Paid Leave Calc
Figures verified 2026 program values · 2027 where publishedIndependent · not a government site

Delaware · Paid Leave (benefits since January 2026)

Delaware Paid Leave Calculator

Delaware Paid Leave pays 80% of your average weekly wage — at least $100 and at most $900 a week in 2026 and 2027 — for 12 weeks with a new child, or 6 weeks of medical or caregiving leave.

Delaware Paid Leave estimate

Reason for leave
All jobs covered by the program, before tax and deductions.
Pay changed recently? Enter it quarter by quarter

Programs look at the wages paid in specific calendar quarters. Leave a box empty to use your pay above for that quarter.

Parental leave: up to 12 weeks in an application year.
Sets which year's maximum and rules apply.

Estimated weekly benefit · Parental leave (new child)

$893/week

Total for 12 weeks: $10,716Replaces 80% of your weekly wage

  • Verified figures · 2026
Your average weekly wage (wages in the 12 months before applying ÷ 52)$1,115.38
80% of wages $0–$1,115.38$892.31
Weekly benefit$893
Weeks paid × weekly benefit12 × $893
Total benefit for this leave$10,716
Paid Leave (most an employer of 25+ may deduct) 0.4% up to $184,500$232/yr
Your payroll deduction$232/yr · $4.46/wk

What this leaves out: the job-tenure test (12 months and 1,250 hours with your employer), employers with fewer than 10 workers (not covered) or 10–24 workers (parental leave only), partial weeks, and private plans.

Rule window: Jan 1, 2026 – Dec 31, 2026. Source: State of Delaware · checked · all sources

Your leave, week by week

  • Benefit
  • Usual pay
  • Unpaid waiting week
  • Waiting week paid back
  • Weekly maximum

How Delaware Paid Leave works out your benefit

Delaware averages your wages over the 12 months before you apply and pays 80% of that weekly average, rounded up to the next whole dollar.

The maximum is fixed by statute at $900 for both 2026 and 2027. From 2028 it rises with Philadelphia-area consumer prices, rounded to the nearest $5. The floor is $100, or your full wage if you earn less.

Benefits began on January 1, 2026. Unlike most programs, your employer approves or denies the claim within 5 business days; the first payment arrives within 30 days of approval and then every two weeks.

Delaware figures by date

Figures for leaves (claims) whose first day falls in each window. Sources are numbered below.
WindowWeekly maximumOther figuresYour contribution
Jan 1, 2026 – Dec 31, 2026 $900 — Paid Leave (most an employer of 25+ may deduct): 0.4% up to $184,500
Jan 1, 2027 – Dec 31, 2027 $900 — Not yet published

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 $58,000 a year with steady pay, taking 12 weeks off (parental leave (new child)) from Oct 5, 2026, when the figures for Jan 1, 2026 – Dec 31, 2026 apply. Delaware Paid Leave uses the wages in the 12 months before applying ÷ 52: $1,115.38.

The formula gives 80% × $1,115.38 = $892.31: a weekly benefit of $893, or 80% of their usual weekly pay. 12 paid weeks come to $10,716.

Over a year, their own payroll contribution is $232 — about $4.46 a week.

At $200,000 a year, the same leave pays $900 a week — the maximum, 23% of that worker’s weekly pay, for a yearly contribution of $738.

What catches people out in Delaware

  • Coverage depends on your employer. You need 12 months and 1,250 hours with your current employer. Employers with fewer than 10 Delaware employees are not covered; those with 10–24 cover parental leave only.
  • Medical and caregiving leave share 6 weeks in any 24 months. Parental leave is 12 weeks per application year, and the total is capped at 12.
  • The contribution is 0.8% (0.4% medical, 0.08% caregiving, 0.32% parental) through 2026; employers can charge you up to half. The 2027 rate will be set actuarially and had not been published when we checked.

Official Delaware resources

Related programs

Neighbors with paid leave programs.

Sources for this page

  1. State of Delaware: 19 Del. C. Chapter 37 (Healthy Delaware Families Act). Supplies: 80% of average weekly wages rounded up; $100 minimum; $900 maximum in 2026 and 2027; 0.8% contribution (0.4% medical, 0.08% caregiving, 0.32% parental), employee up to 50%; 12 weeks parental, 6 weeks medical/caregiving in 24 months. Checked .
  2. Delaware Department of Labor: How Delaware Paid Leave works — FAQs. Supplies: Benefits from Jan. 1, 2026; rate guaranteed at 0.8% through 2026; eligibility. Checked .
  3. Delaware Department of Labor: Employer and TPA guide to Delaware Paid Leave. Supplies: Contributions apply to FICA wages up to the FICA wage limit. Checked .
  4. Internal Revenue Service: Publication 15 (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide. Supplies: 2026 Social Security wage base $184,500 (the contribution cap several programs use). Checked .

Figures on this page verified . Spotted a difference from your agency’s notice? Report a correction.