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

Temporary income benefits are 70% of the difference between your average weekly wage and what you earn after the injury. Pay is up to $1,314 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 Texas

Maximum: $1,314 a week (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027)
Minimum: $197 a week (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027)
Minimum rule: The weekly benefit cannot be less than the minimum in effect on your injury date: $197 a week for injuries from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027 ($191 for injuries from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026).
Applies to: Injuries from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027 (Texas fiscal year 2027)
How your wages are figured: Your average weekly wage is your pay for the 13 weeks before the injury divided by 13. It includes overtime and other pay, and things your employer provides that have a money value, such as health insurance, a car or housing allowance. If you had more than one job, wages from your other employers can be added. If you worked less than 13 weeks, the wage of a similar employee can be used.
How long it can last: Temporary income benefits end when you reach maximum medical improvement, when you can earn your pre-injury average weekly wage again, or 104 weeks after benefits begin to accrue (the eighth day of disability), whichever comes first.

Temporary income benefits are 70% of the difference between your average weekly wage and what you earn after the injury. If you were hurt on or after September 1, 2015 and earned less than $10 an hour, the rate is 75% for the first 26 weeks (but not more than your actual earnings for the previous year). The limits depend on your injury date: for injuries from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, the most you can get is $1,314 a week and the least is $197 a week; for injuries from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, the limits are $1,271 and $191. The limits change every October 1, and the limits in effect on your injury date apply for the whole claim.

Law: Tex. Lab. Code §§ 408.041, 408.061, 408.062, 408.101-408.103

Source: tdi.texas.gov

Changes in 2024–2026

For injuries from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027 the TIBs maximum is $1,314 and the minimum $197 a week (from $1,271 and $191 for October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, and $1,219 and $183 for fiscal 2025).

Benefit estimate calculator

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

Sources

The official sources for Texas are listed on the Texas 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.