70 % for medical leave (DFML 2026 rate sheet). The employer may deduct the whole family share and up to 40 % of the medical share, 0.28 % of wages, for a worker share of up to 0.46 %. At $44,000 that is at most about $202 a year. The wage ceiling for contributions was not read on an official page and is not applied here.
Tax and job protection
Family leave benefits are federal income under Revenue Ruling 2025-4; medical leave benefits are excluded only for the part matching employee contributions, which is a minority share of the medical premium. The tax page explains the split, and the FMLA page covers the job protection side.
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave: the 2026 figures
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Benefit rule | 80% of the weekly wage up to half the 2026 state average weekly wage of $1,922.48, plus 50% above, up to $1,230.39 a week |
| Weekly benefit, 2026 | up to $1,230.39 |
| Weeks: Own health or pregnancy | 20 |
| Weeks: Bonding with a new child | 12 |
| Weeks: Caring for a relative | 12 |
| Weeks: All reasons together | 26 |
| Unpaid waiting period: own health or pregnancy | 7 days |
| Unpaid waiting period: bonding with a new child | 7 days |
| Unpaid waiting period: caring for a relative | 7 days |
| Employee premium, 2026 | 0.46% of wages (the most an employer may deduct; wage cap not modeled) |
| Official calculator | calculator.digital.mass.gov |