Workers' comp weekly benefit in Maine: how much it pays

Weekly compensation benefits for total incapacity can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,561.40 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027).

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Deadlines are strict. If you are near one, call the state agency or free help today.

Weekly benefit in Maine

What it pays: Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages
Maximum: $1,561.40 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)
Minimum rule: Maine has no minimum weekly benefit for total incapacity; you receive two-thirds of your average weekly wage.
Applies to: Payments made from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 for injuries on or after January 1, 2020
How your wages are figured: Your average weekly wage is usually what you earned for a regular full working week, or, if you did not work 200 full days in the year before the injury, your total pay that year divided by the weeks you worked. Seasonal workers' wages are averaged over 52 weeks. Pay from all your concurrent employers counts, and some fringe benefits may be added.
How long it can last: If your incapacity is total, you can receive benefits for as long as you cannot work at all. Partial incapacity benefits are limited (624 weeks for injuries on or after January 1, 2020). After 5 years of total incapacity benefits, the rate for injuries on or after January 1, 2020 may increase with annual adjustments, but not above the maximum.

For injuries on or after January 1, 2013, weekly compensation for total incapacity is two-thirds of your gross average weekly wage. For injuries on or after January 1, 2020, the most you can be paid from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 is $1,561.40 a week (125% of the state average weekly wage). The maximum is adjusted every July 1.

Law: 39-A M.R.S. §§ 102(4), 211, 212(1-A)

Source: maine.gov

Changes in 2024–2026

The maximum weekly benefit for injuries on or after January 1, 2020 is adjusted every July 1: $1,430.84 (July 2024 - June 2025), $1,498.55 (July 2025 - June 2026) and $1,561.40 (July 2026 - June 2027), based on a state average weekly wage of $1,249.12 from July 1, 2026.

Source: WCB SAWW notice revised 8-14-26

Benefit estimate calculator

Estimate your weekly benefit with the calculator

Sources

The official sources for Maine are listed on the Maine page.

National rules that may also matter

Taxes, Social Security, leave and the ADA

Taxes on workers' compensation Workers' compensation benefits for a work injury or illness are fully exempt from federal income tax when they are paid under a workers' compensation law. Pay you get for doing light-duty work is taxable as wages. If your workers' compensation reduces your Social Security benefits, that part may be taxable as Social Security benefits. Federal employees: FECA compensation is not taxable, but continuation of pay (up to 45 days) and sick leave pay while a claim is decided are taxed as wages.

Law: IRS Publication 525 (2025), Workers' Compensation; 26 U.S.C. 104(a)(1)

Social Security disability and workers' compensation If you get Social Security disability benefits and workers' compensation at the same time, Social Security may reduce its benefit. The reduction applies when your Social Security benefits (including benefits paid to your family on your record) plus your workers' compensation are more than 80% of your 'average current earnings', or more than your family's Social Security benefit before the reduction, if that is higher. A lump-sum workers' compensation settlement can also be counted. The reduction stops when you reach full retirement age. It does not apply when the state law paying your workers' compensation reduces that benefit instead for people on Social Security, if that state rule was in place on February 18, 1981.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 424a(a), (b), (d); SSA POMS DI 52101.001, DI 52105.001

Job-protected leave (FMLA) The Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for a serious health condition, and keeps your group health coverage. It covers private employers with 50 or more employees in at least 20 workweeks of this year or last year, all public agencies, and public and private elementary and secondary schools. You are eligible if you worked there at least 12 months, worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before the leave, and work at a site with at least 50 employees within 75 miles. Time off for a work injury can count as FMLA leave if your employer designates it. If your doctor clears you only for light duty, you may turn down a light-duty job and stay on unpaid FMLA leave until it runs out, but you may lose workers' compensation payments.

Law: 29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.; 29 CFR 825.207(e); DOL Wage and Hour Division, Family and Medical Leave Act

Disability rights when you go back to work (ADA) Not every work injury is a 'disability' under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If yours is, an employer with 15 or more employees may have to make a reasonable accommodation, unless it would cause undue hardship, for example by moving minor (marginal) duties you cannot do to other workers or changing your schedule. The employer does not have to remove the essential functions of the job.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 12111(5)(A); EEOC Enforcement Guidance: Workers' Compensation and the ADA (Notice 915.002)

In these states, the state reduces some or all types of workers' compensation for people who also get Social Security disability, so Social Security does not reduce its benefit for those payments.

States that reduce workers' comp when you also get Social Security disability: Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin.