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

Maine · PFML (benefits since May 2026)

Maine Paid Family & Medical Leave Calculator

Maine pays 90% of your wage up to half the state average weekly wage and 66% above it, up to $1,250 a week for leaves starting from July 1, 2026, for up to 12 weeks. Benefits began on May 1, 2026.

Maine PFML 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.

Up to 12 weeks in a benefit year; no waiting period for family leave.
Sets which year's maximum and rules apply.

Estimated weekly benefit · Bonding with a new child

$786/week

Total for 12 weeks: $9,432Replaces 82% of your weekly wage

  • Verified figures · Jul–Dec 2026
Your average weekly wage (base-period wages ÷ 52)$961.54
90% of wages $0–$625$563
66% of wages $625–$961.54$223
Weekly benefit$786
Weeks paid × weekly benefit12 × $786
Total benefit for this leave$9,432
PFML premium (most an employer may deduct) 0.5% up to $184,500$250/yr
Your payroll deduction$250/yr · $4.81/wk

What this leaves out: the once-a-benefit-year rule for the medical waiting period, partial weeks, employer substitute plans, and leave taken before benefits began on May 1, 2026.

Rule window: Jul 1, 2026 – Dec 31, 2026. Source: Maine Legislature · checked · all sources

Your leave, week by week

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

How Maine PFML works out your benefit

Maine divides the wages in your base period — the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters — by 52.

Under the program’s rule the calculation runs in two tiers, each rounded up to the whole dollar: 90% of your wage up to a Tier 1 cap of half the state average weekly wage ($625 from $1,249.12), then 66% of the part above it. The total is capped at the state average weekly wage, shown as $1,250 on the state’s own benefit chart.

Which state average applies is set by the rule: the July 1 figure before your application or leave start, whichever is earlier. The statute says an adjusted maximum takes effect January 1 — a conflict we note rather than paper over. We follow the rule and the state’s published chart, which our engine reproduces exactly.

Maine 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 – Jun 30, 2026 $1,199 State average weekly wage: $1,198.84
 PFML premium (most an employer may deduct): 0.5% up to $184,500
Jul 1, 2026 – Dec 31, 2026 $1,250 State average weekly wage: $1,249.12
 PFML premium (most an employer may deduct): 0.5% up to $184,500
Jan 1, 2027 – Jun 30, 2027 $1,250 State average weekly wage: $1,249.12
 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 $50,000 a year with steady pay, taking 12 weeks off (bonding with a new child) from Oct 5, 2026, when the figures for Jul 1, 2026 – Dec 31, 2026 apply. Maine PFML uses the base-period wages ÷ 52: $961.54.

The formula gives 90% × $625 = $563 + 66% × $336.54 = $223: a weekly benefit of $786, or 82% of their usual weekly pay. 12 paid weeks come to $9,432.

Over a year, their own payroll contribution is $250 — about $4.81 a week.

At $200,000 a year, the same leave pays $1,250 a week — the maximum, 33% of that worker’s weekly pay, for a yearly contribution of $922.50.

What catches people out in Maine

  • Only medical leave waits. The first 7 days of medical leave are unpaid, once per benefit year; family leave has no waiting period.
  • To qualify you need base-period wages of at least 6 times the state average weekly wage — $7,494.72 at $1,249.12.
  • The premium is 1% of wages, and employees pay no more than 0.5% through 2027. Employers with 15 or more workers remit the full 1% and may deduct up to half.
  • 12 weeks in total per benefit year, across all leave reasons.

Official Maine resources

Related programs

New England neighbors.

Sources for this page

  1. Maine Legislature: 26 M.R.S. §850-C (benefits). Supplies: 90% up to 50% of the state AWW plus 66% above, maximum = state AWW; 7-day wait for medical leave. Checked .
  2. Maine Department of Labor: Rule 12-702, Chapter 1 (benefits). Supplies: Tier rounding rules; average weekly wage = base-period wages ÷ 52; state AWW updated each July 1. Checked .
  3. Maine Department of Labor: PFML premium and benefit chart (2026). Supplies: Maximum $1,250 (state AWW rounded); 0.5% employee premium up to the $184,500 Social Security cap; worked benefit amounts by earnings. Checked .
  4. Maine Workers’ Compensation Board: 2026 state average weekly wage notice (rev. Aug. 14, 2026). Supplies: State AWW $1,249.12 from July 1, 2026; $1,198.84 for July 2025 – June 2026. Checked .
  5. Maine Legislature: 26 M.R.S. §850-A (eligibility). Supplies: Base-period wages of at least 6 × the state average weekly wage. Checked .
  6. Maine Legislature: 26 M.R.S. §850-B (leave entitlement). Supplies: 12 weeks in the aggregate in a benefit year. Checked .
  7. Maine Department of Labor: PFML workplace poster (2025). Supplies: Employee premium no more than 0.5% of wages for 2025 through 2027. Checked .

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