How California disability benefits are calculated comes down to one number: your highest-earning quarter in a set 12-month window. The EDD divides that quarter’s wages by 13 to get a weekly wage, then pays either 70% or 90% of that figure depending on where your earnings fall against the statewide average. For claims starting in 2026, the weekly benefit runs from a $50 floor to a $1,765 ceiling.1Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Amounts
The Base Period That Sets Your Benefit
Your recent paycheck doesn’t decide your benefit. The EDD looks at a 12-month “base period” covering wages earned roughly five to 18 months before your claim starts, split into four consecutive calendar quarters. The quarter in which you earned the most drives everything that follows.2Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance – Benefits and Payments FAQs
Which 12 months apply depends on when your disability begins:
- Disability starting January, February, or March: the 12 months ending the previous September 30
- Disability starting April, May, or June: the 12 months ending the previous December 31
- Disability starting July, August, or September: the 12 months ending the previous March 31
- Disability starting October, November, or December: the 12 months ending the previous June 30
If your disability starts in August 2026, for example, your base period runs from April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2026. You need at least $300 in SDI-taxed wages during that base period to qualify for any benefits at all.3Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Benefit Payment Amounts
When an Alternate Base Period Applies
If you don’t have enough earnings in the standard base period, the EDD can substitute an alternate base period that captures more recent wages. This helps workers who recently entered the workforce or had a gap during the standard window. Call the EDD at 1-800-480-3287 to request the adjustment.
The Three-Tier Formula
Senate Bill 951 rewrote the SDI formula effective January 1, 2025, raising wage replacement from the old 60–70% range up to 70–90%. Claimants now sort into three tiers based on how their highest-quarter earnings compare to the statewide average quarterly wage.4California Legislative Information. California Senate Bill 951 – Unemployment Insurance Contribution Rates Disability Insurance Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Amount
- Highest quarter under $722.50: you receive a flat $50 per week.
- Highest quarter of $722.50 or more, at or below 70% of the state average quarterly wage: you receive 90% of your highest-quarter wages divided by 13. This tier gives lower- and moderate-income workers the highest replacement rate.
- Highest quarter above 70% of the state average quarterly wage: you receive 70% of your highest-quarter wages divided by 13, or 63% of the state average weekly wage, whichever is greater.
Every tier is capped at the maximum weekly benefit, set at $1,765 for claims beginning in 2026.1Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Amounts The state average quarterly wage is drawn from federal wage data and shifts each year; for 2025 the 70% threshold translated to roughly $63,000 in annual earnings. The 2026 figure will be slightly higher.
Running the Numbers
Say your highest quarter’s earnings were $15,600 and that amount lands in the 90% tier. The EDD divides $15,600 by 13 to get a weekly wage of $1,200, then multiplies by 90%, producing a weekly benefit of $1,080.
If your highest quarter instead totaled $26,000 and fell into the 70% tier, the math runs $26,000 ÷ 13 = $2,000, then × 70% = $1,400 per week. Neither result hits the $1,765 ceiling.
The EDD publishes a full benefit table each year so you can look up your weekly amount by highest-quarter earnings without doing the arithmetic.1Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Amounts
The Waiting Week and 52-Week Ceiling
Every new claim starts with a seven-day non-payable waiting period. Benefits begin on the eighth day of your disability, not the first.2Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance – Benefits and Payments FAQs You can use employer sick leave or PTO to bridge that first week, but you aren’t required to.
The maximum you can collect on a single claim is 52 weeks of benefits. Your physician has to keep certifying your disability for payments to continue; the EDD doesn’t pay out the full year automatically.3Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Benefit Payment Amounts
What Can Reduce Your Weekly Amount
The formula sets a starting figure, but several kinds of income can pull the actual check down. You have to report all income to the EDD while receiving SDI, including sick leave pay, PTO, commissions, bonuses, part-time wages, and workers’ compensation benefits.5Employment Development Department. Reporting Your Wages or Work Status for Disability Insurance
Sick leave pay generally reduces your benefit dollar for dollar. The one exception: if your employer lets you combine sick leave with SDI to bring you up to your regular pay, the EDD won’t reduce the benefit. Check with HR before your claim starts to see whether that arrangement is available.6Employment Development Department. Employer Eligibility and Benefits FAQs
Part-time work during your claim triggers a different adjustment. If your part-time wages plus your SDI benefit exceed your normal weekly earnings, the EDD reduces the benefit to close the gap.3Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Benefit Payment Amounts Suppose your regular weekly wage was $1,500 and your SDI benefit is $1,050. If you start part-time work paying $800 a week, the EDD would trim your SDI to $700 so the combined total doesn’t exceed $1,500.
Workers’ compensation benefits and insurance settlements must be reported and can affect your payment as well. Prior benefit overpayments from SDI, unemployment, or Paid Family Leave claims and overdue court-ordered child or spousal support can also come out of your check.5Employment Development Department. Reporting Your Wages or Work Status for Disability Insurance
If You’re Self-Employed
The calculation above assumes an employer has been withholding CASDI from your paychecks. Sole proprietors, independent contractors, and managing members of LLCs taxed as sole proprietorships aren’t covered unless they opt in through the EDD’s Disability Insurance Elective Coverage program.7Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Elective Coverage
Enrolling requires net profit of at least $4,600 per year, a valid license if your work needs one, and a non-seasonal business. You commit to at least two full calendar years in the program, wait six months from your approved start date before filing any claim, and need at least four months of contributions paid in the 12 months before applying for benefits. Coverage may be canceled if profits drop below $4,600 for three consecutive years.7Employment Development Department. Disability Insurance Elective Coverage