The Connecticut PFML tax is a 0.5% payroll deduction withheld from employee wages to fund the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave insurance program, which replaces part of your income when you take time off for a serious health condition, a new child, caregiving, or other qualifying reasons.1CT Paid Leave. Contributions The program is funded entirely by employees. Your employer withholds the money and sends it to the state, but does not add any of its own.2CT Paid Leave. Frequently Asked Questions For 2026, the most you can pay in is $922.50, and the maximum weekly benefit is $1,016.40.
How Much Comes Out of Your Paycheck
The CT Paid Leave Board of Directors has held the contribution rate at 0.5% for 2026.1CT Paid Leave. Contributions It applies to your gross earnings: salary, hourly wages, overtime, bonuses, commissions, vacation and holiday pay, tips, and severance. The calculation mirrors FICA, so if a type of pay is subject to Social Security withholding, it’s subject to this one too.3CT Paid Leave. Fact Sheet for Employers
Deductions stop once your year-to-date wages hit the Social Security wage base. For 2026 that cap is $184,500.4Social Security Administration. 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet At 0.5% of that figure, the most anyone pays into the program for the year is $922.50. If you earn $60,000, you’ll contribute $300 across the year, roughly $11.54 per biweekly check.
Who Pays the Tax
The program covers nearly every private employer in Connecticut with at least one employee.5Justia Law. Connecticut General Statutes 31-49g – Establishment and Administration of Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program Full-time or part-time doesn’t matter. If you earn wages in Connecticut, the deduction applies. The State of Connecticut is also a covered employer for its non-unionized workforce.6CT Paid Leave. Coverage and Eligibility
Some workers are outside the program and will not see this deduction on their pay stubs:
- Federal government employees, who have separate federal benefits.
- Railroad workers, covered by federal railroad statutes.
- Municipal employees, unless their union collectively bargains to join.
- Certified public school employees, unless they collectively bargain in.
- Unionized state employees, who should check with their union.
What the Tax Pays For
Your contributions buy into an insurance pool that pays wage-replacement benefits when you need to step away from work for a covered reason. There’s no tenure requirement with your current employer, but you do need Connecticut wage history. The six qualifying categories are:7CT Paid Leave. Qualifying Reasons to Apply for CT Paid Leave
- Your own serious health condition, including recovery from surgery, chronic illness, or organ or bone marrow donation.
- Bonding with a new child after birth, adoption, or foster placement.
- Caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
- Military caregiver leave for a family member injured on active duty.
- Qualifying exigency leave tied to a family member’s military deployment.
- Safe leave if you’ve been affected by family violence or sexual assault.
Benefits are paid under a two-tier formula. The first tier replaces 95% of your earnings up to a threshold set by 40 hours at the state minimum wage. Earnings above that threshold are replaced at 60%. The weekly maximum is 60 times the state minimum wage, which comes to $1,016.40 as of January 1, 2026.8CT Paid Leave. Before You Apply Payments can start on the first day of your approved leave; there is no waiting period.2CT Paid Leave. Frequently Asked Questions
Most qualifying reasons give you up to 12 weeks of benefits in a 12-month period. Pregnancy-related incapacitation can add two more weeks, raising the ceiling to 14. Safe leave runs separately and allows up to 12 days.9CT Paid Leave. Fact Sheet for Workers
The Tax Does Not Protect Your Job
This is the piece people miss. CT Paid Leave is only an income-replacement program. It does not give you the right to return to your position or an equivalent one when leave ends.10CT Paid Leave. CT Paid Leave and FMLA Job protection comes from separate laws: the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act (CTFMLA) and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
CTFMLA applies to employers with one or more employees. Federal FMLA applies at 50 or more employees.11CT.gov. Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act FAQs When your leave qualifies under both CT Paid Leave and one of the FMLA statutes, they can run concurrently. Most workers should file for both at the same time: the paid leave claim for the income, the FMLA request for the job protection. Filing only for benefits can leave you collecting a check with no legal right to your job back.
If You’re Self-Employed
Sole proprietors and self-employed workers don’t have to pay the tax, but you can opt in to the same benefits available to W-2 employees.5Justia Law. Connecticut General Statutes 31-49g – Establishment and Administration of Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program The rate is the same 0.5%, applied to your reported net self-employment income. Once you enroll, you’re committed for at least three years before you can withdraw.
Your benefit is calculated from the net profit on your federal tax return (Schedule C or Schedule SE). The Authority takes the two highest-earning quarters, adds them, and divides by 26. Without documentation of actual quarterly earnings, it will divide your annual net profit by four. One timing rule worth knowing: for anyone who registers after January 1, 2022, benefits become available on the first day of the month after three full calendar months have passed since registration.12CT Paid Leave. Sole Proprietor or Self-Employed Individual
When an Employer Uses a Private Plan Instead
Some employers skip the state program by offering a private insurance plan with equal or better benefits. A private plan has to be approved by a majority vote of all covered employees before it can take effect.13Justia Law. Connecticut General Statutes 31-49o – Private Plans, Approval of, Conditions If your employer uses an approved private plan, contributions go to that plan rather than the state trust fund, and you’d claim benefits through the plan instead of through the CT Paid Leave Authority. The 0.5% deduction amount can still apply, but the destination and claims process differ, so check with your HR department if you’re unsure which system you’re in.