Kentucky Workers’ Comp Impairment Rating Payout Calculator

To estimate a Kentucky workers’ comp impairment rating payout, run this calculator in your head or on paper: take two-thirds of your average weekly wage, multiply by your impairment rating percentage, multiply by the statutory factor for that rating bracket, then multiply the weekly result by 425 or 520 weeks depending on the rating. For injuries in 2026, the weekly benefit caps at $958.49 under the standard formula, or $1,277.99 if you can no longer perform the type of work you did when you were hurt.¹ The math is simple once you have the right inputs. The trap is that several popular online calculators use wrong multiplier values for some brackets, so the numbers below matter.

The Three Inputs You Need

Every payout estimate depends on three numbers.

Your average weekly wage (AWW) is the first. Kentucky calculates it by taking the highest-paid 13-week period within the 52 weeks before your injury and averaging those gross earnings. Overtime hours count, but at your regular hourly rate, not the overtime rate. Workers on the job fewer than 13 weeks use the wages of a similarly situated employee.² You can usually find your AWW on payroll records or on forms the insurance carrier filed with the Kentucky Department of Workers’ Claims.

Your impairment rating is the second. After you reach maximum medical improvement, a physician assigns a whole-person impairment percentage using the American Medical Association Guides, Fifth Edition, for physical injuries. Psychological impairments use Chapter 12 of the Second Edition.³ This rating drives the entire calculation. A 5% rating and a 10% rating don’t just double the result, because the statutory factor also changes between brackets.

The statutory factor is the third, and it comes from a table written directly into the statute.

The Statutory Factor Table

KRS 342.730(1)(b) sets the multiplier by rating bracket:²

0% to 5%: 0.65
6% to 10%: 0.85
11% to 15%: 1.00
16% to 20%: 1.00
21% to 25%: 1.15
26% to 30%: 1.35
31% to 35%: 1.50
36% and above: 1.70

The 11–15% and 16–20% brackets share a 1.00 factor. Some online calculators list inflated values for the higher brackets; the numbers above come directly from the statute. A wrong factor can make a claim look thousands of dollars more valuable than it actually is.

Worked Example

Say your AWW is $900 and your doctor assigned a 10% impairment rating. The 6–10% bracket carries a factor of 0.85.

Step 1: $900 × 66.67% = $600.00
Step 2: $600.00 × 10% = $60.00
Step 3: $60.00 × 0.85 = $51.00 per week

At $51.00 per week across 425 weeks (the standard duration for ratings of 50% or less), the base PPD payout is $21,675. That figure can triple if you cannot return to your previous type of work, pushing the total to roughly $65,025 before age and education add-ons.

Triple Benefit When You Cannot Return to Your Previous Work

KRS 342.730(1)(c) multiplies the weekly benefit by three if your injury leaves you physically unable to perform the type of work you were doing when you got hurt.² The medical evidence has to clearly show that your permanent restrictions rule out your previous job duties. This is the single biggest lever in the whole calculation and often the most contested issue in a claim. Insurers argue you can still do the job with modifications; the specific language your doctor uses about your restrictions is what the judge weighs.

Double Benefit If a Return-to-Work Job Ends

If you return to work at a wage equal to or greater than your pre-injury pay, your weekly benefit stays at the standard base amount for as long as you hold that job. If that employment ends, your benefit doubles. The statute says this applies “for any reason, with or without cause.”² Kentucky’s Supreme Court has carved out a narrow exception: the doubling does not apply if you were fired for intentional, deliberate conduct showing reckless disregard for consequences.⁴ Short of that standard, even a termination for cause still triggers the double benefit.

Age and Education Add-Ons on Top of the Triple

When the three-times multiplier applies, Kentucky stacks further enhancements based on your age and education at the time of injury:²

Education:

Less than 8 years of formal education: add 0.4
Less than 12 years of education or a GED: add 0.2

Age:

Age 60 or older: add 0.6
Age 55 or older: add 0.4
Age 50 or older: add 0.2

These add to the three, not to the standard formula and not to the double benefit. A 57-year-old worker with 10 years of school who cannot return to their previous job carries a combined multiplier of 3.0 + 0.4 + 0.2 = 3.6. Applied to the $51 base from the earlier example, that produces $183.60 per week and $78,030 across 425 weeks.

Duration and Weekly Caps

Ratings of 50% or less pay for a maximum of 425 weeks. Ratings above 50% pay for 520 weeks.² Multiply the weekly benefit by the applicable number of weeks for the total.

No matter how high the formula climbs, the weekly amount is capped based on the state average weekly wage for the year of injury. For 2026 injuries:¹

Standard PPD maximum: $958.49 per week (82.5% of the state AWW)
Enhanced maximum when you cannot return to previous work: $1,277.99 per week (110% of the state AWW)

The caps track the year of injury, not the year you settle. A 2025 injury uses the 2025 caps even if the case doesn’t resolve until 2027.

Lump Sum Versus Weekly Payments

Kentucky lets PPD benefits be settled as a lump sum instead of paid out over 425 or 520 weeks. When future weekly payments are converted, the total is discounted to present value using a rate the Commissioner of the Department of Workers’ Claims sets each year.⁵ A lump sum is always less than the sum of the weekly checks you would collect over the full duration. In exchange, you get immediate access to a larger amount and remove the risk that a future change in your employment status could alter your weekly benefit. Most workers negotiate lump sum amounts during settlement discussions rather than through a contested hearing.

Tax Treatment and the Social Security Offset

Workers’ compensation benefits, including PPD, are not subject to federal income tax. The Internal Revenue Code excludes amounts received under workers’ compensation acts from gross income.⁶ Kentucky follows the same treatment at the state level, so you keep the full weekly amount.

If you also draw Social Security Disability Insurance, expect a reduction. Federal law caps the combined total of SSDI and workers’ compensation at 80% of your average current earnings before you became disabled. When the combined amount goes over that ceiling, Social Security reduces your SSDI payment, not your workers’ compensation benefit, to bring the total back under the limit.⁷ Workers with lower pre-injury earnings feel this offset most, because the 80% ceiling bites harder. Factor it in before you finalize any settlement.

1
Education and Labor Cabinet. 2026 Workers’ Compensation Benefit Schedule
2
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 342.730 – Determination of Income Benefits for Disability
3
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 342.0011 – Definitions for Chapter
4
FindLaw. Tractor Supply v. Wells
5
Education and Labor Cabinet. 2026 Discount Rate Order and Tables
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 104 – Compensation for Injuries or Sickness
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 424a – Reduction of Disability Benefits