New Jersey Family Leave Insurance in 2026: 85 % of your wage
New Jersey applies one high rate to your whole weekly wage, with no lower second tier, and a weekly cap that limits what higher earners receive. Enter your pay to see your weekly FLI amount.
New Jersey Family Leave Insurance, bonding with a new child
$981
a week · $11,769 for 12 weeks
| Weekly benefit | $981 |
| Average weekly wage used | $1,154 |
| Weeks paid (up to 12 weeks for this reason) | 12 weeks |
| Total for this leave | $11,769 |
| Federal income tax on it, about | $1,412 |
| Your take-home pay now, a week | $964 |
| Share of take-home pay replaced | 102 % before tax |
New Jersey: 85% of the average weekly wage, up to $1,119 a week in 2026, for 12 consecutive weeks or 8 weeks taken intermittently. New Jersey averages the weeks worked in the base year; the engine assumes a full year of work.
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the estimates are built · state laws and agency pages read October 20, 2026
New Jersey Family Leave Insurance pays 85 % of your average weekly wage, up to a maximum of $1,119 a week in 2026, up from $1,081 the year before. The rate is the same for every earner, so the only limit is the cap, which you reach at about $68,456 a year. At $40,000 a year the benefit is about $654 a week, and at $60,000 about $981. You can take it as 12 consecutive weeks, which is 84 days, or as up to 8 weeks of separate days, 56 days in all, within a twelve-month period. A full block of 12 weeks at $60,000 a year is worth $11,769. To qualify you need 20 base-year weeks with at least $310 of earnings each, or $15,500 in the base year. Workers fund FLI with 0.23 % of wages up to $171,100, at most $393.53 for the year.
One rate, applied to the base year
The New Jersey Department of Labor averages your wages over the weeks you worked in the base year and pays 85 % of that average (NJ Family Leave Insurance). There is no second, lower tier as in Washington or Colorado, so a worker earning $60,000 keeps the same replacement rate as one earning $30,000. What changes with salary is only whether the cap binds: from a weekly wage of about $1,316, every claimant receives $1,119.
The calculator assumes a full year of work. If you started your job during the base year, the agency averages only the weeks you actually worked, which may give a higher figure than your yearly pay divided by 52.
Your FLI amount
New Jersey Family Leave Insurance, caring for a seriously ill relative
$981
| Weekly benefit | $981 |
| Average weekly wage used | $1,154 |
| Weeks paid (up to 12 weeks for this reason) | 6 weeks |
| Total for this leave | $5,885 |
Block or days: two ways to use it
FLI can be claimed as one continuous leave of up to 12 weeks, or in separate days that add up to 56 days, the equivalent of 8 weeks. The day option suits parents returning to work part time, and people taking a relative to treatments on fixed days.
The reasons covered are bonding with a newborn, adopted or foster child and caring for a family member with a serious health condition. A worker's own illness, injury or pregnancy is handled by New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance, which uses the same rate and cap.
Who qualifies in 2026
Two tests, and passing either is enough: a count of base-year weeks paid at least $310, of which you need 20, or a base-year total of $15,500 (NJ Department of Labor). Someone who works a few long shifts a month can fail the weekly test and still pass on the total. A parent who changed employers during the year adds the wages of both.
The payroll cost
The FLI deduction is 0.23 % of wages on the first $171,100, which caps the yearly total at $393.53. At $60,000 a year, a worker pays about $138. It sits next to the TDI deduction on the pay stub.
Tax on FLI
Family leave benefits are federal taxable income under Revenue Ruling 2025-4. New Jersey itself lists Family Leave Insurance among the income residents do not report on the state return (NJ-1040 instructions). The paid leave tax page estimates the federal amount.
New Jersey Family Leave Insurance: the 2026 figures
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Benefit rule | 85% of the average weekly wage, up to $1,119 a week in 2026, for 12 consecutive weeks or 8 weeks taken intermittently |
| Weekly benefit, 2026 | up to $1,119 |
| Weeks: Bonding with a new child | 12 |
| Weeks: Caring for a relative | 12 |
| Employee premium, 2026 | 0.23% of wages up to $171,100 |