How California SDI works out your benefit
EDD does not look at your current paycheck. It finds your base period — four calendar quarters that ended roughly 5 to 18 months before your claim starts — picks the quarter in which you were paid the most, and divides it by 13 to turn it into a weekly wage. A claim that starts in October, November or December 2026 uses the twelve months that ended June 30, 2026; one that starts in January through March 2027 uses the year ending September 30, 2026.
Since January 2025 the replacement rate depends on that best quarter. If it is no more than 70% of the state average quarterly wage — $16,279.90 for 2026 claims — you receive 90% of it divided by 13. Above that line you receive 70%, but never less than $1,127 and never more than $1,765. A best quarter under $722.50 pays the $50 minimum. EDD rounds every amount up to the next whole dollar.
Disability Insurance (your own illness, injury or pregnancy) and Paid Family Leave (bonding with a new child, or caring for a seriously ill relative) pay the same weekly amount. Disability claims start with a 7-day unpaid waiting period; Paid Family Leave has none.
California figures by date
| Window | Weekly maximum | Other figures | Your contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2026 – Dec 31, 2026 | $1,765 | State average weekly wage: $1,789 Middle-band amount: $1,127 | SDI: 1.3% |
After the last window, the calculator switches to an explicit “enter the official figure” mode rather than reusing an old maximum.
Worked example
Take a worker paid $65,000 a year with steady pay, taking 8 weeks off (bonding with a new child) from Oct 5, 2026, when the figures for Jan 1, 2026 – Dec 31, 2026 apply. California SDI uses the highest base-period quarter ÷ 13: $1,250 (highest quarter $16,250).
The formula gives 90% of highest quarter ÷ 13 = $1,125: a weekly benefit of $1,125, or 90% of their usual weekly pay. 8 paid weeks come to $9,000.
Over a year, their own payroll contribution is $845 — about $16.25 a week.
At $200,000 a year, the same leave pays $1,765 a week — the maximum, 46% of that worker’s weekly pay, for a yearly contribution of $2,600.
What catches people out in California
- A recent raise may not count yet. Because the base period ends months before your claim, pay you earned in the last few months is usually outside it. If your best quarter is old and low, ask EDD whether a later claim start date would use a better base period.
- The flat $1,127 band is wide. In 2026 every best quarter from $16,264.45 to $20,931.30 pays exactly $1,127 a week. The statute would round a narrow slice of that band to $1,128; we follow EDD’s published table because that is what EDD pays.
- Pregnancy usually means two claims. Birth parents commonly claim Disability Insurance for pregnancy and recovery, then move to Paid Family Leave to bond. Both pay the same weekly amount; the 8 bonding weeks are separate from the disability weeks.
- The cost has no ceiling. SDI takes 1.3% of every dollar of 2026 wages — the taxable wage limit was removed in 2024 — so someone earning $250,000 pays $3,250 a year for a benefit capped at $1,765 a week.
- Disability pay has two limits: 52 weeks, and never more in total than the wages in your base period.
Official California resources
Related programs
Neighbors with their own programs, and Hawaii’s disability-only system.
Sources for this page
- California EDD: Calculating Disability Insurance benefit payment amounts. Supplies: 2026 maximum ($1,765) and minimum ($50) weekly benefit; 90% / 70% replacement bands; $1,127 band. Checked .
- California EDD: Calculating Paid Family Leave benefit payment amounts. Supplies: Same PFL benefit bands and 2026 maximum. Checked .
- California EDD: DE 2589, Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Amounts (Rev. 17, 1-26). Supplies: Full 2026 benefit table by highest-quarter wages (engine is tested against every row); base period by claim month. Checked .
- California Legislature: Unemployment Insurance Code §2655 (SB 951 benefit formula). Supplies: 90%/70% formula, 70% of state average quarterly wage threshold, 63% of SAWW floor, round-up rule. Checked .
- California Department of Industrial Relations: News release 2025-116: 2026 TTD maximum and state average weekly wage. Supplies: State average weekly wage for 2026 ($1,789); TTD maximum $1,764.11 that sets the $1,765 cap. Checked .
- California EDD: Rates and withholding. Supplies: 2026 SDI worker contribution 1.3% with no taxable wage limit. Checked .
- California Legislature: Unemployment Insurance Code §2627 (waiting period). Supplies: Seven-day unpaid waiting period for Disability Insurance. Checked .
- California EDD: Integration and coordination of benefits. Supplies: Paid Family Leave has no waiting period. Checked .
- California Legislature: Unemployment Insurance Code §2653 (maximum DI award). Supplies: DI maximum of 52 × weekly benefit, never more than base-period wages. Checked .
- California Legislature: Unemployment Insurance Code §3301 (Paid Family Leave). Supplies: PFL maximum of 8 weeks within any 12-month period. Checked .
- California Legislature: Unemployment Insurance Code §2652 (eligibility). Supplies: $300 minimum base-period wages. Checked .
Figures on this page verified . Spotted a difference from your agency’s notice? Report a correction.