# Massachusetts — State paid family and medical leave program contribution rates, benefits, and eligibility

For Massachusetts, program name is Paid Family and Medical Leave; benefits start date is January 1, 2021; total contribution rate is 0.88 percent; employer share is split between employer and employee; employee share is split between employer and employee, recorded from its source on 2026-08-15.

- **State:** Massachusetts _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Program name:** Paid Family and Medical Leave _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Benefits start date:** January 1, 2021
- **Total contribution rate:** 0.88 percent
- **Employer share:** split between employer and employee
- **Employee share:** split between employer and employee
- **Maximum weekly benefit:** $1,230.39
- **Wage replacement formula:** 80 percent of the employee's wage up to 50 percent of SAWW plus 50 percent of the employee's wage over 50 percent of SAWW
- **Family leave duration:** 12 weeks _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Medical leave duration:** 20 weeks _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Employer size threshold:** 1 employee
- **Covered reasons:** bonding, own serious health condition, family caregiving, military exigency _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Program website:** https://www.mass.gov/topics/paid-family-and-medical-leave-in-massachusetts

## What the source says

> DC extended the duration of paid family and medical leave to a total of 12 weeks beginning in October 2022, up from an interim increase in 2021 and the program’s initial offering of just two weeks of paid medical leave, six weeks of paid caregiving leave, and eight weeks of paid parental leave. DC also offers two weeks of prenatal leave, as of October 2021; see <https://dcpaidfamilyleave.dc.gov/workers/> DC Paid Family Leave . DC reduced employer payroll contributions from .62 percent to .26 percent in 2022 and kept premiums there for 2023 and 2024. In 2025, the Council approved a premium increase to .75 percent, and that is the same rate applied in 2026. The DC paid leave fund is available for other purposes due to a 2025 statutory change allowing excess funds to be transferred to DC’s general fund. See more <https://lims.dccouncil.gov/Legislation/B25-0787> here (section 12a, page 18). See Massachusetts <https://www.mass.gov/info-details/paid-family-and-medical-leave-employer-contribution-rates-and-calculator> tax rates and wage bases . Small businesses with fewer than 25 employees are not required to contribute to premiums. The taxable wage base cap is the Social Security cap. Note that the maximum length of leave is capped at 26 weeks per year (12 weeks of family leave, 20 weeks of medical leave, and 26 weeks to care for a wounded service member).

## Source

- https://www.newamerica.org/insights/explainer-paid-leave-benefits-and-funding-in-the-united-states/

Last verified: 2026-08-15. Review by: 2026-12-13.
Part of [State paid family and medical leave program contribution rates, benefits, and eligibility](https://referencesource.org/state-paid-family-leave-programs/).