Minnesota Paid Leave premiums begin; employees can be charged up to 0.44%
From January 1, 2026 Minnesota charges a 0.88% premium on wages for paid family and medical leave. Employers pay at least half and may deduct up to 0.44% from your pay.
Minnesota became a paid-leave state on January 1, 2026. From that date employers owe a premium of 0.88% of wages, and the Department of Employment and Economic Development is plain about who pays it: “By law, employers can continue to collect up to 0.44% from employees, or employers can choose to cover more.”
Minnesota Statutes 268B.14 sets the split. The employer must pay at least half of the premium; the employee pays “the remaining portion, if any”. So the most that can come out of your pay is 0.44%, and some employers take nothing at all.
It stops at the Social Security wage base — the statute caps wages subject to premium at the maximum earnings subject to the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance tax, which is $184,500 for 2026. The most an employee can pay for the year is therefore $811.80.
| Salary | Paid Leave, at the 0.44% maximum |
|---|---|
| $50,000 | $220 |
| $75,000 | $330 |
| $184,500 and above | $811.80 (capped) |
Small employers — 30 or fewer staff, with average wages under a set ceiling — qualify for a reduced rate, and in DEED’s words “pay a smaller share – as little as 0.22%”. That is the employer’s own share; it does not change the 0.44% an employer may deduct from you.
The rate is set each year by July 31 for the next. On July 31, 2026 DEED confirmed it will stay at 0.88% for 2027, the same as this year. The statute itself still prints 0.7% for 2026: it allowed the commissioner to adjust the rate before the program began, and 0.88% is the adjusted figure in force.
The calculator on this site now deducts Minnesota Paid Leave at the 0.44% maximum. Before this correction it showed no Minnesota payroll deduction at all, and overstated take-home pay by that amount.
Source:Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development