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

Total disability (wage-loss) benefits can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,394 a week in 2026.

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 Pennsylvania

What it pays: Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages
Maximum: $1,394 a week in 2026
Minimum: $697 a week in 2026
Minimum rule: If your average weekly wage is $1,045.50 or less but more than $774.43, you receive $697.00 a week. If your average weekly wage is $774.43 or less, you receive 90% of your average weekly wage.
Applies to: Injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2026
How your wages are figured: If you are paid by the week, month or year, your fixed wage is used. Otherwise your weekly wage is figured from the highest three of the last four 13-week periods in the 52 weeks before the injury (shorter periods or your expected hours apply if you worked there less time). Board and lodging from the employer and tips reported to the IRS count.
How long it can last: Total disability is paid while you are totally disabled. After you have received 104 weeks of total disability, the insurer can ask for an impairment-rating exam; if your impairment is under 35%, your status can change to partial disability, which is limited to 500 weeks.

Total disability pays two-thirds of your gross average weekly wage. For injuries in 2026 the most you can get is $1,394.00 a week. If two-thirds of your wage is less than $697.00 (half of the statewide average weekly wage), you get the lower of $697.00 or 90% of your average weekly wage. The rate is set by the year you were injured.

Law: 77 P.S. §§ 511 (Act § 306(a)), 511.3 (Act § 306(a.3)), 582 (Act § 309), 25.2 (Act § 105.2)

Source: pa.gov

Changes in 2024–2026

For injuries in 2026 the maximum rose to $1,394.00 a week. Act 121 of 2024 (Oct. 29, 2024) made post-traumatic stress injuries of first responders from a qualifying traumatic event compensable without a physical injury (claim within 3 years after diagnosis).

Law: Act § 308; Act 126 of 2024 (Oct. 29, 2024) added rules letting injured workers authorize direct deposit of payments

Benefit estimate calculator

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

Sources

The official sources for Pennsylvania are listed on the Pennsylvania 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.