New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance in 2026: amount, waiting week, length
TDI pays New Jersey workers who cannot work because of an illness, an injury off the job or a pregnancy. The first week is unpaid at first, then paid back if the disability lasts long enough.
New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance, your own illness, injury or pregnancy
$899
a week · $4,495 for 6 weeks
| Weekly benefit | $899 |
| Average weekly wage used | $1,058 |
| Weeks paid (up to 26 weeks for this reason) | 5 weeks after a 7-day wait |
| Total for this leave | $4,495 |
| Federal income tax | depends on who paid the premiums |
| Your take-home pay now, a week | $887 |
| Share of take-home pay replaced | 101 % |
New Jersey: 85% of the average weekly wage, up to $1,119 a week in 2026, for up to 26 weeks. 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 Temporary Disability Insurance pays 85 % of your average weekly wage, up to $1,119 a week in 2026, for a disability that keeps you from working. The cap applies from an average weekly wage of about $1,316, roughly $68,456 a year; at $55,000 a year the benefit is $899 a week, 101 % of the take-home pay it replaces. Payments start on the eighth day of disability. The first 7 days are paid too, but only once the disability has lasted 22 days or more, so an absence of 2 weeks pays $899 while one of 6 weeks pays $5,394 once the waiting week is paid back. Benefits last up to 26 weeks, and no more than 26 times the weekly amount. Workers fund TDI with 0.19 % of wages up to $171,100, which caps the year at $325.09.
The waiting week that is paid later
Every TDI claim begins with 7 unpaid days. New Jersey pays from the eighth day, and goes back to pay the first week once your leave reaches a total of 22 days or more (NJ Department of Labor, the waiting week). In practice, a short absence loses a week of benefits, and a long one does not. The calculator shows the first case: it subtracts the waiting week from the weeks you enter.
For a worker earning $55,000, the difference is $899. A disability of 2 weeks pays $899; one of 6 weeks, past the 22-day line, should pay every week, about $5,394.
TDI for a given absence
New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance, your own illness, injury or pregnancy
$899
| Weekly benefit | $899 |
| Average weekly wage used | $1,058 |
| Weeks paid (up to 26 weeks for this reason) | 5 weeks after a 7-day wait |
| Total for this leave | $4,495 |
85 % of the wage, then the cap
The amount is 85 % of the average of the weeks you worked in the base year, up to the maximum for the calendar year in which the disability begins (NJ Temporary Disability Insurance). The cap rose from $1,081 to $1,119 in 2026 (NJ 2026 benefit rates). New Jersey's rate is high and its cap moderate, so the cap binds for many full-time workers: anyone with a weekly wage above $1,316 receives the same amount.
How long benefits last
A claim can run up to 26 weeks, or 26 times the weekly benefit if that is less. Benefits stop when your provider certifies that you can work. Pregnancy is a covered disability, and after it the bonding weeks are paid by New Jersey Family Leave Insurance.
Eligibility and the payroll deduction
For a claim in 2026, you need 20 base-year weeks with earnings of at least $310 each, or $15,500 in total. The TDI deduction is 0.19 % on the first $171,100 of wages; at $55,000 that is about $105 for the year, and the most anyone pays is $325.09.
Tax treatment
Under Revenue Ruling 2025-4, a state medical leave benefit is excluded from federal income for the part attributable to employee contributions and taxable for the part attributable to employer contributions. The tax page explains how to read the statement the state sends, and the disability insurance comparison sets New Jersey against the other states.
New Jersey Temporary Disability Insurance: the 2026 figures
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Benefit rule | 85% of the average weekly wage, up to $1,119 a week in 2026, for up to 26 weeks |
| Weekly benefit, 2026 | up to $1,119 |
| Weeks: Own health or pregnancy | 26 |
| Unpaid waiting period: own health or pregnancy | 7 days |
| Employee premium, 2026 | 0.19% of wages up to $171,100 |