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

Temporary total incapacity benefits (Section 34) can pay 60% of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $2,007.20 a week (October 1, 2026 to September 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 Massachusetts

What it pays

60% of your gross (before-tax) wages

Maximum

$2,007.20 a week (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027)

Minimum

$401.44 a week (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027)

Minimum rule

If your average weekly wage is less than the minimum rate, your weekly benefit equals your full average weekly wage. Otherwise you receive 60% of your average weekly wage, up to the maximum.

Law: $401.44 for injuries from October 1, 2026

Applies to

Injuries on or after October 1, 2026 (the maximum and minimum change every October 1 and apply by date of injury)

How your wages are figured

Your average weekly wage is your gross earnings, including overtime and bonuses, over the 52 weeks before your injury, divided by 52. If you worked for the employer less than 52 weeks, divide your gross earnings by the number of weeks you worked.

How long it can last

Temporary total incapacity can be paid for up to 156 weeks (3 years). Temporary partial benefits can be paid for up to 260 weeks, and the two together cannot exceed 364 weeks (7 years).

Temporary total incapacity pays 60% of your gross (before-tax) average weekly wage. For injuries on or after October 1, 2026, the most you can get is $2,007.20 a week (100% of the state average weekly wage) and the minimum rate is $401.44 a week (20% of it). For injuries from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, the maximum is $1,922.48 and the minimum $384.50.

Law: M.G.L. c. 152, §§ 1(1), 1(10), 34, 35

Source: mass.gov

Changes in 2024–2026

For injuries on or after October 1, 2026, the maximum weekly benefit is $2,007.20 and the minimum rate $401.44 (Circular Letter 364), up from $1,922.48 and $384.50 for injuries from October 1, 2025 (Circular Letter 362). The DIA issued a revised workers' compensation notice-to-employees poster (Circular Letter 360, 2024) and a 2026 mileage reimbursement rate (Circular Letter 363).

Benefit estimate calculator

We do not offer a calculator for Massachusetts: its rule has parts that a simple estimate cannot show. Read the rule above and ask the state agency.

Sources

The official sources for Massachusetts are listed on the Massachusetts 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.