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

Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits (temporary disability / partial wage replacement) can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,488.30 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 Tennessee

What it pays

Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages

Maximum

$1,488.30 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)

Minimum

$202.95 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)

Minimum rule

If your average weekly wage is $202.95 or more, you get at least $202.95 a week (injuries from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027). If your average weekly wage is less than that, the law says you receive your full average weekly wage, and that payments are not to be less than the minimum weekly benefit.

Applies to

Injuries from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027

How your wages are figured

Your gross earnings for the 52 weeks before the injury, including overtime and bonuses, are added up and divided by 52. If you worked for the employer less than 52 weeks, your earnings are divided by the weeks you worked, or the wages of a similar worker doing the same job are used. Your employer reports your wages to the adjuster on a Wage Statement.

Source: Form C-41

How long it can last

Temporary disability benefits end when you return to work without restrictions or when the authorized treating physician says you have reached maximum medical improvement. Refusing light duty within your restrictions that your employer offers may end the benefits.

Temporary total disability pays two-thirds (66 2/3%) of your average weekly wage. For injuries from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, the most you can get is $1,488.30 a week (110% of the state average weekly wage of $1,353) and the minimum rate is $202.95 a week. For injuries from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, the limits are $1,426.70 and $194.55. Rates change every July 1 and depend on your date of injury.

Law: Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 50-6-102, 50-6-207(1)(A)

Source: tn.gov

Changes in 2024–2026

Weekly TTD limits for injuries from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 rose to $1,488.30 maximum and $202.95 minimum, per the BWC compensation rate table updated June 29, 2026.

Benefit estimate calculator

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

Sources

The official sources for Tennessee are listed on the Tennessee 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.