Why your profession changes your PFL benefit
EDD never uses your annual salary directly. It finds your single highest-earning quarter in the base period (the 5–18 months before your claim) and divides it by 13. Anything that concentrates pay into one quarter raises that number, and anything that keeps you off the SDI rolls can disqualify you entirely. The patterns that matter most:
- Shift differentials & overtime (nurses, firefighters, police, EMTs, warehouse): concentrated extra pay lifts one quarter, so many of these workers beat the flat estimate and some reach the $1,765 cap.
- Bonuses & commissions (software engineers, accountants, real estate agents): a single bonus or commission quarter can push you to the weekly maximum.
- Tips (restaurant workers): only tips reported to your employer count toward SDI wages. Cash tips off the books don't.
- 1099 status (rideshare drivers, many real estate agents, owner-operator truckers, self-employed plumbers): independent contractors pay no SDI and are not eligible unless they enrolled in EDD's elective coverage (DIEC) or have separate W-2 wages.
- Seasonal & school-year schedules (construction, teachers): uneven quarters mean the highest quarter, and your claim's timing, decide the benefit.
* Most Uber and Lyft drivers are 1099 contractors and are not automatically eligible. The figure shown assumes SDI-covered wages. See the rideshare driver page for the eligibility details.
Prefer to calculate by salary?
If you'd rather look it up by income, the PFL benefit by salary guide breaks down the weekly amount, tax, and take-home for salaries from $50,000 to $200,000. That includes the 90%/70% benefit cliff around $65,000 and where the $1,765 cap kicks in.
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